CHAPTER 1 Introduction Israel is a small country in the Middle East that occupies a narrow strip of territory at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea Known to many as the Holy Land Israel is situated in a land of central importance to three of the world’s major religions Judaism Christianity and Islam and in 1948 it was established as the world’s only Jewish state Since then from being a sparsely occupied country its population has increased over eight times to nearly 8 million The sheer number of new inhabitants has generated many changes in the country social economic and cultural PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Area total 8,020 sq mi 20,770 sq km land 7,850 sq mi 20,330 sq km water 170 sq mi 440 sq km Highest point Har Meron 3,963 ft 1,208 m Lowest point Dead Sea 1,338 ft 408 m Land boundaries total 393 sq mi 1,017 km border countries Egypt 165 miles 266 km Gaza Strip 32 miles 51 km Jordan 148 miles 238 km Lebanon 49 miles 79 km Syria 47 miles 76 km West Bank 190 miles 307 km Coastline 169 miles 273 km Source CIA World Factbook 2008 The Negev Desert takes up most of the southern half of Israel It is a rocky desert full of mountains sandy plains wadis dry riverbeds that flow briefly after rain and deep craters
INTRODUCTION This is a hillside in northern Galilee Some parts of this mountainous region reach heights of over 3,936 ft 1,200 m In between the highlands lie small fertile valleys dotted with orchards and vineyards Three continents Israel is situated at the meeting place of three continents Africa Asia and Europe It is part of Asia while neighboring Egypt belongs to Africa The long narrow country contains fertile valleys barren deserts large lakes rocky mountains and scenic coasts It measures some 279 mi 450 km north to south from the northern village of Metulla on the Lebanese border to the southern city of Elat on the Red Sea At its widest near the desert city of Beersheba Israel is only 112 mi 180 km from east to west A sandy Mediterranean coastline forms the entire western side and its land borders meet the four Arab countries of Lebanon Syria Jordan and Egypt In the south a huge triangle of land known as the Negev Desert narrows at the port of Elat on the Gulf of Aqaba It also contains two lakes that are so enormous they are called seas the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee Both are fed by the Jordan River The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake and the Dead Sea is the world’s saltiest lake Valley beneath the Sea At the bottom of the Dead Sea is the Great Rift Valley a massive crack in the earth’s crust that runs from Syria to southern Africa It runs almost in a straight line from north to south along the entire eastern edge of the country Israel’s major rivers are the Jordan Qishon Yarqon and Yarmuk The Jordan River forms part of the country’s eastern border dividing Israel from the country of Jordan Most of the other waterways are seasonal streams called wadis which flow for part of the year and dry up for the rest Since 1967 Israel has also governed some other areas of land These are the Golan Heights in the northeast the West Bank in the east and until 2005 the Gaza Strip in the southwest Jerusalem the capital city is 262 ft 800 m high in the Judean mountain range 7
ISRAEL This chart shows the climate of Jerusalem Situated in Israel’s central upland area temperatures here are marginally cooler than on the coastal plain Temperature and rainfall in Jerusalem Temperature ºC ºF Maximum Temperature Average Temperature Minimum Temperature 30 86 25 77 63 15 59 10 50 5 41 0 32 Rainfall mm 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 J FMAMJ J A S O N D Source www worldtravelguide net Climate Israel has a Mediterranean climate with long hot dry summers and mild wet winters Between May and September there is hardly any rain at all and about 70 percent of the year’s rain falls between November and February mainly in the north and west In high mountain areas such as Jerusalem some light snow occasionally falls in winter Summers are hot and fairly dry in the mountainous regions but are more humid on the coastal plain Sometimes in late spring and autumn hot dry dusty air moves in from the east and sends temperatures soaring This wind is known as the sharay in Hebrew and the hamsin in Arabic Culture Israel is a unique blend of ancient and modern the old lands that are described in the Bible and the new vibrant developing nation Its culture reflects the diversity of its immigrant population who have brought their customs and traditions from many different places including Eastern Europe Russia the Middle East and North Africa Although Israel is officially a Jewish state people of other faiths also live there About 75 percent of the population is Jewish about a third of the world’s Jews 17 percent is Muslim and the rest is made up of Christians Druze and Bedouin Each community preserves its own culture including religious worship food art literature and social contact Because the two main groups of people are Jews and Arabs the official languages of the country are Hebrew and Arabic Many Israelis speak both languages as well as English Many others still speak the languages of the countries they came from 8
Conflict The conflict between Arabs and Jews in the land now known as Israel occurred long before the country was established in 1948 In the 1890s European and Russian Jews known as Zionists started to settle in Palestine and clashes soon began with the Palestinian Arab inhabitants Since Israel was founded in 1948 the disagreements have continued The Palestinians having lived on the land for many centuries before the Zionists arrived believe that the land is theirs The Jewish claim is based on the fact that in 1947 the United Nations UN partitioned the land into two states one Jewish the other Arab Many Jews also believe that Israel was promised to them by God as stated in the Bible Although the conflict is essentially an argument about who owns the land it is also a religious conflict between Jews and Muslims Violence and wars have erupted frequently since 1948 and a peace settlement has proved difficult to find Israel is bordered by Egypt to the southwest Syria and Jordan to the east and Lebanon to the north Its most important river the Jordan flows from the north through Lake Hule and Lake Kinneret also known as the Sea of Galilee or Sea of Tiberias and empties into the Dead Sea 1,348 ft 411 m below sea level the world’s lowest land elevation 0 0 miles 50 LEBANON kilometres 50 Nahariyya Acre Har Meron SYRIA Golan Heights occupied by Israel Haifa Tiberias Nazareth Lake Tiberias Sea of Galilee MEDITERRANEAN SEA Hadera Netanya Jenin Tulkarm Herzliyya Ramat Gan Tel Aviv-Yafo Bat Yam Rishon le-Ziyyon Rehovot Bene Beraq Petah Tiqwa Nablus WEST BANK occupied by Israel Holon Lod Ashdod Ashqelon Ramallah Jerusalem Bethlehem Jericho n a d r o J r e v i R A E S D A E D Gaza City Hebron GAZA STRIP under control of Palestinian National Authority Beersheba ISRAEL Negev Deser t EGYPT JORDAN Key Capital city Cities over 100,000 people Cities under 100,000 people Mountain Elat SAUDI ARABIA a b a q ulf of A G
