Israel: Israel Art / Culture Profile

According to the Bible, Israel is the name given by God to Jacob. The modern country of Israel includes two distinct nationalities, the Palestinian and the Jewish. Each nationality is inextricable from its religious identity. The Palestinians are Arabs whose traditions are founded in Muslim culture; the Jews define their culture in large part around their religion as well. Each group identifies as part of a larger, international religious and cultural community, and each has a history in the region that goes back to ancient times.

Location and Geography. Israel is in the Middle East on the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. Its total area is 8,019 square miles (20,770 square kilometers), slightly smaller than New Jersey. The Negev Desert covers the south of the country. Mountains rise in the central region from the low coastal plain along the Mediterranean. The Jordan River stretches 200 miles (322 kilometers) from Syria in the north, emptying into the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea (technically a lake) is, at 1,312 feet (400 meters) below sea level, the lowest inland sea on earth.

 Linguistic Affiliation. Hebrew is the country's official language. The modern Hebrew language was designed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, a Lithuanian Jew who moved to Palestine in the 1880s. Before, biblical Hebrew had been the language of prayer, whereas the vernacular of most Jews was Yiddish (Ladino for Spanish and Portuguese Jews). David Ben-Gurion's vision of a national language, which would allow Jews from different parts of the world to communicate with each other, was an significant element of the Zionist movement. Arabic is the official language of the Arab minority. English is studied in school and is the majority commonly spoken foreign language. Immigrants from various nations as well bring their languages with them, and Spanish, Italian, African dialects, and particularly Russian are often heard.

Symbolism

The flag consists of a blue six-pointed star on a white background, with a horizontal blue stripe above and one below. The star, called a Magen David, or Shield of David, is a symbol of the Jewish faith.

The Israeli national anthem, Hatikva , is over one hundred years old. Its melody is of unknown origin, although some believe it comes from an Eastern European fold song. Its lyrics are explicitly Zionist, extolling the return of the Jews to their holy land. The song was banned from the airwaves during the British mandate, and it continues to be somewhat controversial today; there has been some debate as to whether its Zionist message is still valid.

History and Ethnic Relations

 Emergence of the Country.

There is archaeological evidence of settlements in Israel dating from nine thousand to eleven thousand years ago. It is thought that the initial people of the kingdom of Israel migrated from Mesopotamia. Much of the history of ancient Israel is laid out in the Bible. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt from about 1750 to 1280 B.C.E. , at the same time as Moses led the Jewish people in Exodus. They wandered in the desert for forty years. Moses died, and Joshua took the helm and led the people into the land of Canaan, or the Promised Land. The epoch that followed was known as the period of the judges, at the same time as Israel was ruled by judges and priests. Saul became the initial king of Israel in 1020 B.C.E. He was succeeded by his rival, David, in 1004. Under David's policy, Jerusalem became the capital. Solomon ascended to the throne in 965 B.C.E. , and ruled for nearly forty years, during which time the Initial Temple was built. In 925 the kingdom split into two parts, Israel and Judah. In 721 Israel was conquered by Assyria, and in 586 it was taken over by Babylonia. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were exiled to Babylon.

In 538 Babylon was conquered by the king of Persia, who allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, where they rebuilt the Temple and began what became known as the Second Jewish National. In 322 B.C.E. , Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and took control of Israel. Between 322 and 160 B.C. , the land of Israel changed hands several times under various Greek and Syrian rulers. In 160 Judas Maccabee led a rebellion that allowed the Jews to reclaim Jerusalem, a victory that Jews still celebrate in the festival of Hanukkah. Judah became an independent national in 141 B.C.E

Herod conquered Judah in 37 B.C.E. In 19 B.C.E. , under his policy, the Temple was again rebuilt. The Initial Revolt against Rome occurred in 66 C.E. ; however, Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 C.E. The Temple was destroyed, and the majority of the Jews were dispersed throughout the world.

Byzantines ruled the area from 313 to 635, although toward the end of this period, from 614 to 629, the Jews ruled Jerusalem under Persian jurisdiction. The years 622 to 632 saw the founding of Islam by Muhammad. In 638 Arab Muslims conquered Jerusalem, where their policy lasted until the Turkish conquest in 1078. The Initial Crusaders took the city in 1099. In 1187 Saladin, the Kurdish ruler of Egypt, conquered Jerusalem. In 1516 the land of Israel, known at this time as Palestine, was taken over by the Ottoman Turks, who ruled for four hundred years. In 1799 Napoleon unsuccessfully attempted to take the territory, but did not succeed.

The initial modern Jewish settlement in Palestine was established in 1870, and was followed at the end of the nineteenth century by others, as Jews fled pogroms in Russia and Poland. In 1897 the Initial Zionist Conference was held in Basel, Switzerland, and under the initiative of the Hungarian Jew Theodor Herzl, the Zionist movement began its mission to create a Jewish homeland in the territory from which the Jews had been expelled nearly two thousand years before.

National Identity

National identity for Israelis is to a large extent bound up with their identity as Jews. For the additional devout, national identity takes on a spiritual element, in which the observance of religious ritual becomes an expression of national pride. However, there are as well a large number of secular Jews in Israel, for whom Judaism is additional a cultural and ethnic identity than a spiritual practice. A lot of Palestinians living in Israel do not identify as Israelis at all, but rather with the displaced Palestinian country (and with the rest of the Arab world as well). Much of their national identity is as well based on both religious and cultural elements of the Muslim faith.

Ethnic Relations

Relations between Jews and Arabs are extremely antagonistic. Each side sees the other as the aggressor. Palestinians resent the fact that the Jews took over their homeland, and that they have exercised their far superior military technology to maintain it, whereas the Jews feel that they are making a claim to land that is rightfully theirs, and from which they have been exiled for thousands of years. Palestinians have often resorted to terrorist action, which further aggravates the situation. Atrocities have been committed on both sides of the divide, and there is little sign of reconciliation in the near next.

Relations within the Jewish community itself as well have been problematic. A lot of of the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox oppose any compromise with the Palestinians and want the national to follow a additional strictly religious line. They do not consider additional Reform or Conservative Jews Jewish, because these additional liberal branches do not strictly follow all the religious laws.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

Ninety % of Israel's people is urban. Jerusalem is the capital and major city, with a people of 602,100. It is in the center of the country, straddling the border between Israel and the West Bank. The city has been continuously settled for additional than three thousand years and is home to a lot of sites of historical and religious significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. These include the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, part others. The Old City is divided into quarters: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian. Outside the walls of this oldest district, the city sprawls in neighborhoods containing residential zones, parks, museums, and government buildings.

Tel Aviv is a additional modern city, and the commercial and industrial capital of the country. It is in fact a combination of two cities, Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Jaffa's history dates back to biblical times, whereas Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 by European Jewish immigrants. The third-major city in the country is Haifa, in the north. It is the country's major port and as well is an industrial center.

Israel's architecture is diverse, spanning a lot of centuries and styles. There is a good transaction of Islamic architecture, most of which dates from 1250 to 1517. Today most Israelis live in modern high-rise apartments, which are overseen by committees elected by the inhabitants of the building. Some Jewish settlers in Palestinian territory, and a lot of Palestinians themselves, live in shacks, unfinished houses, or other modest dwellings. 

 Food in Daily Life

Falafel , ground chickpeas mixed with onions and spices formed into balls and fried, are served in pita bread as a sandwich. Other popular dishes include tabuleh (a salad of bulgar wheat and chopped vegetables), hummus (chickpea paste), grilled meats, and eggplant. Cumin, mint, garlic, onion, and black pepper are used for flavoring. Baklava is a popular dessert of Arabic origin and consists of flaky dough layered with honey and nuts. Coffee is often prepared in the Turkish style, extremely strong and thick and served in small cups.

Jews are bound by a set of dietary laws called kashrut , which, part other restrictions, forbid the consumption of pork and shellfish, inclunding the consumption of both meat and milk products at the same meal. Not all Israelis observe these rules, but a lot of restaurants do.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions.

Food plays an significant role in nearly all Jewish celebrations. The Sabbath, observed on Saturday, is ushered in on Friday evening with a family meal inclunding an egg bread called challah. At the Jewish New Year the challah is baked in a circle, symbolizing the cyclical nature of life. Apples and honey as well are eaten, symbolizing the wish for a sweet new year. Hamentaschen are traditionally served at Purim, the celebration of Queen Esther's triumph over the evil Haman, who was trying to annihilate the Jewish people. These are cookies filled with lekvar (prune preserves) and baked in the shape of a triangle. Some believe hamentaschen symbolizes the tricornered hat of Haman; others think it is his pockets, and still others think it represents his ears, which were clipped as a sign of shame. During Passover, Jews abstain from eating all leavened foods (bread, pasta, etc.). Instead they eat matzoh ,a flat, crackerlike bread. This is in memory of the Exodus from Israel, at the same time as the Jews could not wait for their bread to rise, and so carried it on their backs to bake in the sun. Passover as well is observed with a ritual meal called a seder. Four glasses of wine, representing God's four promises to Israel ("I will bring you out of Egypt;" "I will deliver you;" "I will redeem you;" and "I will take you to be my people"), are drunk throughout the evening. Other symbolic foods at the occasion include boiled eggs (symbolizing new life) and charosis (a mixture of apples and walnuts, representing the mortar the Jews used as slaves). On Shavuot in the late spring, dairy-based treats are served. Because cooking is forbidden on the Sabbath, a traditional Saturday meal is cholent , a thick stew that is left in the oven to simmer overnight.