The total area of the State of Israel
22,145 sq.km-8,630 sq.
290 miles -470 km length
85 miles-135 km- the widest point
Coastal plain
Mountain
The Negev
The Dead Sea
the lowest point on
earth
1,300 feet- 400 m.
bellow sea level
“…will ensure complete equality of social and political rights
to all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will
guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language,
education and culture; it will safeguard the holy places of all
religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter
of the United Nations."
The People
... Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers
to dwell in unity
Psalms 133:1
A new society with ancient roots, it is still coalescing and evolving today
Of its 7 million people
76.2 % Jews
19.5 % Arabs-mostly Muslim-and Christians
4.3 % comprise Druze, and others not classified by religion
Jewish society in Israel today
Observant and non-observant Jews
A spectrum
From the ultra-Orthodox to those who regard themselves as secular
Orthodoxy is 20 %
60 % some combination of the laws according to personal
choices
20 % are essentially non-observant.
The Declaration of the Establishment of the state
(1948) guarantees freedom of religion for all
Islamic
Christian
Druze
Baha'i
Arab citizens of Israel Arabic-speaking-groups
Muslim Arabs almost one million people
Bedouin Arabs- Muslim estimated at some 170,000
Christian Arabs some 117,000
Druze some 113,000
Participation in Israel's democratic welfare state process
Compulsory education
Status of Israeli Arab women significantly liberalized by legislation stipulating
equal rights for women and prohibition of polygamy and child marriage
Political involvement manifested in National and Municipal elections
Exempted from compulsory service in the IDF as consideration for their
family, religious and cultural affiliations and due to the dispute with the Arab
world concern over possible dual loyalties
Volunteer military service is encouraged
Since 1957, at the request of their community leaders, IDF service has been
mandatory for Druze and Circassian
The Christian Communities of Israel
The Chalcedonian-Orthodox termed Eastern Orthodox
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem Chalcedon in 451
The Russian Orthodox 1858
Rumanian Orthodox Church 1935
The Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches Monophysite
The Armenian Orthodox Church 5th century
The Coptic Orthodox Church beginning of 4th century
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church 4th century
The Syrian Orthodox Church (ancient Church of Antioch) 6th century
The Roman Catholic Church
Establishment of the Latin Patriarchate
of Jerusalem during the Crusader
kingdom 1099-1291
Uniate Churches
The Maronite Church 1895
The (Melkite) Greek Catholic Church 1724
The Protestant Churches 19th century
The new Anglican Protestant Episcopal Church
German Lutheran Church
Baptist Church 1911
The (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland
The Church of Mormon
The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem 1980
Worldwide Christian support for Israel and for Jerusalem
as its eternal capital
Three main interpretations of the idea of a welfare state:
1-the provision of welfare services by the state
2- Ideal model in which the state assumes primary responsibility for
the welfare of its citizens in theory ought to be comprehensive
because all aspects of welfare are considered and universally
applied to citizens as a right
3- the provision of welfare in society. In many "welfare states",
especially in continental Europe, welfare is not actually provided by
the state, but by a combination of independent, voluntary,
mutualism and government services
Social Security
The National Insurance Act-1954
gives the people a range of benefits
provided by the National Insurance
Institute, an autonomous body which
operates under the auspices of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. Its
activities are funded by mandatory
allocations of employers, employees and
self-employed workers, in addition to the
state budget.
The government policy of maintaining revenue is
conducted by the Institute of Social Security in the form
of additional assistance to families and individuals
whose incomes are below a certain minimum
Benefits of the National Insurance
Institute Pensions for the elderly and the bereaved 37.4%
Pensions for disabled 17.2%
Allowance for children 11.4%
Allowance for injuries, disability and dependency 7.4%
Additional payments to income 7.0%
Price increases and maternity allowances 6.4%
Payments of long-term care 6.4%
Unemployment Insurance 5.1%
Other 1.7%
Health and Social Services
"All of Israel is responsible for each other."
Babylonian Talmud, Shavuot 39a
The foundations of the health system, which includes a
national network of preventive services, diagnosis and
treatment, were placed during the period prior to the state
The population of the country is served by an extensive network
which includes medical hospitals, clinics and preventive
medicine and rehabilitation. Hospital services include the most
advanced techniques and procedures, from in vitro fertilization,
computerized CAT scan and complicated brain surgery to
transplant bone marrow and organs
The responsibility for all health services rests with the
Ministry of Health, which prepares legislation and oversees
their implementation
The Law on the National Health Insurance provides a
uniform basket of medical services including
hospitalization, for the people of the country
Magen David Adom, the
emergency medical
service
The centers care for the
mother and child for the
mother during pregnancy
and children from birth to
early childhood, offered
revisions prenatal, early
detection of mental or
physical disabilities,
immunizations, regular
pediatrics and health
education
Education in Israel
The world exists only thanks to the encouragement of a child.
Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat, 119b
Education in Israel is a precious legacy
In the tradition of previous generations, education
remains a fundamental value and is considered the key
to its future
It is based on Jewish values, love of country
and the principles of freedom and tolerance
Look providing a high level of knowledge,
with an emphasis on science and technology
skills are essential for the continued
development of the country
The educational system aims to
prepare children to become
responsible members of a pluralistic
democratic society in which people of
different backgrounds coexist
ethnic
Religious
cultural
political rights
Simultaneously, the Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sports participates in a constant process of
adaptation of the educational standards in use modern
teaching practices
A key aspect of this policy is the provision of equal
opportunities to all children
School attendance is compulsory from 6 to 18 years
old and free until age 18
Elementary school
Middle School
High school
The administration and Financing
Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
Ministry of Science and Technology
Municipalities
Ministries
Curricula
Educational standards
Teacher training
Supervision of school personnel
School construction
Local authorities
School maintenance
Acquisition of equipment
The multicultural nature of Israeli society has
its expression in the context of the education
system
Four groups:
1- State schools attends most of the students
2-State Religious schools- which put
emphasis on Jewish studies, tradition and
religious observance
3 Arab and Druze schools, which teaching is
in Arabic and places special emphasis on the
history, religion and culture Arab and Druze
4 Very few private schools, which operate
under various religious and international
auspices.
Higher Education
Institutions of higher education operate under
the authority of the council for Higher Education
headed by the Minister of Education and
includes academics, community representatives
and a student representative
Technion Israel Institute of Technology Est. 1924, Haifa
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Est. 1925
Weizmann Institute of Science Est. 1934, Rehovot
Bar Ilan University Est. 1955, Ramat Gan
Tel Aviv University Est. 1956
Haifa University Est. 1963
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Est. 1967, Be'er Sheva
The Open University Est. 1974
Inauguration of the Hebrew
University
Legislature: the Knesset
The Knesset -Israel's unicameral parliament- legislative body of the
country
The Knesset took its name and set the number of its members in 120,
based on the Knesset Haguedolá -Grand Assembly- the representative
council convened in Jerusalem by Jewish Esdrás and Nehemiah in the
V century BCE.
The Knesset usually exercised over a period of four
years, but may be dissolved or be dissolved by the
prime minister at any time during its period
In the plenary sessions dealing with the general debates
legislation presented by the government or individual
Members, as well as about politics and government activity
The discussions of the Knesset are performed in Hebrew, but
its members may speak in Arabic, since both are official
languages; there is simultaneous to both languages
The Judiciary
The absence of a completely written constitution does not imply
absence in law
The judicial system acts in Israel as safe-conduct of the
government of the law and of the human rights
General Law: The Tribunals
Magistrates Court
)Court of labor
District Court
Religious Courts
Supreme Court
The Law of the Land
Following the establishment of the state, the Knesset
was empowered to enact a series of basic laws,
relating to all aspects of life, which would eventually
be brought together to form a constitution
Basic Laws
The Knesset (1958)
State Lands (1960)
The President (1964)
The Government (1968/2001)
The State Economy (1975)
Israel Defense Forces (1976)
Jerusalem (1980)
The Judiciary (1984)
The State Comptroller (1988)
Human Dignity and Liberty (1992)
Freedom of Occupation (1992)
Over the years, a
body of case law
has developed
through Supreme
Court rulings
which protect
civil liberties,
including
freedom of
speech, freedom
of assembly,
freedom of
religion, and
equality as
fundamental
values of Israel's
legal system
The Presidency
The president bears the ancient title of the head
of the Sanhedrin, the supreme legislative and
judicial body of the Jewish people in the Land of
Israel in ancient times
The president is the head of state, with the
presidency symbolizing the nation's unity, above
and beyond party politics
The president is elected by a simple majority of
the Knesset
Revised legislation (1998) provides for the
election of the president for a single term of
seven years
Presidential duties, which are mostly ceremonial
and formal
defined by law
Shimon Peres
The Language- Hebrew
Economy
"He who tills the land shall be satisfied with bread..."
Proverbs 12:11
Achievements in agriculture, irrigation, and various high-tech
industries and electronic start-ups
Obverse: 1 New Shekel
Obverse: Eagle, "Yehud" in
ancient Hebrew
Reverse: Lily, "Yehud" in ancient Hebrew.
Origin of motif - a Judean coin of the
Persian period (6th - 4th century BCE
Reverse: Lily
Water in Israel
Archeological discoveries in the Negev and other parts of the
country reveal that local inhabitants thousands of years ago
were already concerned with water conservation
as evidenced by a variety of systems, designed both to collect
and store rainwater and transfer it from one place to another
Water sources consist of the
Jordan River, Lake Kinneret and
a few small river systems
The National Water Carrier,
1964, brings water from the
north and central regions,
through a network of giant
pipes, aqueducts, open canals,
reservoirs, tunnels, dams and
pumping stations, to the semiarid south.
Mekorot
Science & Technology
Scientific research and its achievements are no
longer merely an abstract intellectual pursuit...
but a central factor... in the life of every civilized
people...
David Ben-Gurion, 1962
Nanotechnology
Electronics
Robotics
Optics, electro-optics
Aeronautics
Computer-based equipment, mostly in software and peripheral fields
Sophisticated medical equipment for both diagnostic and treatment p
Israel's dairy cows are, on average, the world
champions in milk production, having increased the
average yield per cow from 6,300 liters in 1970 to over
10,000 liters today
Engineered seeds and biopesticides to light-degradable
plastics and computerized irrigation/fertilization
systems
Leader in the solar energy field at every level
and the world's largest per capita user of solar
water heaters in the home
Israel Among the Nations
It is Israel's fervent wish to maintain good
relations with all countries, with their
governments and their peoples...
(David Ben-Gurion, 1952)
With memories of centuries of
persecution, the shattering
experience of the holocaust and the
decades-long Arab-Israeli conflict,
Israel's foreign policy has been
geared to advance peace in the
region while ensuring the country's
security and promoting cooperation
with all nations
Since its establishment, Israel has been eager to share with the
international community skills learned from its own development
experience. This desire led to the founding, in 1958, of MASHAV - The
Center for International Cooperation - as a department within the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for the planning and
implementation of Israel's international cooperation program