Israel Palästina Silber Gold Münze Friedenstaube Flagge Flügel Gazastreifen Angriff USA

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Verkäufer: checkoutmyunqiuefunitems ✉️ (3.666) 99.9%, Artikelstandort: Manchester, Take a look at my other items, GB, Versand nach: WORLDWIDE, Artikelnummer: 276184604371 Israel Palästina Silber Gold Münze Friedenstaube Flagge Flügel Gazastreifen Angriff USA. Israeli Sign Language (German Sign) Algerian Jewish Sign Language (village sign language). Nissim smiles. Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet in the 1880s. Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin NYWTS. Lionel Bart. Lionel Bart 2 Allan Warren. Israel Palestine Peace Coin This is a Silver & Gold Plated Uncirculated Commemorative Coin One side has the Dove of Peace with the Israeli &  Palestinian Flags as its wings with the words "Israel Palestine - Pray for Peace" The back has a Map of the Middle East with Flags of Each Nation The coin is 40mm and it weighs about an ounce The coins comes in a plastic case It is in Excellent Conditon Please Check out my other Similar Coins >  Check out my other items !   Bid with Confidence - Check My 100% Positive Feedback from over 2000 Satisfied Customers
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I have sold items to coutries such as  Afghanistan * Albania * Algeria * American Samoa (US) * Andorra * Angola * Anguilla (GB) * Antigua and Barbuda * Argentina * Armenia * Aruba (NL) * Australia * Austria * Azerbaijan * Bahamas * Bahrain * Bangladesh * Barbados * Belarus * Belgium * Belize * Benin * Bermuda (GB) * Bhutan * Bolivia * Bonaire (NL)  * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Botswana * Bouvet Island (NO) * Brazil * British Indian Ocean Territory (GB) * British Virgin Islands (GB) * Brunei * Bulgaria * Burkina Faso * Burundi * Cambodia * Cameroon * Canada * Cape Verde * Cayman Islands (GB) * Central African Republic * Chad * Chile * China * Christmas Island (AU) * Cocos Islands (AU) * Colombia * Comoros * Congo * Democratic Republic of the Congo * Cook Islands (NZ) * Coral Sea Islands Territory (AU) * Costa Rica * Croatia * Cuba * Curaçao (NL)  * Cyprus * Czech Republic * Denmark * Djibouti * Dominica * Dominican Republic * East Timor * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * Equatorial Guinea 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* Montserrat (GB) * Morocco * Mozambique * Myanmar * Namibia * Nauru * Navassa (US) * Nepal * Netherlands * New Caledonia (FR) * New Zealand * Nicaragua * Niger * Nigeria * Niue (NZ) * Norfolk Island (AU) * North Korea * Northern Cyprus * Northern Mariana Islands (US) * Norway * Oman * Pakistan * Palau * Palestinian Authority * Panama * Papua New Guinea * Paraguay * Peru * Philippines * Pitcairn Island (GB) * Poland * Portugal * Puerto Rico (US) * Qatar * Reunion (FR) * Romania * Russia * Rwanda * Saba (NL)  * Saint Barthelemy (FR) * Saint Helena (GB) * Saint Kitts and Nevis * Saint Lucia * Saint Martin (FR) * Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FR) * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines * Samoa * San Marino * Sao Tome and Principe * Saudi Arabia * Senegal * Serbia * Seychelles * Sierra Leone * Singapore * Sint Eustatius (NL)  * Sint Maarten (NL)  * Slovakia * Slovenia * Solomon Islands * Somalia * South Africa * South Georgia (GB) * South Korea * South Sudan * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Suriname * Svalbard (NO) * Swaziland * Sweden * Switzerland * Syria * Taiwan * Tajikistan * Tanzania * Thailand * Togo * Tokelau (NZ) * Tonga * Trinidad and Tobago * Tunisia * Turkey * Turkmenistan * Turks and Caicos Islands (GB) * Tuvalu * U.S. Minor Pacific Islands (US) * U.S. Virgin Islands (US) * Uganda * Ukraine * United Arab Emirates * United Kingdom * United States * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vanuatu * Vatican City * Venezuela * Vietnam * Wallis and Futuna (FR) * Yemen * Zambia * Zimbabwe and major cities such as Tokyo, Yokohama, New York City, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Mexico City, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Manila, Mumbai, Delhi, Jakarta, Lagos, Kolkata, Cairo, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Shanghai, Karachi, Paris, Istanbul, Nagoya, Beijing, Chicago, London, Shenzhen, Essen, Düsseldorf, Tehran, Bogota, Lima, Bangkok, Johannesburg, East Rand, Chennai, Taipei, Baghdad, Santiago, Bangalore, Hyderabad, St Petersburg, Philadelphia, Lahore, Kinshasa, Miami, Ho Chi Minh City, Madrid, Tianjin, Kuala Lumpur, Toronto, Milan, Shenyang, Dallas, Fort Worth, Boston, Belo Horizonte, Khartoum, Riyadh, Singapore, Washington, Detroit, Barcelona,, Houston, Athens, Berlin, Sydney, Atlanta, Guadalajara, San Francisco, Oakland, Montreal, Monterey, Melbourne, Ankara, Recife, Phoenix/Mesa, Durban, Porto Alegre, Dalian, Jeddah, Seattle, Cape Town, San Diego, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Rome, Naples, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Tel Aviv, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Manchester, San Juan, Katowice, Tashkent, Fukuoka, Baku, Sumqayit, St. Louis, Baltimore, Sapporo, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Taichung, Warsaw, Denver, Cologne, Bonn, Hamburg, Dubai, Pretoria, Vancouver, Beirut, Budapest, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Campinas, Harare, Brasilia, Kuwait, Munich, Portland, Brussels, Vienna, San Jose, Damman , Copenhagen, Brisbane, Riverside, San Bernardino, Cincinnati and Accra Jews     Article     Talk     Read     View source     View history Tools Extended-protected article From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Jew" redirects here. For the word, see Jew (word). For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation).      The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (September 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Jews יְהוּדִים‬‎ (Yehudim) The Star of David, a common symbol of the Jewish people Total population 15.2–19.9 million Enlarged population (includes full or partial Jewish ancestry): 22.6 million[1] (2022, est.) Regions with significant populations Israel (including occupied territories)    6,905,000–7,401,000[1] United States    6,000,000–11,500,000[1] France    440,000–600,000[1][2] Canada    398,000–550,000[1][3] United Kingdom    312,000–370,000[1][4] Argentina    175,000–310,000[1] Russia    150,000–460,000[1] Germany    118,000–225,000[1] Australia    118,000–145,000[1] Brazil    92,000–150,000[1] South Africa    52,000–75,000[1] Ukraine    43,000–140,000[1] Hungary    47,000–100,000[1] Mexico    40,000–50,000[1] Netherlands    30,000–53,000[1] Belgium    29,000–40,000[1] Italy    27,000–41,000[1] Switzerland    18,000–25,000[1] Chile    16,000–24,000[1] Uruguay    16,000–24,000[1] Turkey    15,000–21,000[1] Sweden    15,000–25,000[1] Languages     Predominantly spoken:[5]         Modern HebrewEnglishRussianFrenchSpanish     Historical:         YiddishLadinoJudeo-Arabicothers     Sacred:         Biblical HebrewBiblical AramaicTalmudic Aramaic Religion Judaism Related ethnic groups     Semitic-speaking peoples such as Samaritans,[6][7][8] Arabs,[7][9][10][11] Assyrians,[12] and Levantines[7][11][8] שָׁלוֹם This article contains Hebrew text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hebrew letters. Part of a series on Jews and Judaism     Etymology Who is a Jew? Religion     God in Judaism (names) Principles of faith Mitzvot (613) Halakha Shabbat Holidays Prayer Tzedakah Land of Israel Brit Bar and bat mitzvah Marriage Bereavement Philosophy Ethics Kabbalah Customs Rites Synagogue Rabbi Texts Tanakh     Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Talmud     Mishnah Gemara Rabbinic     Midrash Tosefta     Targum Beit Yosef Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Zohar Communities     Ashkenazim         Galician Litvak Mizrahim Sephardim Teimanim Beta Israel Gruzinim Juhurim Bukharim Italkim Romanyotim Cochinim Bene Israel Berber Related groups     Bnei Anusim Lemba Crimean Karaites Krymchaks Kaifeng Jews Igbo Jews Samaritans Crypto-Jews         Anusim Dönmeh Marranos Neofiti Xueta Mosaic Arabs Subbotniks Noahides Population     Judaism by country Lists of Jews Diaspora Historical population by country Genetic studies Land of Israel     Old Yishuv New Yishuv Israeli Jews Africa     Algeria Angola Bilad-el-Sudan Botswana Cameroon Cape Verde Benin Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Eritrea Eswatini Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nigeria (Igbo) Republic of the Congo São Tomé and Príncipe Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Tanzania Tunisia Uganda (Abayudaya) Zambia Zimbabwe Asia     Afghanistan Bahrain Cambodia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kurdistan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia South Korea Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Taiwan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen Europe     Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Bulgaria Cyprus Czech lands Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Italy Latvia Lithuania Moldova Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Spain Sweden Ukraine United Kingdom Northern America     Canada United States Latin America and Caribbean     Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guyana Haiti Jamaica Mexico Paraguay Peru Puerto Rico Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Oceania     Australia Fiji Guam New Zealand Palau Denominations     Orthodox         Modern Haredi Hasidic Reform Conservative Karaite Reconstructionist Renewal Science Haymanot Humanistic Culture     Yiddish theatre Dance Humour Minyan Wedding Clothing Niddah Pidyon haben Kashrut Shidduch Zeved habat Conversion to Judaism Hiloni Music     Religious Secular Cuisine     American Ashkenazi Bukharan Ethiopian Israeli Israelite Mizrahi Sephardic Yemenite Literature     Israeli Yiddish American Languages     Hebrew         Biblical Yiddish Yeshivish Jewish Koine Greek Yevanic Juhuri Shassi Judaeo-Iranian Ladino Judeo-Gascon Ghardaïa Sign Bukharian Knaanic Zarphatic Italkian Gruzinic/Judaeo-Georgian Judeo-Aramaic Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Berber Judeo-Malayalam History     Historiography Timeline Name "Judea"     Leaders Twelve Tribes of Israel Ancient history Kingdom of Judah Temple in Jerusalem Babylonian captivity Assyrian captivity Yehud Medinata Second Temple Jerusalem (in Judaism timeline) Hasmonean dynasty Sanhedrin Schisms Pharisees Sadducees Essenes Bana'im Hemerobaptists Maghāriya Hellenistic Judaism Jewish–Roman wars History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire Christianity and Judaism (Jews and Christmas) Hinduism and Judaism Islamic–Jewish relations Middle Ages Khazars Golden Age Sabbateans Hasidism Haskalah Emancipation Antisemitism Anti-Judaism Persecution The Holocaust Israel Land of Israel Aliyah Jewish atheism Baal teshuva Arab–Israeli conflict Historical population comparisons Politics Jewish political movements     Anarchism Autonomism Bundism Feminism Leftism Secularism Territorialism World Agudath Israel Zionism     General Green Labor Kahanism Maximalism Neo-Zionism Religious Revisionist Post-Zionism     Category Portal     vte The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים‎, ISO 259-2: Yehudim, Israeli pronunciation: [jehuˈdim]) or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group[13] originating from the ancient Hebrews[14][15][16] or Israelites,[17][18][19] and whose traditional religion is Judaism.[14][20] Jewish ethnicity, religion and community are highly interrelated,[21][22] as Judaism is an ethnic religion,[23][24] although not all Jews follow it.[25][26] Despite this, practising Jews regard individuals who formally converted to Judaism as part of the community.[27][28] The Jewish people trace their origins to the Israelites, a people that emerged from within the Canaanite population to establish the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah.[29] Judaism emerged from Yahwism, the religion of the Israelites, by the late 6th century BCE,[30] with a theology considered by religious Jews to be the expression of a covenant with God established with the Israelites, their ancestors.[31] The Babylonian captivity of Judahites following their kingdom's destruction,[32] the movement of Jewish groups around the Mediterranean in the Hellenistic period, and subsequent periods of conflict and violent dispersion, such as the Jewish–Roman wars, gave rise to the Jewish diaspora. The Jewish diaspora is a wide dispersion of Jewish communities across the world that have maintained their sense of Jewish history, identity and culture.[33] In the following millennia, Jewish diaspora communities coalesced into three major ethnic subdivisions according to where their ancestors settled: the Ashkenazim (Central and Eastern Europe), the Sephardim (initially in the Iberian Peninsula), and the Mizrahim (Middle East and North Africa).[34][35] Prior to World War II, the global Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million,[36] representing around 0.7 percent of the world population at that time. During World War II, approximately 6 million Jews throughout Europe were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.[37][38] Since then, the population has slowly risen again, and as of 2021, was estimated to be at 15.2–19.9 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank,[1] comprising less than 0.2 percent of the total world population.[39][note 1] The modern State of Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. Jews have significantly influenced and contributed to the development and growth of human progress in many fields, both historically and in modern times, including in science and technology,[41] philosophy,[42] ethics,[43] literature,[41] governance,[41] business,[41] art, music, comedy, theatre,[44] cinema, architecture,[41] food, medicine,[45][46] and religion. Jews wrote the Bible,[47][48] founded Christianity,[49] and had an indirect but profound influence on Islam.[50] In these ways, Jews have also played a significant role in the development of Western culture.[51][52] Name and etymology Main article: Jew (word) For a more comprehensive list, see List of Jewish ethnonyms. The term Jew is derived from Hebrew יְהוּדִי Yehudi, originally the term for the people of the Israelite kingdom of Judah. According to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe of Judah and the kingdom of Judah derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob.[53] Genesis 29:35 and 49:8 connect the name "Judah" with the verb yada, meaning "praise", but scholars generally agree that the name of both the patriarch and the kingdom instead have a geographic origin—possibly referring to the gorges and ravines of the region.[54][55] The shift of ethnonym from "Israelites" to "Jews" (inhabitant of Judah), although not contained in the Torah, is made explicit in the Book of Esther (4th century BCE),[56] a book in the Ketuvim, the third section of the Jewish Tanakh. The Hebrew word for "Jew" is יְהוּדִי Yehudi, with the plural יְהוּדִים Yehudim.[57] Endonyms in other Jewish languages include the Ladino ג׳ודיו Djudio (plural ג׳ודיוס, Djudios) and the Yiddish ייִד Yid (plural ייִדן Yidn). The English word "Jew" continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe. These terms were loaned via the Old French giu, which itself evolved from the earlier juieu, which in turn derived from judieu/iudieu which through elision had dropped the letter "d" from the Medieval Latin Iudaeus, which, like the New Testament Greek term Ioudaios, meant both "Jew" and "Judean" / "of Judea".[58] The Greek term was a loan from Aramaic *yahūdāy, corresponding to Hebrew יְהוּדִי Yehudi.[53] The etymological equivalent is in use in other languages, e.g., يَهُودِيّ yahūdī (sg.), al-yahūd (pl.), in Arabic, "Jude" in German, "judeu" in Portuguese, "Juif" (m.)/"Juive" (f.) in French, "jøde" in Danish and Norwegian, "judío/a" in Spanish, "jood" in Dutch, "żyd" in Polish etc., but derivations of the word "Hebrew" are also in use to describe a Jew, e.g., in Italian (Ebreo), in Persian ("Ebri/Ebrani" (Persian: عبری/عبرانی)) and Russian (Еврей, Yevrey).[59] The German word "Jude" is pronounced [ˈjuːdə], the corresponding adjective "jüdisch" [ˈjyːdɪʃ] (Jewish) is the origin of the word "Yiddish".[60] According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, fourth edition (2000),     It is widely recognized that the attributive use of the noun Jew, in phrases such as Jew lawyer or Jew ethics, is both vulgar and highly offensive. In such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a practice that carries risks of its own. In a sentence such as There are now several Jews on the council, which is unobjectionable, the substitution of a circumlocution like Jewish people or persons of Jewish background may in itself cause offense for seeming to imply that Jew has a negative connotation when used as a noun.[61]      Judaism portal     vte The Jewish people and the religion of Judaism are strongly interrelated. Converts to Judaism typically have a status within the Jewish ethnos equal to those born into it.[158] However, several converts to Judaism, as well as ex-Jews, have claimed that converts are treated as second-class Jews by many born Jews.[159] Conversion is not encouraged by mainstream Judaism, and it is considered a difficult task. A significant portion of conversions are undertaken by children of mixed marriages, or would-be or current spouses of Jews.[160] The Hebrew Bible, a religious interpretation of the traditions and early history of the Jews, established the first of the Abrahamic religions, which are now practiced by 54 percent of the world. Judaism guides its adherents in both practice and belief, and has been called not only a religion, but also a "way of life,"[161] which has made drawing a clear distinction between Judaism, Jewish culture, and Jewish identity rather difficult. Throughout history, in eras and places as diverse as the ancient Hellenic world,[162] in Europe before and after The Age of Enlightenment (see Haskalah),[163] in Islamic Spain and Portugal,[164] in North Africa and the Middle East,[164] India,[165] China,[166] or the contemporary United States[167] and Israel,[168] cultural phenomena have developed that are in some sense characteristically Jewish without being at all specifically religious. Some factors in this come from within Judaism, others from the interaction of Jews or specific communities of Jews with their surroundings, and still others from the inner social and cultural dynamics of the community, as opposed to from the religion itself. This phenomenon has led to considerably different Jewish cultures unique to their own communities.[169] Languages Main article: Jewish languages Hebrew is the liturgical language of Judaism (termed lashon ha-kodesh, "the holy tongue"), the language in which most of the Hebrew scriptures (Tanakh) were composed, and the daily speech of the Jewish people for centuries. By the 5th century BCE, Aramaic, a closely related tongue, joined Hebrew as the spoken language in Judea.[170] By the 3rd century BCE, some Jews of the diaspora were speaking Greek.[171] Others, such as in the Jewish communities of Asoristan, known to Jews as Babylonia, were speaking Hebrew and Aramaic, the languages of the Babylonian Talmud. Dialects of these same languages were also used by the Jews of Syria Palaestina at that time.[citation needed] For centuries, Jews worldwide have spoken the local or dominant languages of the regions they migrated to, often developing distinctive dialectal forms or branches that became independent languages. Yiddish is the Judaeo-German language developed by Ashkenazi Jews who migrated to Central Europe. Ladino is the Judaeo-Spanish language developed by Sephardic Jews who migrated to the Iberian peninsula. Due to many factors, including the impact of the Holocaust on European Jewry, the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries, and widespread emigration from other Jewish communities around the world, ancient and distinct Jewish languages of several communities, including Judaeo-Georgian, Judaeo-Arabic, Judaeo-Berber, Krymchak, Judaeo-Malayalam and many others, have largely fallen out of use.[5] Tombstone of the Maharal in the Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague. The tombstones are inscribed in Hebrew. For over sixteen centuries Hebrew was used almost exclusively as a liturgical language, and as the language in which most books had been written on Judaism, with a few speaking only Hebrew on the Sabbath.[172] Hebrew was revived as a spoken language by Eliezer ben Yehuda, who arrived in Palestine in 1881. It had not been used as a mother tongue since Tannaic times.[170] Modern Hebrew is designated as the "State language" of Israel.[173] Despite efforts to revive Hebrew as the national language of the Jewish people, knowledge of the language is not commonly possessed by Jews worldwide and English has emerged as the lingua franca of the Jewish diaspora.[174][175][176][177][178] Although many Jews once had sufficient knowledge of Hebrew to study the classic literature, and Jewish languages like Yiddish and Ladino were commonly used as recently as the early 20th century, most Jews lack such knowledge today and English has by and large superseded most Jewish vernaculars. The three most commonly spoken languages among Jews today are Hebrew, English, and Russian. Some Romance languages, particularly French and Spanish, are also widely used.[5] Yiddish has been spoken by more Jews in history than any other language,[179] but it is far less used today following the Holocaust and the adoption of Modern Hebrew by the Zionist movement and the State of Israel. In some places, the mother language of the Jewish community differs from that of the general population or the dominant group. For example, in Quebec, the Ashkenazic majority has adopted English, while the Sephardic minority uses French as its primary language.[180][181][182] Similarly, South African Jews adopted English rather than Afrikaans.[183] Due to both Czarist and Soviet policies,[184][185] Russian has superseded Yiddish as the language of Russian Jews, but these policies have also affected neighboring communities.[186] Today, Russian is the first language for many Jewish communities in a number of Post-Soviet states, such as Ukraine[187][188][189][190] and Uzbekistan,[191][better source needed] as well as for Ashkenazic Jews in Azerbaijan,[192][193] Georgia,[194] and Tajikistan.[195][196] Although communities in North Africa today are small and dwindling, Jews there had shifted from a multilingual group to a monolingual one (or nearly so), speaking French in Algeria,[197] Morocco,[192] and the city of Tunis,[198][199] while most North Africans continue to use Arabic or Berber as their mother tongue.[citation needed] Leadership Main article: Jewish leadership There is no single governing body for the Jewish community, nor a single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine.[200] Instead, a variety of secular and religious institutions at the local, national, and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community on a variety of issues.[201] Today, many countries have a Chief Rabbi who serves as a representative of that country's Jewry. Although many Hasidic Jews follow a certain hereditary Hasidic dynasty, there is no one commonly accepted leader of all Hasidic Jews. Many Jews believe that the Messiah will act a unifying leader for Jews and the entire world.[202] Theories on ancient Jewish national identity Bible manuscript in Hebrew, 14th century. Hebrew language and alphabet were the cornerstones of the Jewish national identity in antiquity. A number of modern scholars of nationalism support the existence of Jewish national identity in antiquity. One of them is David Goodblatt,[203] who generally believes in the existence of nationalism before the modern period. In his view, the Bible, the parabiblical literature and the Jewish national history provide the base for a Jewish collective identity. Although many of the ancient Jews were illiterate (as were their neighbors), their national narrative was reinforced through public readings. The Hebrew language also constructed and preserved national identity. Although it was not widely spoken after the 5th century BCE, Goodblatt states:[204][205]     the mere presence of the language in spoken or written form could invoke the concept of a Jewish national identity. Even if one knew no Hebrew or was illiterate, one could recognize that a group of signs was in Hebrew script. … It was the language of the Israelite ancestors, the national literature, and the national religion. As such it was inseparable from the national identity. Indeed its mere presence in visual or aural medium could invoke that identity. It is believed that Jewish nationalist sentiment in antiquity was encouraged because under foreign rule (Persians, Greeks, Romans) Jews were able to claim that they were an ancient nation. This claim was based on the preservation and reverence of their scriptures, the Hebrew language, the Temple and priesthood, and other traditions of their ancestors.[206] Demographics Further information: Jewish population by country Ethnic divisions Main article: Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews of late-19th-century Eastern Europe portrayed in Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur (1878), by Maurycy Gottlieb Sephardi Jewish couple from Sarajevo in traditional clothing. Photo taken in 1900. Yemenite Jew blows shofar, 1947 Within the world's Jewish population there are distinct ethnic divisions, most of which are primarily the result of geographic branching from an originating Israelite population, and subsequent independent evolutions. An array of Jewish communities was established by Jewish settlers in various places around the Old World, often at great distances from one another, resulting in effective and often long-term isolation. During the millennia of the Jewish diaspora the communities would develop under the influence of their local environments: political, cultural, natural, and populational. Today, manifestations of these differences among the Jews can be observed in Jewish cultural expressions of each community, including Jewish linguistic diversity, culinary preferences, liturgical practices, religious interpretations, as well as degrees and sources of genetic admixture.[207] Jews are often identified as belonging to one of two major groups: the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim. Ashkenazim, or "Germanics" (Ashkenaz meaning "Germany" in Hebrew), are so named denoting their German Jewish cultural and geographical origins, while Sephardim, or "Hispanics" (Sefarad meaning "Spain/Hispania" or "Iberia" in Hebrew), are so named denoting their Spanish/Portuguese Jewish cultural and geographic origins. The more common term in Israel for many of those broadly called Sephardim, is Mizrahim (lit. "Easterners", Mizrach being "East" in Hebrew), that is, in reference to the diverse collection of Middle Eastern and North African Jews who are often, as a group, referred to collectively as Sephardim (together with Sephardim proper) for liturgical reasons, although Mizrahi Jewish groups and Sephardi Jews proper are ethnically distinct.[208] Smaller groups include, but are not restricted to, Indian Jews such as the Bene Israel, Bnei Menashe, Cochin Jews, and Bene Ephraim; the Romaniotes of Greece; the Italian Jews ("Italkim" or "Bené Roma"); the Teimanim from Yemen; various African Jews, including most numerously the Beta Israel of Ethiopia; and Chinese Jews, most notably the Kaifeng Jews, as well as various other distinct but now almost extinct communities.[209] The divisions between all these groups are approximate and their boundaries are not always clear. The Mizrahim for example, are a heterogeneous collection of North African, Central Asian, Caucasian, and Middle Eastern Jewish communities that are no closer related to each other than they are to any of the earlier mentioned Jewish groups. In modern usage, however, the Mizrahim are sometimes termed Sephardi due to similar styles of liturgy, despite independent development from Sephardim proper. Thus, among Mizrahim there are Egyptian Jews, Iraqi Jews, Lebanese Jews, Kurdish Jews, Moroccan Jews, Libyan Jews, Syrian Jews, Bukharian Jews, Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, Iranian Jews, Afghan Jews, and various others. The Teimanim from Yemen are sometimes included, although their style of liturgy is unique and they differ in respect to the admixture found among them to that found in Mizrahim. In addition, there is a differentiation made between Sephardi migrants who established themselves in the Middle East and North Africa after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s and the pre-existing Jewish communities in those regions.[209] Ashkenazi Jews represent the bulk of modern Jewry, with at least 70 percent of Jews worldwide (and up to 90 percent prior to World War II and the Holocaust). As a result of their emigration from Europe, Ashkenazim also represent the overwhelming majority of Jews in the New World continents, in countries such as the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and Brazil. In France, the immigration of Jews from Algeria (Sephardim) has led them to outnumber the Ashkenazim.[209] Only in Israel is the Jewish population representative of all groups, a melting pot independent of each group's proportion within the overall world Jewish population.[210] Genetic studies Main article: Genetic studies on Jews Y DNA studies tend to imply a small number of founders in an old population whose members parted and followed different migration paths.[211] In most Jewish populations, these male line ancestors appear to have been mainly Middle Eastern. For example, Ashkenazi Jews share more common paternal lineages with other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than with non-Jewish populations in areas where Jews lived in Eastern Europe, Germany, and the French Rhine Valley. This is consistent with Jewish traditions in placing most Jewish paternal origins in the region of the Middle East.[212][213] Conversely, the maternal lineages of Jewish populations, studied by looking at mitochondrial DNA, are generally more heterogeneous.[214] Scholars such as Harry Ostrer and Raphael Falk believe this indicates that many Jewish males found new mates from European and other communities in the places where they migrated in the diaspora after fleeing ancient Israel.[215] In contrast, Behar has found evidence that about 40 percent of Ashkenazi Jews originate maternally from just four female founders, who were of Middle Eastern origin. The populations of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish communities "showed no evidence for a narrow founder effect."[214] Subsequent studies carried out by Feder et al. confirmed the large portion of non-local maternal origin among Ashkenazi Jews. Reflecting on their findings related to the maternal origin of Ashkenazi Jews, the authors conclude "Clearly, the differences between Jews and non-Jews are far larger than those observed among the Jewish communities. Hence, differences between the Jewish communities can be overlooked when non-Jews are included in the comparisons."[12][216][217] A study showed that 7% of Ashkenazi Jews have the haplogroup G2c, which is mainly found in Pashtuns and on lower scales all major Jewish groups, Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese.[218][219] Studies of autosomal DNA, which look at the entire DNA mixture, have become increasingly important as the technology develops. They show that Jewish populations have tended to form relatively closely related groups in independent communities, with most in a community sharing significant ancestry in common.[220] For Jewish populations of the diaspora, the genetic composition of Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi Jewish populations show a predominant amount of shared Middle Eastern ancestry. According to Behar, the most parsimonious explanation for this shared Middle Eastern ancestry is that it is "consistent with the historical formulation of the Jewish people as descending from ancient Hebrew and Israelite residents of the Levant" and "the dispersion of the people of ancient Israel throughout the Old World".[221] North African, Italian and others of Iberian origin show variable frequencies of admixture with non-Jewish historical host populations among the maternal lines. In the case of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews (in particular Moroccan Jews), who are closely related, the source of non-Jewish admixture is mainly Southern European, while Mizrahi Jews show evidence of admixture with other Middle Eastern populations. Behar et al. have remarked on a close relationship between Ashkenazi Jews and modern Italians.[221][222] A 2001 study found that Jews were more closely related to groups of the Fertile Crescent (Kurds, Turks, and Armenians) than to their Arab neighbors, whose genetic signature was found in geographic patterns reflective of Islamic conquests.[212][223] The studies also show that Sephardic Bnei Anusim (descendants of the "anusim" who were forced to convert to Catholicism), which comprise up to 19.8 percent of the population of today's Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and at least 10 percent of the population of Ibero-America (Hispanic America and Brazil), have Sephardic Jewish ancestry within the last few centuries. The Bene Israel and Cochin Jews of India, Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and a portion of the Lemba people of Southern Africa, despite more closely resembling the local populations of their native countries, have also been thought to have some more remote ancient Jewish ancestry.[224][221][225][217] Views on the Lemba have changed and genetic Y-DNA analyses in the 2000s have established a partially Middle-Eastern origin for a portion of the male Lemba population but have been unable to narrow this down further.[226][227] Population centers For a more comprehensive list, see List of urban areas by Jewish population. New York City is home to 1.1 million Jews, making it the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. Although historically, Jews have been found all over the world, in the decades since World War II and the establishment of Israel, they have increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries.[228][229] In 2013, the United States and Israel were collectively home to more than 80 percent of the global Jewish population, each country having approximately 41 percent of the world's Jews.[230] According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics there were 13,421,000 Jews worldwide in 2009, roughly 0.19 percent of the world's population at the time.[231] According to the 2007 estimates of The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, the world's Jewish population is 13.2 million.[232] Adherents.com cites figures ranging from 12 to 18 million.[233] These statistics incorporate both practicing Jews affiliated with synagogues and the Jewish community, and approximately 4.5 million unaffiliated and secular Jews.[citation needed] According to Sergio Della Pergola, a demographer of the Jewish population, in 2015 there were about 6.3 million Jews in Israel, 5.7 million in the United States, and 2.3 million in the rest of the world.[234] Israel Main article: Israeli Jews Jewish people in Jerusalem, Israel Israel, the Jewish nation-state, is the only country in which Jews make up a majority of the citizens.[235] Israel was established as an independent democratic and Jewish state on 14 May 1948.[236] Of the 120 members in its parliament, the Knesset,[237] as of 2016, 14 members of the Knesset are Arab citizens of Israel (not including the Druze), most representing Arab political parties. One of Israel's Supreme Court judges is also an Arab citizen of Israel.[238] Between 1948 and 1958, the Jewish population rose from 800,000 to two million.[239] Currently, Jews account for 75.4 percent of the Israeli population, or 6 million people.[240][241] The early years of the State of Israel were marked by the mass immigration of Holocaust survivors in the aftermath of the Holocaust and Jews fleeing Arab lands.[242] Israel also has a large population of Ethiopian Jews, many of whom were airlifted to Israel in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[243][better source needed] Between 1974 and 1979 nearly 227,258 immigrants arrived in Israel, about half being from the Soviet Union.[244] This period also saw an increase in immigration to Israel from Western Europe, Latin America, and North America.[245] A trickle of immigrants from other communities has also arrived, including Indian Jews and others, as well as some descendants of Ashkenazi Holocaust survivors who had settled in countries such as the United States, Argentina, Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Some Jews have emigrated from Israel elsewhere, because of economic problems or disillusionment with political conditions and the continuing Arab–Israeli conflict. Jewish Israeli emigrants are known as yordim.[246] Diaspora (outside Israel) Main article: Jewish diaspora In this Rosh Hashana greeting card from the early 1900s, Russian Jews, packs in hand, gaze at the American relatives beckoning them to the United States. Over two million Jews fled the pogroms of the Russian Empire to the safety of the U.S. between 1881 and 1924.[247] A menorah dominating the main square in Birobidzhan. An estimated 70,000 Jews live in Siberia.[248] The waves of immigration to the United States and elsewhere at the turn of the 19th century, the founding of Zionism and later events, including pogroms in Imperial Russia (mostly within the Pale of Settlement in present-day Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and eastern Poland), the massacre of European Jewry during the Holocaust, and the founding of the state of Israel, with the subsequent Jewish exodus from Arab lands, all resulted in substantial shifts in the population centers of world Jewry by the end of the 20th century.[249] More than half of the Jews live in the Diaspora (see Population table). Currently, the largest Jewish community outside Israel, and either the largest or second-largest Jewish community in the world, is located in the United States, with 5.2 million to 6.4 million Jews by various estimates. Elsewhere in the Americas, there are also large Jewish populations in Canada (315,000), Argentina (180,000–300,000), and Brazil (196,000–600,000), and smaller populations in Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Chile, Colombia and several other countries (see History of the Jews in Latin America).[250] According to a 2010 Pew Research Center study, about 470,000 people of Jewish heritage live in Latin-America and the Caribbean.[251] Demographers disagree on whether the United States has a larger Jewish population than Israel, with many maintaining that Israel surpassed the United States in Jewish population during the 2000s, while others maintain that the United States still has the largest Jewish population in the world. Currently, a major national Jewish population survey is planned to ascertain whether or not Israel has overtaken the United States in Jewish population.[252] The Jewish Zionist Youth Movement in Tallinn, Estonia on 1 September 1933 Western Europe's largest Jewish community, and the third-largest Jewish community in the world, can be found in France, home to between 483,000 and 500,000 Jews, the majority of whom are immigrants or refugees from North African countries such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia (or their descendants).[253] The United Kingdom has a Jewish community of 292,000. In Eastern Europe, the exact figures are difficult to establish. The number of Jews in Russia varies widely according to whether a source uses census data (which requires a person to choose a single nationality among choices that include "Russian" and "Jewish") or eligibility for immigration to Israel (which requires that a person have one or more Jewish grandparents). According to the latter criteria, the heads of the Russian Jewish community assert that up to 1.5 million Russians are eligible for aliyah.[254][255] In Germany, the 102,000 Jews registered with the Jewish community are a slowly declining population,[256] despite the immigration of tens of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union since the fall of the Berlin Wall.[257] Thousands of Israelis also live in Germany, either permanently or temporarily, for economic reasons.[258] Prior to 1948, approximately 800,000 Jews were living in lands which now make up the Arab world (excluding Israel). Of these, just under two-thirds lived in the French-controlled Maghreb region, 15 to 20 percent in the Kingdom of Iraq, approximately 10 percent in the Kingdom of Egypt and approximately 7 percent in the Kingdom of Yemen. A further 200,000 lived in Pahlavi Iran and the Republic of Turkey. Today, around 26,000 Jews live in Arab countries[259] and around 30,000 in Iran and Turkey. A small-scale exodus had begun in many countries in the early decades of the 20th century, although the only substantial aliyah came from Yemen and Syria.[260] The exodus from Arab and Muslim countries took place primarily from 1948. The first large-scale exoduses took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily in Iraq, Yemen and Libya, with up to 90 percent of these communities leaving within a few years. The peak of the exodus from Egypt occurred in 1956. The exodus in the Maghreb countries peaked in the 1960s. Lebanon was the only Arab country to see a temporary increase in its Jewish population during this period, due to an influx of refugees from other Arab countries, although by the mid-1970s the Jewish community of Lebanon had also dwindled. In the aftermath of the exodus wave from Arab states, an additional migration of Iranian Jews peaked in the 1980s when around 80 percent of Iranian Jews left the country.[citation needed] Outside Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and the rest of Asia, there are significant Jewish populations in Australia (112,500) and South Africa (70,000).[36] There is also a 6,800-strong community in New Zealand.[261] Demographic changes Main article: Historical Jewish population comparisons Assimilation Main articles: Jewish assimilation and Interfaith marriage in Judaism Since at least the time of the Ancient Greeks, a proportion of Jews have assimilated into the wider non-Jewish society around them, by either choice or force, ceasing to practice Judaism and losing their Jewish identity.[262] Assimilation took place in all areas, and during all time periods,[262] with some Jewish communities, for example the Kaifeng Jews of China, disappearing entirely.[263] The advent of the Jewish Enlightenment of the 18th century (see Haskalah) and the subsequent emancipation of the Jewish populations of Europe and America in the 19th century, accelerated the situation, encouraging Jews to increasingly participate in, and become part of, secular society. The result has been a growing trend of assimilation, as Jews marry non-Jewish spouses and stop participating in the Jewish community.[264] Rates of interreligious marriage vary widely: In the United States, it is just under 50 percent,[265] in the United Kingdom, around 53 percent; in France; around 30 percent,[266] and in Australia and Mexico, as low as 10 percent.[267] In the United States, only about a third of children from intermarriages affiliate with Jewish religious practice.[268] The result is that most countries in the Diaspora have steady or slightly declining religiously Jewish populations as Jews continue to assimilate into the countries in which they live.[citation needed] War and persecution Further information: Persecution of Jews, Antisemitism, and Jewish military history The Roman Emperor Nero sends Vespasian with an army to destroy the Jews, 69 CE. The Jewish people and Judaism have experienced various persecutions throughout Jewish history. During Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages the Roman Empire (in its later phases known as the Byzantine Empire) repeatedly repressed the Jewish population, first by ejecting them from their homelands during the pagan Roman era and later by officially establishing them as second-class citizens during the Christian Roman era.[269][270] According to James Carroll, "Jews accounted for 10% of the total population of the Roman Empire. By that ratio, if other factors had not intervened, there would be 200 million Jews in the world today, instead of something like 13 million."[271] Later in medieval Western Europe, further persecutions of Jews by Christians occurred, notably during the Crusades—when Jews all over Germany were massacred—and in a series of expulsions from the Kingdom of England, Germany, and France. Then there occurred the largest expulsion of all, when Spain and Portugal, after the Reconquista (the Catholic Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula), expelled both unbaptized Sephardic Jews and the ruling Muslim Moors.[272][273] In the Papal States, which existed until 1870, Jews were required to live only in specified neighborhoods called ghettos.[274] World War I poster showing a soldier cutting the bonds from a Jewish man, who says, "You have cut my bonds and set me free—now let me help you set others free!" Islam and Judaism have a complex relationship. Traditionally Jews and Christians living in Muslim lands, known as dhimmis, were allowed to practice their religions and administer their internal affairs, but they were subject to certain conditions.[275] They had to pay the jizya (a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-Muslim males) to the Islamic state.[275] Dhimmis had an inferior status under Islamic rule. They had several social and legal disabilities such as prohibitions against bearing arms or giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims.[276] Many of the disabilities were highly symbolic. The one described by Bernard Lewis as "most degrading"[277] was the requirement of distinctive clothing, not found in the Quran or hadith but invented in early medieval Baghdad; its enforcement was highly erratic.[277] On the other hand, Jews rarely faced martyrdom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and they were mostly free in their choice of residence and profession.[278] Notable exceptions include the massacre of Jews and forcible conversion of some Jews by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in Al-Andalus in the 12th century,[279] as well as in Islamic Persia,[280] and the forced confinement of Moroccan Jews to walled quarters known as mellahs beginning from the 15th century and especially in the early 19th century.[281] In modern times, it has become commonplace for standard antisemitic themes to be conflated with anti-Zionist publications and pronouncements of Islamic movements such as Hezbollah and Hamas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of Turkish Refah Partisi."[282][better source needed] Throughout history, many rulers, empires and nations have oppressed their Jewish populations or sought to eliminate them entirely. Methods employed ranged from expulsion to outright genocide; within nations, often the threat of these extreme methods was sufficient to silence dissent. The history of antisemitism includes the First Crusade which resulted in the massacre of Jews;[272] the Spanish Inquisition (led by Tomás de Torquemada) and the Portuguese Inquisition, with their persecution and autos-da-fé against the New Christians and Marrano Jews;[283] the Bohdan Chmielnicki Cossack massacres in Ukraine;[284] the Pogroms backed by the Russian Tsars;[285] as well as expulsions from Spain, Portugal, England, France, Germany, and other countries in which the Jews had settled.[273] According to a 2008 study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, 19.8 percent of the modern Iberian population has Sephardic Jewish ancestry,[286] indicating that the number of conversos may have been much higher than originally thought.[287][288] Jews in Minsk, 1941. Before World War II, some 40 percent of the population was Jewish. By the time the Red Army retook the city on 3 July 1944, there were only a few Jewish survivors. The persecution reached a peak in Nazi Germany's Final Solution, which led to the Holocaust and the slaughter of approximately 6 million Jews.[289] Of the world's 16 million Jews in 1939, almost 40% were murdered in the Holocaust.[290] The Holocaust—the state-led systematic persecution and genocide of European Jews (and certain communities of North African Jews in European controlled North Africa) and other minority groups of Europe during World War II by Germany and its collaborators—remains the most notable modern-day persecution of Jews.[291] The persecution and genocide were accomplished in stages. Legislation to remove the Jews from civil society was enacted years before the outbreak of World War II.[292] Concentration camps were established in which inmates were used as slave labour until they died of exhaustion or disease.[293] Where the Third Reich conquered new territory in Eastern Europe, specialized units called Einsatzgruppen murdered Jews and political opponents in mass shootings.[294] Jews and Roma were crammed into ghettos before being transported hundreds of kilometres by freight train to extermination camps where, if they survived the journey, the majority of them were murdered in gas chambers.[295] Virtually every arm of Germany's bureaucracy was involved in the logistics of the mass murder, turning the country into what one Holocaust scholar has called "a genocidal nation."[296] Migrations Further information: Expulsions of Jews Expulsions of Jews in Europe from 1100 to 1600 Throughout Jewish history, Jews have repeatedly been directly or indirectly expelled from both their original homeland, the Land of Israel, and many of the areas in which they have settled. This experience as refugees has shaped Jewish identity and religious practice in many ways, and is thus a major element of Jewish history.[297] The patriarch Abraham is described as a migrant to the land of Canaan from Ur of the Chaldees[298] after an attempt on his life by King Nimrod.[299] His descendants, the Children of Israel, in the Biblical story (whose historicity is uncertain) undertook the Exodus (meaning "departure" or "exit" in Greek) from ancient Egypt, as recorded in the Book of Exodus.[300] Etching of the expulsion of the Jews from Frankfurt in 1614. The text says: "1380 persons old and young were counted at the exit of the gate". Jews fleeing pogroms, 1882 Centuries later, Assyrian policy was to deport and displace conquered peoples, and it is estimated some 4,500,000 among captive populations suffered this dislocation over three centuries of Assyrian rule.[301] With regard to Israel, Tiglath-Pileser III claims he deported 80% of the population of Lower Galilee, some 13,520 people.[302] Some 27,000 Israelites, 20 to 25% of the population of the Kingdom of Israel, were described as being deported by Sargon II, and were replaced by other deported populations and sent into permanent exile by Assyria, initially to the Upper Mesopotamian provinces of the Assyrian Empire.[303][304] Between 10,000 and 80,000 people from the Kingdom of Judah were similarly exiled by Babylonia,[301] but these people were then returned to Judea by Cyrus the Great of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.[305] Many Jews were exiled again by the Roman Empire.[306] The 2,000 year dispersion of the Jewish diaspora beginning under the Roman Empire,[citation needed] as Jews were spread throughout the Roman world and, driven from land to land,[citation needed] settled wherever they could live freely enough to practice their religion. Over the course of the diaspora the center of Jewish life moved from Babylonia[307] to the Iberian Peninsula[308] to Poland[309] to the United States[310] and, as a result of Zionism, back to Israel.[311] There were also many expulsions of Jews during the Middle Ages and Enlightenment in Europe, including: 1290, 16,000 Jews were expelled from England, see the (Statute of Jewry); in 1396, 100,000 from France; in 1421, thousands were expelled from Austria. Many of these Jews settled in East-Central Europe, especially Poland.[312] Following the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, the Spanish population of around 200,000 Sephardic Jews were expelled by the Spanish crown and Catholic church, followed by expulsions in 1493 in Sicily (37,000 Jews) and Portugal in 1496. The expelled Jews fled mainly to the Ottoman Empire, the Netherlands, and North Africa, others migrating to Southern Europe and the Middle East.[313] During the 19th century, France's policies of equal citizenship regardless of religion led to the immigration of Jews (especially from Eastern and Central Europe).[314] This contributed to the arrival of millions of Jews in the New World. Over two million Eastern European Jews arrived in the United States from 1880 to 1925.[315] In summary, the pogroms in Eastern Europe,[285] the rise of modern antisemitism,[316] the Holocaust,[317] as well as the rise of Arab nationalism,[318] all served to fuel the movements and migrations of huge segments of Jewry from land to land and continent to continent until they arrived back in large numbers at their original historical homeland in Israel.[311] In the latest phase of migrations, the Islamic Revolution of Iran caused many Iranian Jews to flee Iran. Most found refuge in the US (particularly Los Angeles, California, and Long Island, New York) and Israel. Smaller communities of Persian Jews exist in Canada and Western Europe.[319] Similarly, when the Soviet Union collapsed, many of the Jews in the affected territory (who had been refuseniks) were suddenly allowed to leave. This produced a wave of migration to Israel in the early 1990s.[246] Growth Praying at the Western Wall Israel is the only country with a Jewish population that is consistently growing through natural population growth, although the Jewish populations of other countries, in Europe and North America, have recently increased through immigration. In the Diaspora, in almost every country the Jewish population in general is either declining or steady, but Orthodox and Haredi Jewish communities, whose members often shun birth control for religious reasons, have experienced rapid population growth.[320] Orthodox and Conservative Judaism discourage proselytism to non-Jews, but many Jewish groups have tried to reach out to the assimilated Jewish communities of the Diaspora in order for them to reconnect to their Jewish roots. Additionally, while in principle Reform Judaism favors seeking new members for the faith, this position has not translated into active proselytism, instead taking the form of an effort to reach out to non-Jewish spouses of intermarried couples.[321] There is also a trend of Orthodox movements reaching out to secular Jews in order to give them a stronger Jewish identity so there is less chance of intermarriage. As a result of the efforts by these and other Jewish groups over the past 25 years, there has been a trend (known as the Baal teshuva movement) for secular Jews to become more religiously observant, though the demographic implications of the trend are unknown.[322] Additionally, there is also a growing rate of conversion to Jews by Choice of gentiles who make the decision to head in the direction of becoming Jews.[323] Contributions Jews have made many contributions in a broad range of fields, including the sciences, arts, politics, and business.[324] For example, over 20 percent[325][326][327][328][329][330] of Nobel Prize laureates have been of Jewish descent, with multiple winners in each category.[331] See also     Judaism portal     Jewish studies     Lists of Jews Further reading     Baron, Salo Wittmayer (1952). A Social and Religious History of the Jews, Volume II, Ancient Times, Part II. Philadelphia, Pa: Jewish Publication Society of America.     Cohen, Steven M. (1997). "Intermarriage and the Jewish Future" (PDF). American Jewish Committee (AJC). pp. 10–19.     Cowling, Geoffrey (2005). Introduction to World Religions. Singapore: First Fortress Press. ISBN 0-8006-3714-3.     de Lange, Nicholas (2002) [2000]. An Introduction to Judaism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46073-5.     Dosick, Wayne (2007). Living Judaism. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-062179-7.     Feldman, Louis H. (2006). Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 90-04-14906-6.     Gartner, Lloyd P. (2001). History of the Jews in Modern Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-289259-2.     Gitelman, Zvi, ed. (2009). Religion or Ethnicity? Jewish Identities in Evolution. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813544502.     Goldenberg, Robert (2007). The Origins of Judaism: From Canaan to the Rise of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84453-6.     Goldstein, Joseph (1995). Jewish History in Modern Times. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 1-898723-06-0.     Gould, Allan (1991). What did they think of the Jews?. J. Aronson. ISBN 978-0-87668-751-2.     Katz, Shmuel (1974). Battleground: Fact and Fantasy in Palestine. Taylor Productions. ISBN 0-929093-13-5.     Lewis, Bernard (1984). The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8     Lewis, Bernard (1999). Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice. W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-31839-7     Littman, David (1979). "Jews Under Muslim Rule: The Case Of Persia". The Wiener Library Bulletin. XXXII (New series 49/50).     Neusner, Jacob (1991). Studying Classical Judaism: A Primer. Westminster/John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-25136-6.     Neusner, Jacob; Avery-Peck, Alan J., eds. (2003) [2000]. The Blackwell Companion to Judaism (Reprint ed.). Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publ. ISBN 1-57718-058-5.     Poliakov, Leon (1974). The History of Anti-semitism. New York: The Vanguard Press.     Ruderman, David B. Early Modern Jewry: A New Cultural History (Princeton University Press; 2010) 326 pages. Examines print culture, religion, and other realms in a history emphasizing the links among early modern Jewish communities from Venice and Kraków to Amsterdam and Smyrna.     Sharot, Stephen (1997). "Religious Syncretism and Religious Distinctiveness: A Comparative Analysis of Pre-Modern Jewish Communities". In Endelman, Todd M. (ed.). Comparing Jewish Societies. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06592-0.     Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0     Visotzky, Burton L.; Fishman, David E., eds. (2018) [1999]. From Mesopotamia to Modernity: Ten Introductions to Jewish History and Literature (Reprint ed.). London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-8133-6717-0.     Vital, David. People Apart: The Jews in Europe, 1789–1939 (1999) 940pp highly detailed.     Wertheimer, Jack, ed. (1993). The Modern Jewish Experience: A Reader's Guide. New York; London: NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-9261-8.     Yardumian, Aram; Schurr, Theodore G. (1 June 2019). "The Geography of Jewish Ethnogenesis". Journal of Anthropological Research. 75 (2): 206–234. doi:10.1086/702709. ISSN 0091-7710. 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The people on the list are notable followers of Judaism (either from birth or following conversion) or people who professed a Jewish cultural identity. The list includes people who distinguished themselves in the fields of religious scholarship, science, politics, literature, business, art, entertainment and sport amongst others. Most of the names link to Wikipedia articles with more information. For people whose fame has to do with their Judaism, there may be an article on this Judaism Wikia as well, in which case, the link will go to the local article. Brand logo A     Paula Abdul (born 1962) American singer.     Harold Abrahams (1899-1978) British athlete, Olympic gold medal winner whose story is featured in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.     Roman Abramovich (born 1966) Russian-Israeli billionaire, businessman, investor and politician, owner of the British Premier League soccer team Chelsea Football Club.     J.J. Abrams (born 1966) American director.     Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) Russian Yiddish-language novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works formed the basis of the musical Fiddler on the Roof.     Jason Alexander (born 1959) American actor, comedian and singer.     Robert Allen (1927-2000) American song composer.     Woody Allen (born 1935) American actor, comedian and movie director.     Herb Alpert (born 1935) American trumpetist, vocalist and recording industry executive.     Simon Amstell (born 1979) British comedian, TV presenter, actor and screenwriter.     Eric André (born 1983) American comedian, actor, writer and producer.     Judd Apatow (born 1967) American screenwriter, producer, director, actor and comedian.     Adam Arkin (born 1956) American TV, film and stage actor and director, son of Alan Arkin.     Alan Arkin (1934-2023) American actor.     Tom Arnold (born 1959) American actor and comedian, converted to Judaism in 1990.     Bea Arthur (1922-2009) American actress, comedian and singer.     Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) American professor of biochemistry, author of science-fiction, fantasy, mysteries and non-fiction books on science, history, Shakespeare and the Bible. Born in Petrovichi, Russia.     Paul Auster (born 1947) multiple award-winning American author.     Hank Azaria (born 1964) American actor, voice of many characters on The Simpsons. B Written on the wind3 Lauren Bacall. Lionel Bart 2 Allan Warren Lionel Bart. Irving Berlin NYWTS Irving Berlin. BernhardtHamlet Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet in the 1880s. Nissim smiles Nissim Black. JudyBlume2009(cropped) Judy Blume. Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter. FannyBrice1950 Fanny Brice.     Lauren Bacall (1924-2014) American actress and singer.     Burt Bacharach (1928-2023) American pianist, songwriter, composer and record producer.     David Baddiel (born 1964) British comedian, novelist and television presenter.     Sacha Baron-Cohen (born 1971) British actor and comedian whose characters include Ali G, Bruno and Borat.     Max Baer (1909-1959) American heavyweight boxing champion who wore a Star of David on his boxing shorts when in the ring.     Ralph Bakshi (born 1938) American animator and film director. Born in Haifa, Israel.     John Banner (1910-1973) Austrian-born American actor best known for playing Sergeant Schultz in Hogan's Heroes.     Barbara (1930-1997) French singer-songwriter whose birth name was Monique Serf.     Emma Barnett (born 1985) British journalist, radio and TV presenter.     Netta Barzilai (born 1993) Israeli singer, winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.     Roseanne Barr (born 1952) American actress, comedienne, writer, TV producer and diirector.     Lionel Bart (1930-1999) British composer of pop music and musicals, wrote the musical Oliver!     Alfie Bass (1916-1987) British stage, film and television actor.     Jon "Bowzer" Bauman (born 1947) American musician.     Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) Polish sociologist, essayist and philosopher.     Saul Bellow (1915-2005) Canadian-born author.     John Bercow (born 1963) British politician, Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019.     Luciana Berger (born 1981) British politician.     Henri Bergson (1859-1941) Famous French philosopher.     Milton Berle (1908-2002) American comedian and actor.     Irving Berlin (1888-1989) American composer and lyricist, one of the most famous and prodigious songwriters in history. Ironically, his compositions included "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade".     Felix Bernard (1897-1944) American, pianist, conductor and popular music writer.     Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) World-famous French stage actress.     Sandra Bernhard (born 1955) American comedienne, actress, singer, and author.     Joe Besser (190 7-1988) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.     Mayim Bialik (born 1975) American actress, author and neuroscientist.     Theodore Bikel (1924-2015) Austrian-born American actor, folk singer and musician.     László Jószef Bíró (1899-1985) Hungarian-born Argentinean inventor and journalist, inventor of the modern ballpoint pen.     Joey Bishop (1918-2007) American entertainer, member of the "Rat Pack".     Jack Black (born 1969) American actor, comedian and musician.     Lewis Black (born 1948) American stand-up comedian and actor.     Nissim Black (born 1986) American rapper, songwriter and record producer. Converted to Judaism in 2011.     David Blaine (born 1973) American magician.     Mel Blanc (1908-1989) American comedian and voice actor, voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and many more cartoon characters.     Rachel Bloom (born 1987) American actress, comedian, writer, singer, songwriter and producer.     Lionel Blue (1930-2016) British Reform rabbi, writer, journalist and broadcaster. The first openly gay rabbi in the United Kingdom.     Steve Blum (born 1960) American voice actor, voice of TOM and Wolverine.     Judy Blume (born 1936) American author of children's and young adult fiction.     Steven Bochco (1943-2018) American TV producer and writer who developed Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Doogie Howser, M.D. and NYPD Blue.     Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock (1928-2010) American musical theater composer, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner, composed music for Fiddler on the Roof.     David Bohm (1917-1992) American-born British scientist who contributed unorthodox ideas to the fields of quantum physics, neuropsychology and philosophy of the mind.     Niels Bohr (1885-1962) Nobel Prize-winning Danish physicist and philosopher.     Marc Bolan (1947-1977) British musician from the band T-Rex.     Helena Bonham Carter (born 1966) British actress.     Issy Bonn (1893-1977) British actor, singer and comedian. Popularized the song My Yiddishe Momme in Britain.     Victor Borge (1909-2000) Danish-born comedian, pianist and conductor.     Alex Borstein (born 1971) American actress, writer, producer and comedian, voices Lois in Family Guy and is a cast member of MADtv.     Bernard Bresslaw (1934-1993) British comedy actor     Fanny Brice (1891-1951) American comedienne, singer, radio, film and theater actress.     Sergey Brin (born 1973) Russian-American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Google Inc.     Matthew Broderick (born 1962) American stage and film actor.     Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) Nobel Prize-winning Russian-American poet and essayist.     Adrien Brody (born 1973) American actor.     Elkie Brooks (born 1945) British singer.     Mel Brooks (born 1926) American comedy actor, director and film producer.     Dr. Joyce Brothers (1927-2013) American psychologist, television personality and columnist whose career spanned almost six decades. "The Mother of Media Psychology"     Lenny Bruce (1925-1966) American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist and screenwriter.     Jerome Bruner (1915-2016) American psychologist who made significant contributions in the field of educational psychology.     Brooke Burke (born 1971) American model and actress.     George Burns (1896-1996) American comedian, actor and writer whose career spanned seven decades     Red Buttons (1919-2006) American comedian and actor. Advertisement C Chagall France 1921 Marc Chagall. Chomsky Noam Chomsky. Alma Cogan (1963) Alma Cogan. Edwina currie nightingale house cropped Edwina Currie.     James Caan (1940-2022) American actor.     Sammy Cahn (1913-1993) Academy Award winning American songwriter and musician.     Sid Caesar (1922-2014) American comic actor and writer.     Eddie Cantor (1892-1964) American comedian, actor, singer and songwriter.     Al Capp (1909-1979) American cartoonist, creator of the Li'l Abner comic strip.     Kate Capshaw (born 1953) American actress, best known for playing Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom, converted to Judaism in 1991.     Nell Carter (1948-2003) American actress and singer, converted to Judaism in 1982.     Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Russian-French artist.     Sir Ernst Chain (1906-1979) British scientist, Nobel Prize winner in 1945, co-developer of penicillin. Born in Berlin, Germany.     Timothée Chalamet (born 1995) French-American actor.     Noam Chomsky (born 1928) American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist and political activist.     Robert Clary (born 1926) French-American actor, singer, writer and artist, best known for playing Corporal Louis LeBeau in Hogan's Heroes.     Lee J. Cobb (1911-1976) American actor.     Alma Cogan (1932-1966) British pop singer.     Barbara Cohen (1932-1992) American writer, author of more than thirty children's books, including Molly's Pilgrim.     Ben Cohen (born 1951) American businessman, activist and philanthropist, co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's.     Sir Jack Cohen (1898-1979) British businessman, founder of the Tesco supermarket chain.     Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist.     Jackie Collins (1937-2015) British-American novelist.     Dame Joan Collins (born 1933) British actress.     Jennifer Connelly (born 1970) Academy Award-winning American actress.     Hans Conried (1917-1982) American actor, comedian, singer and voice actor, best known for voicing Captain Hook in the 1953 Disney film Peter Pan.     David Copperfield (born 1956) American illusionist/magician.     Billy Crystal (born 1948) American comedian, actor, writer, producer and director.     Edwina Currie (born 1946) British novelist and broadcaster, former Member of Parliament and Junior Health Minister.     Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958) Golden Globe-winning American film actress, successful writer of books for children.     Tony Curtis (1925-2010) American actor. Advertisement D Craig David Craig David. SammyDavisJr Sammy Davis Jr. Kirk douglas photo signed Kirk Douglas.     Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) American comedian and actor.     Jean Daniel (1920-2020) Algerian-born French novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist, founder of the news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur.     Craig David (born 1981) British R&B singer-songwriter.     Larry David (born 1947) American actor, writer, comedian and producer.     Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990) American entertainer, converted to Judaism in 1954.     Alan Dershowitz (born 1938) American lawyer, legal scholar and civil liberties advocate.     Neil Diamond (born 1941) American singer-songwriter.     Daveed Diggs (born 1982) American actor, rapper and singer-songwriter.     Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) First Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of Great Britain.     E.L. Doctorow (1931-2015) American author, best known for his works of historical fiction.     Kirk Douglas (1916-2020) American actor, director, film producer and writer.     Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981) American actor.     Drake (born 1986) Canadian rapper singer songwriter, record producer and actor.     Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935) French army officer who was falsely convicted of treason.     Rene Dreyfus (1905 -1993) French racing driver.     Richard Dreyfuss (born 1947) American film actor     Bob Dylan (born 1941) American singer-songwriter, artist and writer. Winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. E Einstein Albert Einstein.     Fred Ebb (1928=2004) American musical theater lyricist.     Albert Einstein (1879 -1955) American physicist, Nobel Prize winner, Zionist. Born in Ulm, Germany.     Will Eisner (1917-2005) American cartoonist, writer and entrepreneur who created the series The Spirit and popularized the term "graphic novel".     Ray Ellington (1916-1985) British jazz musician.     Harlan Ellison (1934-2018) American writer, chiefly of science fiction.     Ben Elton (born 1959) British comedian, author, playwright and television director.     Rahm Emanuel (born 1959) US House Representative, White House Chief of Staff, incumbent Mayor of Chicago. F PeterFalkColumbo Peter Falk. Fenella Fielding on her 90th Birthday (cropped) Fenella Fielding. AnneFrankStamp Anne Frank is depicted on this 2007 German postage stamp. Sigmund Freud, by Max Halberstadt (cropped) Sigmund Freud.     Peter Falk (1927-2011) American actor, best known for playing Lieutenant Columbo on television.     Moris Farhi (born 1935) Turkish writer and human rights campaigner.     Nicole Farhi (born 1945) French fashion designer and sculptor.     Oded Fehr (born 1970): Israeli/American actor, best known for his movie work in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and the popular TV show Covert Affairs.     Marty Feldman (1934-1982) British comedian, comedy writer and actor.     Beanie Feldstein (born 1993) American actress.     Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist and text book writer.     Fenella Fielding (1927-2018) British stage, film and television actress.     Larry Fine (1902-1975) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.     Fyvush Finkel (1922-2016) American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Picket Fences and Boston Public.     Carrie Fisher (1956-2016) American actress, writer, producer and humorist. Best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series.     Eddie Fisher (1928 2010) American entertainer.     Isla Fisher (born 1976) British-Australian actress and author. Converted to Judaism in 2007.     Bud Flanagan (1896-1968) British comedian and singer, at the height of his popularity during World War II.     Dave Fleischer (1894-1979) American film director and producer, younger brother of Max Fleischer and co-owner of Fleischer Studios.     Max Fleischer (1883-1972) American animator, creator of Koko the Klown and Betty Boop, maker of the first animated Popeye cartoons. Born in Krakow, Poland.     Leon Fleisher (1928-2020) American conductor and renowned classical pianist. The loss of the use of his right hand in 1964 forced him to focus on compositions that could be played with the left hand only.     Harrison Ford (born 1942) American actor.     Alessandro Fortis (1842-1909) Prime Minister of Italy from 1905 to 1906.     Anne Frank (1929-1945) Dutch teenage Holocaust victim and diarist.     Lucian Freud (1922-2011) British artist.     Sigmund Freud (1885-1939) Austrian physician, the father of psychoanalysis.     Debbie Friedman (1951-2011) American musician.     Stephen Fry (born 1957) British comedian, TV presenter, actor, author and film director.     Soleil Moon Frye (born 1976) American actress, director and screenwriter. Played the title role in the TV series Punky Brewster as a child. Advertisement G Gal Gadot cropped lighting corrected 22b Gal Gadot. Gainsbourgb Serge Gainsbourg. Sarah Michelle Gellar Comic-Con 4, 2011 Sarah Michelle Gellar. George Gershwin 1937 George Gershwin. René Goscinny René Goscinny.     Josh Gad (born 1981) American actor and singer, best known for voicing Olaf the snowman in the 2013 Disney movie Frozen.     Gal Gadot (born 1985) Israeli model and actress, star of the 2017 movie Wonder Woman.     Neil Gaiman (born 1960) British novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, comic book and graphic novel writer.     Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) French singer-songwriter, actor and director.     Art Garfunkel (born 1941) American musician.     Mordechai Gebirtig (1877-1942) Polish songwriter and Holocaust victim.     Sarah Michelle Gellar (born 1977) American actress and producer, best known for playing the title role in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.     Uri Geller (born 1946) Israeli who claims to have supernatural psychic abilities.     George Gershwin (1898-1937) American composer and pianist.     Melissa Gilbert (born 1964) American actress, writer and producer. Starred in Little House on the Prairie as a child actress.     Hermione Gingold (1897-1987) British actress.     Bill Goldberg (born 1965) American actor, professional football player and professional wrestler.     Louise Glück (born 1943) American poet and essayist (Nobel Prize in Literature, 2020).     Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.     Jeff Goldblum (born 1952) American actor.     William Goldman (1931-2018) American novelist, playwright and screenwriter.     Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974) American film producer and movie industry executive. Born in Warsaw, Poland.     Joseph Gordon-Levitt (born 1981) American actor and filmmaker.     René Goscinny (1926-1977) French comics editor and writer, co-creator of Asterix, also known for his work on the Lucky Luke and Iznogoud comics series.     Gilbert Gottfried (1955-2022) American stand-up comedian and actor.     Elliott Gould (born 1938) American actor.     Lew Grade, Baron Grade (1906-1998) British media proprietor and impresario, founder of ITC Entertainment, commissioned The Muppet Show in 1976. Born in Tokmak, Ukraine.     Michael Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 1943) British TV executive and businessman, Controller of BBC1 from 1984 to 1986 (during which time he cancelled Doctor Who), Chairman of the BBC from 2004 to 2006.     Seth Green (born 1974) American actor, comedian, producer, writer and director.     Norman Greenbaum (born 1942) American singer-songwriter, best known for his song "Spirit in the Sky".     Hank Greenberg (1911-1986) American professional baseball player.     Jerry Greenfield (born 1951) American businessman and philanthropist, co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's.     Joel Grey (born 1932) American actor, singer, dancer, theater director and photographer. Best known for his Academy Award-winning performance as the Master of Ceremonies in the 1972 film Cabaret.     Milt Gross (1895-1953) American cartoonist, animator and writer whose best known work is the 1927 book De Night in de Front from Chreesmas.     Ruth Gruber (1911-2016) American journalist, photographer, writer, humanitarian and government official.     Béla Guttmann (1899-1981) Hungarian-born soccer player, coach and manager. As a manager, he led the Portuguese team Benfica to two successive European Cup victories in 1961 and 1962.     Sir Ludwig Guttmaan (1899-1980) German-born British neurologist who established the Paralympic Games.     Jake Gyllenhaal (born 1980) American actor. H Tiffany Haddish 2019 Tifanny Haddish. Goldie Hawn cropped Goldie Hawn. Dustin Hoffman Cannes 2017 Dustin Hoffman. HarryHoudini Harry Houdini.     Tiffany Haddish (born 1979) American stand-up comedian and actress.     Albert Hague (1920-2001) German-American songwriter, composer and actor.     Eric Hall (born 1947) British show business and soccer agent.     Chelsea Handler (born 1975) American comedian, actress, writer, television host and producer.     Ruth Handler (1916-2002) American businesswoman, inventor of the Barbie doll, first president of Mattel.     Laurence Harvey (1928-1973) Lithuanian-born British actor.     Goldie Hawn (born 1945) American actress, film director and producer.     Henry Heimlich (1920-2016) American surgeon and medical researcher, widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver.     Joseph Heller (1923-1999) American novelist, author of Catch 22.     Jerry Herman (1931-2019) American composer and lyricist who wrote the scores for the Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles.     Steven Hill (1922-2016) American actor, best known for his appearances in the TV series Mission Impossible (1966-1967) and Law & Order (1990-2000).     Dustin Hoffman (born 1937) American actor, two time Academy Award winner.     Judy Holliday (1921-1965) American actress, comedian and singer.     Anthony Horowitz (born 1956) British novelist and screenwriter, creator of Alex Rider.     Harry Houdini (1874-1926) American magician, escapologist and debunker of the supposedly supernatural. Born in Budapest, Hungary.     Curly Howard (1903-1952) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.     Leslie Howard (1893-1943) British actor, played Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind. Died a heroic death in a plane crash as an agent of the British government.     Moe Howard (1897-1975) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.     Shemp Howard (1895-1955) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.     Sarah Hughes (born 1985) American figure-skater, Olympic gold-medalist.     Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) German philosopher. Advertisement I Jason Isaacs 2014 Jason Isaacs.     Jason Isaacs (born 1963) British actor, best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. J     Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916) Australian born folklorist and writer whose 1890 book English Fairy Tales helped to popularize stories including "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Tom Thumb".     Howard Jacobson (born 1942) British novelist and journalist.     Flory Jagoda (born 1925) American musician, composer of "Ocho kandelikas". Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jolson Al Jolson.     Sid James (1913-1976) British comedy actor. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa.     Leon Jessel (1871-1942) German composer of light classical music.     Billy Joel (born 1949) American pianist, singer-songwriter and classical composer.     Scarlett Johansson (born 1984) American actress and singer.     Al Jolson (1886-1950) American singer, comedian and actor, star of the 1927 film, The Jazz Singer. Born in Seredzius, Lithuania.     Rashida Jones (born 1976) American actress, writer, producer and director.     Alberto Jori (born 1965) Italian philosopher.     Lesley Joseph (born 1945) British actress, best known in Britain for playing the Jewish character Dorien Green in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather. K Kafka Franz Kafka. Kaye, Danny Danny Kaye. Felicity Kendal on Thomas Murphy Presents Felicity Kendal. Walter Koenig Star Trek Walter Koenig as Ensign Chekov. Lisa Kudrow at TIFF 2009 Lisa Kudrow.     Franz Kafka (1883 -1924) Czech author who wrote in German.     Roger Kahn (1927-2020) American sports writer best known for the 1972 non-fiction baseball book The Boys of Summer.     John Kander (born 1927) American composer who wrote the scores for fifteen musicals, including Cabaret and Chicago.     Bob Kane (1915-1998) American comic book artist and writer, creator of Batman.     Miriam Karlin (1925-2011) British actress, starred as the Jewish ghost Mrs. Yetta Feldman in the BBC sitcom So Haunt Me.     Sir Gerald Kaufman (1930-2017) British politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until his death.     Danny Kaye (1911-1987) American comedian, actor and singer.     Harvey Keitel (born 1939) American actor.     Felicity Kendal (born 1946) British stage and television actress. Began procession of conversion to Judaism in 1983.     Walter Kent (1911-1994) American conductor and composer whose works include the song "(There'll Be Blue Birds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover".     William Kentridge (born 1955) South African artist.     Judith Kerr (1923-2019) British children's author, best known for the 1968 picture book The Tiger who Came to Tea and seventeen books about the cat Mog. Born in Berlin, Germany.     Imre Kertész (1929-2016) Hungarian author and Holocaust survivor, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002.     Larry King (1933-2021) American TV and radio host.     Henry Kissinger (born 1923) German-born former U.S. Secretary of State.     Calvin Klein (born 1942) American fashion designer.     Werner Klemperer (1920-2000) German-American actor, singer and stage entertainer who is best known for playing Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes.     Aaron Klug (born 1926) British scientist, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Born in Zelva, Lithuania.     Alfred A. Knopf (1892-1984) American publisher, co-founder of the publishing house that bears his name.     Ezra Koenig (born 1984) American musician, singer, and songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Vampire Weekend .     Walter Koenig (born 1936) American actor, director and teacher, best known for playing Ensign Chekov in Star Trek.     Arthur Koestler (1905-1983) Hungarian-born novelist and essayist who wrote in Hungarian, German and English.     Sandy Koufax (born 1935) American former professional baseball player, the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.     Robert Kraft (born 1941) American businessman, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team and the New England Revolution MLS team.     Frans Krajcberg (1921-2017) Polish-born Brazilian artist and environmental activist.     Larry Kramer (1935-2020) American playwright, novelist and LGBT rights activist.     Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) American film direcor, producer and screenwriter.     Lisa Kudrow (born 1963) American actress, best known for playing Phoebe in the sitcom Friends.     Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993) American cartoonist, founding editor of Mad magazine.     Harold Kushner (1935-2023) American rabbi, lecturer and author, best known for his 1981 book When Bad Things Happen to Good People.     Jared Kushner (born 1981) American businessman, investor and political operative. Advertisement L NigellaLawson Nigella Lawson. Stantheman Stan Lee. Al Lewis The Munsters 1964 Al Lewis (right) as Grandpa Munster. Jerry Lewis 1973 Jerry Lewis. Shari lewis 1960 Shari Lewis with her puppets Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse. CreditLorreMaltFalc1941Trailer Peter Lorre in a screenshot from the trailer or the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon.     Shia LaBeouf (born 1986) American movie actor.     Car Laemmle (1867-1939) German-born American filmmaker, one of the founders of Universal Studios.     Lucette Lagnado (1956-2019) Egyptian-born American journalist and memoirist.     Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) Austrian-born American movie actress and inventor.     Verity Lambert (1935-2007) British TV and film producer, founding director of the science fiction series Doctor Who.     Michael Landon (1936-1991) American actor, writer, director and producer.     Ralph Lauren (born 1939) American fashion designer and business executive.     Daliah Lavi (1942-2017) Israeli actress, singer and model.     Nigel Lawson (1932-2023) British politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989.     Nigella Lawson (born 1960) British food writer and TV chef.     Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) American writer and activist, author of the poem "The New Colossus" inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the statue of Liberty.     Norman Lear (born 1922) American screenwriter and producer who has written, created or developed more than 100 TV series, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and Good Times.     Geddy Lee (born 1953) Canadian musician, lead vocalist, bassist and keyboardist of the rock group Rush.     Stan Lee (1922-2018) American comic book writer, editor and publisher, co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men among other characters.     Tom Lehrer (born 1928) American singer-songwriter, pianist, satirist and mathematician.     Mike Leigh (born 1943) British writer, film and theater director.     Logan Lerman (born 1992) American actor.     Primo Levi (1919-1987) Italian author and Holocaust survivor.     Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) French anthropologist and ethnologist.     Uriah P. Levy (1792-1862) (War of 1812) First Jewish U.S. Admiral, ended the practice of flogging, bought, restored and gave Montecello (Jefferson's home) as a gift to the American people. The first Jewish Chapel at the United States Naval Academy was named for him.     Al Lewis (1929-2006) American actor. Best known for playing Grandpa in the TV series The Munsters.     Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) American comedian, actor, singer, film producer and director.     Martin Lewis (born 1972) British journalist and financial expert.     Shari Lewis (1935-1998) American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, TV presenter, singer, actress and writer.     Dame Maureen Lipman (born 1946) British actress, best known in Britain for playing "Jewish Mother" Beatie in a series of commercials for British Telecom.     James Lipton (1926-2020) American writer, lyricist, actor and producer, host of the TV show Inside the Actors Studio from 1994 to 2018.     Roger Lloyd-Pack (1944-2014) British actor, best known for his roles in the sitcoms Only Fools and Horses and The Vicar of Dibley and the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.     Frabk Loesser (1910-1969) American songwriter whose works include the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.     Marceline Loridan-Ivens (1928-2018) French writer and film director.     Peter Lorre (1904-1964) Austrian-American actor. Born in what is now Slovakia.     Jon Lovitz (born 1957) American actor, comedian and singer. The first person to play Hanukkah Harry.     Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947) German-born American film director, producer, writer and actor.     Matt Lucas (born 1974) British actor, comedian and screenwriter. M Maimonides1744 Maimonides. MarxBrothers1931 The four Marx Brothers in 1931. Karl Marx Karl Marx. Zero Mostel - still Zero Mostel.     Enrico Macias (born 1938) French musician, born in Constantine, Algeria.     Maimonides (1135-1204) Sephardi rabbi, philosopher and physician.     Howie Mandel (born 1955) Canadian-born TV presenter.     Barry Manilow (born 1943) American singer-songwriter and entertainer.     Bernard Manning (1930-2007) Controversial British stand-up comedian.     Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) French actor and mime.     Cindy Margolis (born 1965) American actress and model.     Miriam Margoyles (born 1941) British actress.     The Marx Brothers American stage and film comedians,         Chico Marx (1887 - 1961)         Groucho Marx (1890-1977)         Gummo Marx (1893-1977, did not appear in films)         Harpo Marx (1888 -1954)         Zeppo Marx (1901-1979, appeared in the first five films only)     Karl Marx (1818-1883) German philosopher.     Jackie Mason (1928-2021) American stand-up comedian and actor who used to be a rabbi.     Robert Maxwell (1923-1991) British media tycoon and Member of Parliament. Born in what is now Solotvino, Ukraine.     Robert L. May (1905-1976) American children's book author, creator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.     Linda McCartney (1941-1998) American photographer, musician, businesswoman and activist for vegetarianism and animal rights.     Charles McDew (1938-2018) African-American civil rights activist and lifelong campaigner for racial equality. Converted to Judaism as a teenager.     Golda Meir (1898-1978) One of the founders and a prime minister of Israel.     Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) American-born violinist and conductor.     Idina Menzel (born 1971) American actress singer and songwriter, the voice of Queen Elsa in Disney's Frozen.     Don Messick (1926-1997) American voice actor, the voice of Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf and many other cartoon characters.     Debra Messing (born 1968) American actress, best known for playing Grace Adler in Will and Grace.     Lorne Michaels (born 1944) Canadian-American television producer, writer, actor and comedian.     Bette Midler (born 1945) American singer, actress and comedienne.     George Mikes (1912 -1987) Hungarian-born British author, famous for his humorous commentaries on various countries.     Ed Miliband (born 1969) British politician, former leader of the Labour Party.     Arthur Miller (1915-2003) Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright and essayist.     Jonathan Miller (1934-2019) British humorist, theater and opera director, famous intellectual.     Ephraim Mirvis (born 1956) South African-born rabbi and Talmudic scholar, Chief Rabbi of Ireland from 1985 to 1992. Chief Rabbi of the Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 2013.     Warren Mitchell (1926-2015) British actor, played the lead role in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part, which was adapted in the U.S. as All in the Family.     Isaac Mizrahi (born 1961) American fashion designer.     Patrick Modiano (born 1945) French novelist, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature.     Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920) Italian painter and sculptor.     Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) American actress, model and singer. Converted to Judaism in 1956.     Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) British financier, diplomat, philanthropst, abolitionist and Sheriff of London.     Ron Moody (1924-2015) British actor, best known for playing Fagin in the 1968 musical film Oliver!     Shelley Morrison (1936-2019) American theater and television actress.     Zero Mostel (1915-1977) American actor, originated the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.     Paul Muni (1895-1967) Austrian-born American actor. Started in Yiddish theater and became famous as a movie actor.     Bess Myerson (1924-2014) American model, television personality and political activist whose career became overshadowed by scandal in the 1980s. She became the first Jewish Miss America in 1945. N Star Trek Spock Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. EmperorNorton Joshua Norton.     Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger (born 1950) British rabbi and social reformer.     Anthony Newley (1931-1999) British singer, songwriter and actor.     Paul Newman (1925-2008) American actor, director, racing driver and co-founder of Newman's Own foods. His father and family on his father's side were Jewish (from Poland and Hungary)     Sydney Newman (1917-1997) Canadian film and TV producer, played a pioneering role in British TV of the 1950s and 1960s, responsible for initiating The Avengers and Doctor Who.     Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015) American actor, best known for playing Mr. Spock in Star Trek.     Denis Norden (1922-2018) British comedy writer and TV presenter.     Joshua Norton (1819-1880) The self-proclaimed, "His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico". O     Tracy Ann Oberman (born 1966) British actress and writer, best known for her role as Christine Watts in the soap opera EastEnders.     Esther & Abi Ofarim, Israeli pop duo made up of husband Abi Ofarim (1937-2018) and wife Esther Ofarim (born 1941) who had an international hit in 1968 with the song "Cinderella Rockefella".     J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) American theoretical physicist, often credited as the "father of the atomic bomb" due to his role in developing the first nuclear weapons during World War II,     Amos Oz (1939-2018) Multiple award-winning Israeli novelist, journalist and short story writer. P P!nk Live 2013 Pink. Natalie Portman Thor 2 cropped Natalie Portman.     Larry Page (born 1973) American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Google Inc.     Sarah Jessica Parker (born 1965) American actress and producer.     Mitchell Parish (1900-1993) Lithuanian-born American lyricist who wrote the lyrics to "Stardust", "Sweet Lorraine" "Sleigh Ride" and the English version of "volare".     Sandy Pearlman (1943-2016) American music producer, record company executive, songwriter and poet.     Grigori Perelman (born 1966) Russian mathematician.     Max Perutz (1914-2002) British molecular biologist, winner of 1962 Nobel Prize. Born in Vienna, Austria.     Milton Petrie (1902-1994) American billionaire businessman and philanthropist, famed for his generosity.     Pink (Alicia Beth Moore, born 1979) American singer-songwriter.     Drew Pinsky (born 1958) American addiction medicine specialist and media personality, better known as Dr. Drew.     Harold Pinter (1930-2008) Nobel Prize-winning British playwright.     Ingrid Pitt (1937-2010) Polish-born British writer and actress, best known for her appearances in the Hammer horror films of the 1970s.     Edward Pola (1907-1995) American actor, radio and television producer and songwriter, notably the co-composer of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year".     Natalie Portman (born 1981) Israeli actress.     Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988) Hungarian-born, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, film director and producer.     André Previn (1929-2019) German-born American pianist, conductor and composer. R DanielRadcliffe Daniel Radcliffe. Joan Rivers 2009 show Joan Rivers. Edward G Edward G. Robinson. Helena Rubinstein Helena Rubinstein.     Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989) British actor who shot to fame at the age of 12 when he began playing Harry Potter.     Buck Ram (1907-1991) American popular music producer and songwriter whose works include "Only You" and "The Great Pretender".     Joey Ramone (1951-2001) American punk rock vocalist.     Tony Randall (1920-2004) American actor, producer and director, best known for playing Felix Ungar in the TV series The Odd Couple.     Dame Esther Rantzen (born 1940) British TV presenter, founder of the charities ChildLine and The Silver Line.     David Rappaport (1951-1990) British actor, one of the best known dwarf actors in film and television.     Lou Reed (1942-2013) American rock musician, songwriter and photographer.     Rob Reiner (born 1947) American actor, writer, director, producer and writer.     Ivan Reitman (1946-2022) Czechoslovak-born Canadian film and television writer, producer and director.     Judith Resnik (1949-1986) Second American woman astronaut, second Jewish astronaut, first American Jew and first Jewish woman astronaut, killed in the Challenger disaster.     Adam Richman (born 1974) American actor, author and TV personality.     Joan Rivers (1933-2014) American actress, comedienne, writer, producer and TV host.     Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973) American actor. Born in Bucharest, Romania.     Seth Rogen (born 1982) Canadian actor, filmmaker and comedian.     Mark Ronson (born 1975) British musician and music producer.     Michael Rosen (born 1946) British children's novelist and poet, Britain's Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009.     Isaac Rosenberg (1898=1918) British artist and poet.     Amy Krouse Rosenthal (1965-2017) American author, short film maker and radio show host.     Leo Rosten (1908-1997) American writer, author of The Joys of Yiddish. Born in Lodz, Poland.     David Lee Roth (born 1954) American rock singer and radio personality.     Philip Roth (1933-2018) Multiple award-winning American novelist, short story writer and essayist.     Helena Rubinstein (1872-1965) Polish-American businesswoman, art collector and philanthropist. Founder of the cosmetics company that bore her name.     Scott Rudin (born 1958) American film and theater producer.     Winona Ryder (born 1971) American actress. S 9.13 Oliver Sacks. CarlSagan Carl Sagan. Sellers-1966 Peter Sellers. Rod Serling 1959 Rod Serling. WilliamShatnerStarTrek William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Dinah Shore - promo Dinah Shore. Steven Spielberg Cannes 2013 3 Steven Spielberg. Spinoza Baruch Spinoza. Barbra Streisand 1962 Barbra Streisand.     Andrew Sachs (1930-2016) German-born British actor, best known for playing the Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers.     Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013.     Oliver Sacks (1933-2015) British-born neurologist, psychologist and best-selling author who lived for many years in the United States.     Carl Sagan (1934-1996) American astronomer, astrophysicist and author.     Bob Saget (1956-2022) American stand-up comedian, actor and television host.     Jonas Salk (1941-1995) American medical researcher and virologist, discovered and developed the first successful polio vaccine.     Bernie Sanders (born 1941) American politician.     Adam Sandler (born 1966) American actor, comedian, musician, writer and film producer.     Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) British poet.     Vidal Sassoon (1928-2012) British-American hairstylist, businessman and philanthropist.     Eduardo Saverin (born 1982) Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook.     Alexei Sayle (born 1952) British actor and comedian.     Rob Schneider (born 1963) American actor, comedian, writer and director.     David Schwimmer (born 1966) American actor, film and TV director, best known for playing Ross in the sitcom Friends.     Steven Seagal (born 1952) American actor, producer, writer and martial arts expert, father was Jewish     Neil Sedaka (born 1939) American pop singer, pianist and songwriter.     Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954) American comedian, actor and writer.     Peter Sellers (1925-1980) British actor and comedian, best known for playing Inspector Clouseau in the original Pink Panther films.     Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) American children's book writer and illustrator whose best known book is Where the Wild Things Are.     Rod Serling (1924-1975) American playwright, screenwriter, TV producer and presenter, creator of The Twilight Zone.     Anthony Shaffer (1926-2001) British playwright, novelist and screenwriter whose works include the screenplay for the 1973 movie The Wicker Man.     Sir Peter Shaffer (1926-2016) British playwright and screenwriter, author of Amadeus and Equus.     Garry Shandling (1949-2016) American comedian, writer, director, producer and voice artist.     William Shatner (born 1931) Canadian actor, best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek.     Burt Shavitz (1935-2015) American beekeeper and businessman, co-founder of the personal care products company Burt's Bees.     Sir Antony Sher (born 1949) British actor, writer and theater director. Born in Cape Town, South Africa.     Allan Sherman (1924-1973) American TV producer and comedy writer, best known for his parody songs.     Iliza Shlesinger (born 1983) American comedienne.     Dinah Shore (1915-1994) American singer, actress and television personality.     Joe Shuster (1914-1992) Canadian-born comic book artist, co-creator of Superman.     Shyne (born 1978) Belizean rapper and politician. Converted to Judaism in 2010.     Jerry Siegel (1914-1996) American comic book writer, co-creator of Superman.     Carl Sigman (1909-2000) American songwriter whose compositions include "Arrivedercci Roma", "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", "{Where Do I Begin?) Love Story", "A Marshmallow World" and "Pennsylvania 6-5000".     Phil Silvers (1911-1985) American comedy actor, best known for playing Sergeant Bilko.     Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) American poet, children's author, songwriter, musician and cartoonist.     Gene Simmons (born 1949) Israeli-born musician, bassist and vocalist of the rock band Kiss.     Neil Simon (1927-2018) American playwright and screenwriter.     Paul Simon (born 1941) American singer-songwriter.     Sam Simon (1955-2015) American writer, producer, director and philanthropist, co-creator of The Simpsons.     Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991) American writer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978.     Hillel Slovak (1962-1988) Israeli-born musician, guitarist and founding member of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers.     Abraham Sofaer (1895-1988) British-American actor. Born in what is now Yangon, Myanmar.     George Soros (born 1930) Hungarina-born American financier, businessman and philanthropist.     Art Spiegelman (born 1948) American comics writer, illustrator and editor. Author of Maus.     Steven Spielberg (born 1946) American film director and producer.     Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) Dutch philosopher.     Mark Spitz (born 1950) American athlete, winner of nine Olympic gold medals for swimming.     Jerry Springer (1944-2023) British-born American TV presenter, actor, producer, journalist, lawyer and politician.     Paul Stanley (born 1952) American musician, rhythm guitarist and frontman of the rock band Kiss.     William Steig (1907-2003) American cartoonist, sculptor and writer of children's books, creator of Shrek the ogre.     Ben Stein (born 1944) American actor, writer, lawyer and political and economic commentator.     Gertrude Stein (1874-1976) American writer who spent most of her life in France.     Judith Steinberg Dean (born 1953) American physician, wife of Howard Dean, First Lady of Vermont (1991-2003).     Jon Stewart (born 1962) American comedian, writer, satirist and actor, host of The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015.     Ben Stiller (born 1955) American comedian, actor, writer, film producer and director.     Jerry Stiller (1927-2020) American comedian, actor and author.     Matt Stone (born 1971) American actor, writer, composer and animator, co-creator of South Park.     Al Stillman (1901-1979) American lyricist whose works notably include "Home for the Holidays".     Sir Tom Stoppard (born 1937) British playwright. Born in Zlin, Czechoslovakia.     Leo Strauss (1899-1973) German-born political philosopher.     Levi Straus (1829-1802) German-born American businessman, founded Levi Strauss & Co,, the first company to manufacture blue jeans, in 1853.     Dominique Strauss-Kahn (born 1949) French politician, lawyer and economist, former head of the International Monetary Fund.     Barbra Streisand (born 1942) American singer, songwriter, actress and film maker.     Tara Strong (born 1973) Canadian-American voice actress.     Jule Styne (1905-1994) British-born American composer and songwriter, known for his work on the Broadway musicals Gypsy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Funny Girl.     Lord Alan Sugar (born 1947) British businessman, founder of Amstrad Computers, host the British version of the reality TV series The Apprentice. T Taylor, Elizabeth posed Eliabeth Taylor. SophieTucker Sophie Tucker.     Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) British-American actress. Converted to Judaism in 1959.     Ashley Tisdale (born 1985) American actress, best known for appearing in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.     Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) American writer and futurist.     Chaim Topol (1935-2023) Israeli stage and film performer, well known for playing Tevye, the milkman, in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof.     Mel Tormé (1925-1999) American singer, composer, actor and writer.     Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary.     Ivanka Trump (born 1981) American businesswoman and former fashion model. Converted to Judaism in 2009.     Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989) American journalist, author and historian.     Sophie Tucker (1884-1966) Russian-born American actress and singer, popularized the song My Yiddishe Momme.     Tristan Tzara (1896-1963) Romanian-born French poet, essayist, playwright and performance artist. One of the founders of the Dada movement. V     Boris Volynov (born 1934) First Jewish astronaut, born in Irkutsk, Siberia. W SimonWiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal. Gene Wilder 1970 Gene Wilder. Amy Winehouse f4962007 crop Amy Winehouse. Henry Winkler Happy Days 1976 Henry Winkler as The Fonz.     Taika Waititi (born 1975) New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian.     Eli Wallach (1915-2014) American actor, appeared in several spaghetti-westerns, played Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.     Sam Wanamaker (1919-1993) American-born actor and film director, founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, to rebuild a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London.     Albert Warner (1884-1967) Polish-American film executive. One of the founders of Warner Bros.     Harry Warner (1881-1951) Polish-American film executive. One of the founders of Warner Bros.     Jack L. Warner 91892-1978) Canadian-American film executive. One of the founders of Warner Bros.     Sam Warner (1887-1927) Polish-American film producer. One of the founders of Warner Bros.     Steven Weinberg (born 1933) Nobel Prize winning American physicist.     Ruth Westheimer (born 1928) German-born American sex therapist, author and media personality, better known as "Dr. Tuth".     Joseph Weizenbaum (1923- 2008) German-American artificial intelligence critic, ELIZA programmer.     Robert Wells (1922-1998) American TV producer, script writer and songwriter, co-writer of "The Christmas Song".     Sir Arnold Wesker (1932-2016) British playwright, poet, essayist, journalist, novelist, short story writer and children's book writer.     Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-born Holocaust survivor, Boston University professor, writer, political activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner.     Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005) Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous for his pursuit of Nazi war criminals.     Billy Wilder (1906-2002) Austrian-American filmmaker.     Gene Wilder (1933-2016) American film and theater actor, director and writer.     Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) British singer-songwriter.     Claudia Winkleman (born 1972) British TV and radio presenter, model, film critic and journalist.     Henry Winkler (born 1945) American actor and producer, best known for playing The Fonz in Happy Days.     Bernie Winters (1932-1991) British comedian.     Shelley Winters (1920-2006) American actress.     Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian-born British philosopher.     Heinz Wolff (1928-2017) German-born British scientist, inventor and radio and TV presenter.     George Wyle (1916-2003) American orchestra leader and composer, notably the co-writer of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Y     Y-Love (born 1978) American hip hop artist. Converted to Judaism at the start of the 21st century. Z Volodymyr Zelensky Official portrait Volodymyr Zelenskyy.     L.L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) Polish creator of the constructed language Esperanto.     Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) British writer whose 1908 play The Melting Pot popularized the term.     Volodymyr Zelenskyy (born 1978) President of Ukraine.     Sam Zemurray (1871-1961) American businessman who made a fortune from bananas and took over the United Fruit Company. Born in what is now Moldova.     Mark Zuckerberg (born 1984) American technology entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook. Judaism     Article     Talk     Read     View source     View history Tools Page semi-protected From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Judaism יַהֲדוּת‎ Yahăḏūṯ Collection of Judaica (clockwise from top): Candlesticks for Shabbat, a cup for ritual handwashing, a Chumash and a Tanakh, a Torah pointer, a shofar, and an etrog box. Type    Ethnic religion Classification    Abrahamic Scripture    Tanakh Theology    Monotheistic Language    Hebrew and Aramaic Territory    Land of Israel Founder    Abraham Origin    6th/5th century BCE Judah Separated from    Yahwism Number of followers    c. 15.2 million (Jews) Part of a series on Judaism Star of David  Ten Commandments  Menorah Movements     Orthodox         Haredi             Hasidic Modern     Conservative         Conservadox Reform     Karaite Reconstructionist Renewal Humanistic Haymanot Philosophy     Principles of faith Kabbalah Messiah Ethics Chosenness God         Names Musar movement Texts     Tanakh         Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim     Ḥumash Siddur Piyutim Zohar     Rabbinic         Mishnah Talmud Midrash Tosefta Law     Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Mishnah Berurah Aruch HaShulchan Kashrut Tzniut Tzedakah Niddah Noahide laws Holy cities / places     Jerusalem Safed Hebron Tiberias     Synagogue Beth midrash Mikveh Sukkah Chevra kadisha Holy Temple Tabernacle Important figures     Abraham Isaac Jacob     Moses Aaron David Solomon     Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah     Rabbinic sages     Chazal         Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim     Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Religious roles     Rabbi Rebbe Posek Hazzan Dayan Rosh yeshiva Mohel Kohen Culture and education     Brit Zeved habat Pidyon haben Bar and Bat Mitzvah Marriage Bereavement     Yeshiva Kolel Cheder Ritual objects     Sefer Torah Tallit Tefillin Tzitzit Kippah Mezuzah Menorah Shofar Four species         Etrog Lulav Hadass Arava     Kittel Gartel Prayers     Shema (Sh'ma) Amidah Aleinu Kaddish Minyan Birkat Hamazon Shehecheyanu Hallel Havdalah Tachanun Kol Nidre Selichot (S'lichot) Major holidays     Rosh Hashana Yom Kippur Sukkot Pesach Shavuot Purim Hanukkah Other religions     Christianity Hinduism Islam Mormonism     Samaritanism Abrahamic religions Judeo-Christian Pluralism Related topics     Jews Zionism Israel Criticism Antisemitism Anti-Judaism Holocaust theology Music Jesus Muhammad      Judaism portal     vte Judaism (Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת‎ Yahăḏūṯ) is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people,[1][2][3] having originated as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.[4] Contemporary Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the cultic religious movement of ancient Israel and Judah, around the 6th/5th century BCE,[5] and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.[6][7] Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which was established between God and the Israelites, their ancestors.[8] Jewish religious doctrine encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Among Judaism's core texts is the Torah, the first five books of the Tanakh, a collection of ancient Hebrew scriptures. The Tanakh, known in English as the Hebrew Bible, is also referred to as the "Old Testament" in Christianity. In addition to the original written scripture, the supplemental Oral Torah is represented by later texts, such as the Midrash and the Talmud. The Hebrew-language word torah can mean "teaching", "law", or "instruction",[9] although "Torah" can also be used as a general term that refers to any Jewish text that expands or elaborates on the original Five Books of Moses. Representing the core of the Jewish spiritual and religious tradition, the Torah is a term and a set of teachings that are explicitly self-positioned as encompassing at least seventy, and potentially infinite, facets and interpretations.[10] Judaism's texts, traditions, and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and Islam.[11][12] Hebraism, like Hellenism, played a seminal role in the formation of Western civilization through its impact as a core background element of Early Christianity.[13] Within Judaism, there are a variety of religious movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism,[14][15][16] which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah.[17] Historically, all or part of this assertion was challenged by various groups such as the Sadducees and Hellenistic Judaism during the Second Temple period;[18][15][19] the Karaites during the early and later medieval period; and among segments of the modern non-Orthodox denominations.[20] Some modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be considered secular or nontheistic.[21][22][23][24] Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi and Modern Orthodox), Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between these groups are their approaches to halakha (Jewish law), the authority of the rabbinic tradition, and the significance of the State of Israel.[25][26][27][28] Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and halakha are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed.[29][30][31][32] Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditionalist interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism.[33][34][35][36] A typical Reform position is that halakha should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews.[37][38][39][40][41] Historically, special courts enforced halakha; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary.[42] Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and the rabbis and scholars who interpret them. Jews are an ethnoreligious group[43] including those born Jewish (or "ethnic Jews"), in addition to converts to Judaism. In 2021, the world Jewish population was estimated at 15.2 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population, although religious observance varies from strict to none.[44][45] In 2021, about 45.6% of all Jews resided in Israel and another 42.1% resided in the United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe, and other groups spread throughout Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.[46] Etymology See also: Ioudaios Maccabees by Wojciech Stattler (1842) The term Judaism derives from Iudaismus, a Latinized form of the Ancient Greek Ioudaismos (Ἰουδαϊσμός) (from the verb ἰουδαΐζειν, "to side with or imitate the [Judeans]").[47] Its ultimate source was the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah",[48][49] which is also the source of the Hebrew term for Judaism: יַהֲדוּת, Yahadut. The term Ἰουδαϊσμός first appears in the Hellenistic Greek book of 2 Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE. In the context of the age and period it meant "seeking or forming part of a cultural entity"[50] and it resembled its antonym hellenismos, a word that signified a people's submission to Hellenic (Greek) cultural norms. The conflict between iudaismos and hellenismos lay behind the Maccabean revolt and hence the invention of the term iudaismos.[50] Shaye J. D. Cohen writes in his book The Beginnings of Jewishness:     We are tempted, of course, to translate [Ioudaïsmós] as "Judaism," but this translation is too narrow, because in this first occurrence of the term, Ioudaïsmós has not yet been reduced to the designation of a religion. It means rather "the aggregate of all those characteristics that makes Judaeans Judaean (or Jews Jewish)." Among these characteristics, to be sure, are practices and beliefs that we would today call "religious," but these practices and beliefs are not the sole content of the term. Thus Ioudaïsmós should be translated not as "Judaism" but as Judaeanness.[51] According to the Oxford English Dictionary the earliest citation in English where the term was used to mean "the profession or practice of the Jewish religion; the religious system or polity of the Jews" is Robert Fabyan's The newe cronycles of Englande and of Fraunce (1516).[52] "Judaism" as a direct translation of the Latin Iudaismus first occurred in a 1611 English translation of the apocrypha (Deuterocanon in Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy), 2 Macc. ii. 21: "Those that behaved themselves manfully to their honour for Iudaisme."[53] History Main article: Jewish history For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Jewish history. "Ancient Judaism" redirects here. For the book, see Ancient Judaism (book). Origins      This article or section may fail to make a clear distinction between fact and fiction. Please help improve this article so that it meets Wikipedia's fiction guidelines and quality standards. (June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Main article: Origins of Judaism Further information: Yahwism, Ancient Canaanite religion, and Ancient Semitic religion A painting of Moses decorates the Dura-Europos synagogue dating from 244 CE In Israel, as in the West, Judaism is also divided into major Orthodox, Conservative and Reform traditions.[162][163][164] At the same time, for statistical and practical purposes, a different division of society is used there on the basis of a person's attitude to religion. Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni), "traditional" (masorti), "religious" (dati) or "ultra-religious" (haredi).[164][165] The term "secular" is more popular as a self-description among Israeli families of western (European) origin, whose Jewish identity may be a very powerful force in their lives, but who see it as largely independent of traditional religious belief and practice. This portion of the population largely ignores organized religious life, be it of the official Israeli rabbinate (Orthodox) or of the liberal movements common to diaspora Judaism (Reform, Conservative). The term "traditional" (masorti) is most common as a self-description among Israeli families of "eastern" origin (i.e., the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa). This term, as commonly used, has nothing to do with Conservative Judaism, which also names itself "Masorti" outside North America. Only a few authors, like Elliot Nelson Dorff, consider the American Conservative (masorti) movement and Israeli masorti sector to be one and the same.[166] There is a great deal of ambiguity in the ways "secular" and "traditional" are used in Israel: they often overlap, and they cover an extremely wide range in terms of worldview and practical religious observance. The term "Orthodox" is not popular in Israeli discourse, although the percentage of Jews who come under that category is far greater than in the Jewish diaspora. What would be called "Orthodox" in the diaspora includes what is commonly called dati (religious, including religious zionist) or haredi (ultra-Orthodox) in Israel.[164][165] The former term includes what is called "religious Zionism" or the "National Orthodox" community, as well as what has become known over the past decade or so as haredi-leumi (nationalist haredi), or "Hardal", which combines a largely haredi lifestyle with nationalist ideology. (Some people, in Yiddish, also refer to observant Orthodox Jews as frum, as opposed to frei (more liberal Jews)).[167] Karaites and Samaritans Karaite Judaism defines itself as the remnants of the non-Rabbinic Jewish sects of the Second Temple period, such as the Sadducees. The Karaites ("Scripturalists") accept only the Hebrew Bible and what they view as the Peshat ("simple" meaning); they do not accept non-biblical writings as authoritative. Some European Karaites do not see themselves as part of the Jewish community at all, although most do.[20] The Samaritans, a very small community located entirely around Mount Gerizim in the Nablus/Shechem region of the West Bank and in Holon, near Tel Aviv in Israel, regard themselves as the descendants of the Israelites of the Iron Age kingdom of Israel. Their religious practices are based on the literal text of the written Torah (Five Books of Moses), which they view as the only authoritative scripture (with a special regard also for the Samaritan Book of Joshua). Beta Israeli Kahen at the Western Wall Haymanot (Ethiopian Judaism) See also: Haymanot and Beta Israel Haymanot (meaning "religion" in Ge'ez and Amharic) refers the Judaism practiced by Ethiopian Jews. This version of Judaism differs substantially from Rabbinic, Karaite, and Samaritan Judaisms, Ethiopian Jews having diverged from their coreligionists earlier. Sacred scriptures (the Orit) are written in Ge'ez, not Hebrew, and dietary laws are based strictly on the text of the Orit, without explication from ancillary commentaries. Holidays also differ, with some Rabbinic holidays not observed in Ethiopian Jewish communities, and some additional holidays, like Sigd. Noahide (B'nei Noah movement) Further information: Noahidism Noahidism is a Jewish religious movement based on the Seven Laws of Noah and their traditional interpretations within Rabbinic Judaism. According to the halakha, non-Jews (gentiles) are not obligated to convert to Judaism, but they are required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the World to Come (Olam Ha-Ba), the final reward of the righteous. The divinely ordained penalty for violating any of the Laws of Noah is discussed in the Talmud, but in practical terms it is subject to the working legal system which is established by the society at large. Those who subscribe to the observance of the Noahic Covenant are referred to as B'nei Noach (Hebrew: בני נח, "Children of Noah") or Noahides (/ˈnoʊ.ə.haɪdɪs/). Supporting organizations have been established around the world over the past decades by both Noahides and Orthodox Jews.[168] Historically, the Hebrew term B'nei Noach has applied to all non-Jews as descendants of Noah. However, nowadays it's primarily used to refer specifically to those non-Jews who observe the Seven Laws of Noah. Jewish observances Jewish ethics Main article: Jewish ethics Jewish ethics may be guided by halakhic traditions, by other moral principles, or by central Jewish virtues. Jewish ethical practice is typically understood to be marked by values such as justice, truth, peace, loving-kindness (chesed), compassion, humility, and self-respect. Specific Jewish ethical practices include practices of charity (tzedakah) and refraining from negative speech (lashon hara). Proper ethical practices regarding sexuality and many other issues are subjects of dispute among Jews. Prayers Main article: Jewish prayer A Yemenite Jew at morning prayers, wearing a kippah skullcap, prayer shawl and tefillin Traditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv with a fourth prayer, Mussaf added on Shabbat and holidays. At the heart of each service is the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei. Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael (or Shema). The Shema is the recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad—"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!" An Israeli female soldier prays at the Western Wall Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be recited in solitary prayer, although communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires a quorum of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well. In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts. Prayers are recited upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, after eating a meal, and so on. The approach to prayer varies among the Jewish denominations. Differences can include the texts of prayers, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, the use of musical instruments and choral music, and whether prayers are recited in the traditional liturgical languages or the vernacular. In general, Orthodox and Conservative congregations adhere most closely to tradition, and Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations and contemporary writings in their services. Also, in most Conservative synagogues, and all Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, women participate in prayer services on an equal basis with men, including roles traditionally filled only by men, such as reading from the Torah. In addition, many Reform temples use musical accompaniment such as organs and mixed choirs. Religious clothing Jewish boys wearing tzitzit and kippot play soccer in Jerusalem Men wearing tallitot pray at the Western Wall Further information: Jewish religious clothing, kippah, tzitzit, and tefillin A kippah (Hebrew: כִּפָּה, plural kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע, yarmulke) is a slightly rounded brimless skullcap worn by many Jews while praying, eating, reciting blessings, or studying Jewish religious texts, and at all times by some Jewish men. In Orthodox communities, only men wear kippot; in non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear kippot. Kippot range in size from a small round beanie that covers only the back of the head to a large, snug cap that covers the whole crown. Tzitzit (Hebrew: צִיציִת) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are special knotted "fringes" or "tassels" found on the four corners of the tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tallis), or prayer shawl. The tallit is worn by Jewish men and some Jewish women during the prayer service. Customs vary regarding when a Jew begins wearing a tallit. In the Sephardi community, boys wear a tallit from bar mitzvah age. In some Ashkenazi communities, it is customary to wear one only after marriage. A tallit katan (small tallit) is a fringed garment worn under the clothing throughout the day. In some Orthodox circles, the fringes are allowed to hang freely outside the clothing. Tefillin (Hebrew: תְפִלִּין), known in English as phylacteries (from the Greek word φυλακτήριον, meaning safeguard or amulet), are two square leather boxes containing biblical verses, attached to the forehead and wound around the left arm by leather straps. They are worn during weekday morning prayer by observant Jewish men and some Jewish women.[169] A kittel (Yiddish: קיטל), a white knee-length overgarment, is worn by prayer leaders and some observant traditional Jews on the High Holidays. It is traditional for the head of the household to wear a kittel at the Passover seder in some communities, and some grooms wear one under the wedding canopy. Jewish males are buried in a tallit and sometimes also a kittel which are part of the tachrichim (burial garments). Jewish holidays Main article: Jewish holiday Jewish holidays are special days in the Jewish calendar, which celebrate moments in Jewish history, as well as central themes in the relationship between God and the world, such as creation, revelation, and redemption. Shabbat Main article: Shabbat Two braided Shabbat challahs placed under an embroidered challah cover at the start of the Shabbat meal Shabbat, the weekly day of rest lasting from shortly before sundown on Friday night to nightfall on Saturday night, commemorates God's day of rest after six days of creation. It plays a pivotal role in Jewish practice and is governed by a large corpus of religious law. At sundown on Friday, the woman of the house welcomes the Shabbat by lighting two or more candles and reciting a blessing. The evening meal begins with the Kiddush, a blessing recited aloud over a cup of wine, and the Mohtzi, a blessing recited over the bread. It is customary to have challah, two braided loaves of bread, on the table. During Shabbat, Jews are forbidden to engage in any activity that falls under 39 categories of melakhah, translated literally as "work". In fact, the activities banned on the Sabbath are not "work" in the usual sense: They include such actions as lighting a fire, writing, using money and carrying in the public domain. The prohibition of lighting a fire has been extended in the modern era to driving a car, which involves burning fuel and using electricity.[170] Three pilgrimage festivals Main article: Shalosh regalim Jewish holy days (chaggim), celebrate landmark events in Jewish history, such as the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah, and sometimes mark the change of seasons and transitions in the agricultural cycle. The three major festivals, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, are called "regalim" (derived from the Hebrew word "regel", or foot). On the three regalim, it was customary for the Israelites to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple:     A haggadah used by the Jewish community of Cairo in Arabic     Passover (Pesach) is a week-long holiday beginning on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan (the first month in the Hebrew calendar), that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. Outside Israel, Passover is celebrated for eight days. In ancient times, it coincided with the barley harvest. It is the only holiday that centers on home-service, the Seder. Leavened products (chametz) are removed from the house prior to the holiday and are not consumed throughout the week. Homes are thoroughly cleaned to ensure no bread or bread by-products remain, and a symbolic burning of the last vestiges of chametz is conducted on the morning of the Seder. Matzo is eaten instead of bread.     Shavuot ("Pentecost" or "Feast of Weeks") celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. Also known as the Festival of Bikurim, or first fruits, it coincided in biblical times with the wheat harvest. Shavuot customs include all-night study marathons known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot, eating dairy foods (cheesecake and blintzes are special favorites), reading the Book of Ruth, decorating homes and synagogues with greenery, and wearing white clothing, symbolizing purity.     A sukkah     Sukkot ("Tabernacles" or "The Festival of Booths") commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. It is celebrated through the construction of temporary booths called sukkot (sing. sukkah) that represent the temporary shelters of the Israelites during their wandering. It coincides with the fruit harvest and marks the end of the agricultural cycle. Jews around the world eat in sukkot for seven days and nights. Sukkot concludes with Shemini Atzeret, where Jews begin to pray for rain and Simchat Torah, "Rejoicing of the Torah", a holiday which marks reaching the end of the Torah reading cycle and beginning all over again. The occasion is celebrated with singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are technically considered to be a separate holiday and not a part of Sukkot. Jews in Mumbai break the Yom Kippur fast with roti and samosas High Holy Days Main article: High Holidays The High Holidays (Yamim Noraim or "Days of Awe") revolve around judgment and forgiveness:     Rosh Hashanah, (also Yom Ha-Zikkaron or "Day of Remembrance", and Yom Teruah, or "Day of the Sounding of the Shofar"). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year (literally, "head of the year"), although it falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the 10-day period of atonement leading up to Yom Kippur, during which Jews are commanded to search their souls and make amends for sins committed, intentionally or not, throughout the year. Holiday customs include blowing the shofar, or ram's horn, in the synagogue, eating apples and honey, and saying blessings over a variety of symbolic foods, such as pomegranates.     Yom Kippur, ("Day of Atonement") is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It is a day of communal fasting and praying for forgiveness for one's sins. Observant Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue, sometimes with a short break in the afternoon, reciting prayers from a special holiday prayerbook called a "Machzor". Many non-religious Jews make a point of attending synagogue services and fasting on Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur, before candles are lit, a prefast meal, the "seuda mafseket", is eaten. Synagogue services on the eve of Yom Kippur begin with the Kol Nidre prayer. It is customary to wear white on Yom Kippur, especially for Kol Nidre, and leather shoes are not worn. The following day, prayers are held from morning to evening. The final prayer service, called "Ne'ilah", ends with a long blast of the shofar. Purim Main article: Purim Purim street scene in Jerusalem Jewish personnel of the US Navy light candles on Hanukkah Purim (Hebrew: פוריםⓘ Pûrîm "lots") is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman, who sought to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, mutual gifts of food and drink, charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22). Other customs include drinking wine, eating special pastries called hamantashen, dressing up in masks and costumes, and organizing carnivals and parties. Purim has celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which occurs in February or March of the Gregorian calendar. Hanukkah Main article: Hanukkah Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה, "dedication") also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev (Hebrew calendar). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on. The holiday was called Hanukkah (meaning "dedication") because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates the "Miracle of the Oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days—which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil. Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Bible and was never considered a major holiday in Judaism, but it has become much more visible and widely celebrated in modern times, mainly because it falls around the same time as Christmas and has national Jewish overtones that have been emphasized since the establishment of the State of Israel. Fast days Main articles: Tisha B'Av, Seventeenth of Tamuz, 10th of Tevet, and Tzom Gedaliah Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תשעה באב or ט׳ באב, "the Ninth of Av") is a day of mourning and fasting commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and in later times, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. There are three more minor Jewish fast days that commemorate various stages of the destruction of the Temples. They are the 17th Tamuz, the 10th of Tevet and Tzom Gedaliah (the 3rd of Tishrei). Israeli holidays Main articles: Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, and Yom Ha'atzmaut The modern holidays of Yom Ha-shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust, the fallen soldiers of Israel and victims of terrorism, and Israeli independence, respectively. There are some who prefer to commemorate those who were killed in the Holocaust on the 10th of Tevet. A man reads a torah using a yad Torah readings Main article: Torah reading The core of festival and Shabbat prayer services is the public reading of the Torah, along with connected readings from the other books of the Tanakh, called Haftarah. Over the course of a year, the whole Torah is read, with the cycle starting over in the autumn, on Simchat Torah. Synagogues and religious buildings Main article: Synagogue The Sarajevo Synagogue in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Great Synagogue (Jerusalem) Synagogues are Jewish houses of prayer and study. They usually contain separate rooms for prayer (the main sanctuary), smaller rooms for study, and often an area for community or educational use. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. The Reform movement mostly refer to their synagogues as temples. Some traditional features of a synagogue are: Congregation Emanu-El of New York     The ark (called aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim and hekhal by Sephardim) where the Torah scrolls are kept (the ark is often closed with an ornate curtain (parochet) outside or inside the ark doors);     The elevated reader's platform (called bimah by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim), where the Torah is read (and services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues);     The eternal light (ner tamid), a continually lit lamp or lantern used as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem     The pulpit, or amud, a lectern facing the Ark where the hazzan or prayer leader stands while praying. In addition to synagogues, other buildings of significance in Judaism include yeshivas, or institutions of Jewish learning, and mikvahs, which are ritual baths. Dietary laws: kashrut Main article: Kashrut The Jewish dietary laws are known as kashrut. Food prepared in accordance with them is termed kosher, and food that is not kosher is also known as treifah or treif. People who observe these laws are colloquially said to be "keeping kosher".[171][172] Many of the laws apply to animal-based foods. For example, in order to be considered kosher, mammals must have split hooves and chew their cud. The pig is arguably the most well-known example of a non-kosher animal.[173] Although it has split hooves, it does not chew its cud. For seafood to be kosher, the animal must have fins and scales. Certain types of seafood, such as shellfish, crustaceans, and eels, are therefore considered non-kosher. Concerning birds, a list of non-kosher species is given in the Torah. The exact translations of many of the species have not survived, and some non-kosher birds' identities are no longer certain. However, traditions exist about the kashrut status of a few birds. For example, both chickens and turkeys are permitted in most communities. Other types of animals, such as amphibians, reptiles, and most insects, are prohibited altogether.[171] In addition to the requirement that the species be considered kosher, meat and poultry (but not fish) must come from a healthy animal slaughtered in a process known as shechitah. Without the proper slaughtering practices even an otherwise kosher animal will be rendered treif. The slaughtering process is intended to be quick and relatively painless to the animal. Forbidden parts of animals include the blood, some fats, and the area in and around the sciatic nerve.[171] Halakha also forbids the consumption of meat and dairy products together. The waiting period between eating meat and eating dairy varies by the order in which they are consumed and by community and can extend for up to six hours. Based on the Biblical injunction against cooking a kid in its mother's milk, this rule is mostly derived from the Oral Torah, the Talmud and Rabbinic law. Chicken and other kosher birds are considered the same as meat under the laws of kashrut, but the prohibition is rabbinic, not biblical.[174] The use of dishes, serving utensils, and ovens may make food treif that would otherwise be kosher. Utensils that have been used to prepare non-kosher food, or dishes that have held meat and are now used for dairy products, render the food treif under certain conditions.[171] Furthermore, all Orthodox and some Conservative authorities forbid the consumption of processed grape products made by non-Jews, due to ancient pagan practices of using wine in rituals. Some Conservative authorities permit wine and grape juice made without rabbinic supervision.[175] The Torah does not give specific reasons for most of the laws of kashrut. However, a number of explanations have been offered, including maintaining ritual purity, teaching impulse control, encouraging obedience to God, improving health, reducing cruelty to animals and preserving the distinctness of the Jewish community.[171] The various categories of dietary laws may have developed for different reasons, and some may exist for multiple reasons. For example, people are forbidden from consuming the blood of birds and mammals because, according to the Torah, this is where animal souls are contained. In contrast, the Torah forbids Israelites from eating non-kosher species because "they are unclean".[176] The Kabbalah describes sparks of holiness that are released by the act of eating kosher foods but are too tightly bound in non-kosher foods to be released by eating.[171] Survival concerns supersede all the laws of kashrut, as they do for most halakhot.[177][178] Laws of ritual purity Main article: Tumah The Tanakh describes circumstances in which a person who is tahor or ritually pure may become tamei or ritually impure. Some of these circumstances are contact with human corpses or graves, seminal flux, vaginal flux, menstruation, and contact with people who have become impure from any of these.[179][180] In Rabbinic Judaism, Kohanim, members of the hereditary caste that served as priests in the time of the Temple, are mostly restricted from entering grave sites and touching dead bodies.[181] During the Temple period, such priests (Kohanim) were required to eat their bread offering (Terumah) in a state of ritual purity, which laws eventually led to more rigid laws being enacted, such as hand-washing which became a requisite of all Jews before consuming ordinary bread.[182][183][184] Family purity 18th-century circumcision chair Museum of Jewish Art and History Main article: Niddah See also: Women in Judaism An important subcategory of the ritual purity laws relates to the segregation of menstruating women. These laws are also known as niddah, literally "separation", or family purity. Vital aspects of halakha for traditionally observant Jews, they are not usually followed by Jews in liberal denominations.[185] Especially in Orthodox Judaism, the Biblical laws are augmented by Rabbinical injunctions. For example, the Torah mandates that a woman in her normal menstrual period must abstain from sexual intercourse for seven days. A woman whose menstruation is prolonged must continue to abstain for seven more days after bleeding has stopped.[179] The Rabbis conflated ordinary niddah with this extended menstrual period, known in the Torah as zavah, and mandated that a woman may not have sexual intercourse with her husband from the time she begins her menstrual flow until seven days after it ends. In addition, Rabbinical law forbids the husband from touching or sharing a bed with his wife during this period. Afterwards, purification can occur in a ritual bath called a mikveh[185] Traditional Ethiopian Jews keep menstruating women in separate huts and, similar to Karaite practice, do not allow menstruating women into their temples because of a temple's special sanctity. Emigration to Israel and the influence of other Jewish denominations have led to Ethiopian Jews adopting more normative Jewish practices.[186][187] Two boys wearing tallit at a bar mitzvah. The torah is visible in the foreground. Life-cycle events Life-cycle events, or rites of passage, occur throughout a Jew's life that serves to strengthen Jewish identity and bind him/her to the entire community:     Brit milah — Welcoming male babies into the covenant through the rite of circumcision on their eighth day of life. The baby boy is also given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. A naming ceremony intended as a parallel ritual for girls, named zeved habat or brit bat, enjoys limited popularity.     Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah — This passage from childhood to adulthood takes place when a female Jew is twelve and a male Jew is thirteen years old among Orthodox and some Conservative congregations. In the Reform movement, both girls and boys have their bat/bar mitzvah at age thirteen. This is often commemorated by having the new adults, male only in the Orthodox tradition, lead the congregation in prayer and publicly read a "portion" of the Torah.     Marriage — Marriage is an extremely important lifecycle event and an ideal human state.[188] A wedding takes place under a chuppah, or wedding canopy, which symbolizes a happy house. At the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot, symbolizing the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people. An intermarriage is prohibited, except as within Reform Judaism:[189] Le Get (The Divorce) by Moshe Rynecki, c. 1930     Divorce — Divorce is allowed in accordance with Halakha. The divorce ceremony involves the husband giving the short get document written in Aramaic into the hand of the wife in rabbinical court, that is all. But, since the 11th century among the Ashkenazim and many Sephardim a divorce became prohibited against will of a wife, than a man had way for polygamy.[190] The get contains declaration: "You are hereby permitted to all men." The Bereavement (Yahrtzeit) Hasidic tish, Bnei Brak, Israel     Death and Mourning (Avelut) — The Torah requires burial as soon as possible, even for executed criminals.[191] Judaism has a multi-staged mourning practice. The first stage is called the shiva (literally "seven", observed for one week) during which it is traditional to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family, the second is the shloshim (observed for one month) and for those who have lost one of their parents, there is a third stage, avelut yud bet chodesh, which is observed for eleven months.[192] A cremation within Orthodox Judaism permited only by some leading rabbis in West Europe.[193] Community leadership Classical priesthood Jewish students with their teacher in Samarkand, Uzbekistan c. 1910. The role of the priesthood in Judaism has significantly diminished since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE when priests attended to the Temple and sacrifices. The priesthood is an inherited position, and although priests no longer have any but ceremonial duties, they are still honored in many Jewish communities. Many Orthodox Jewish communities believe that they will be needed again for a future Third Temple and need to remain in readiness for future duty:     Kohen (priest) – patrilineal descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses. In the Temple, the kohanim were charged with performing the sacrifices. Today, a Kohen is the first one called up at the reading of the Torah, performs the Priestly Blessing, as well as complying with other unique laws and ceremonies, including the ceremony of redemption of the first-born.     Levi (Levite) – Patrilineal descendant of Levi the son of Jacob. In the Temple in Jerusalem, the levites sang Psalms, performed construction, maintenance, janitorial, and guard duties, assisted the priests, and sometimes interpreted the law and Temple ritual to the public. Today, a Levite is called up second to the reading of the Torah. Prayer leaders Magen David Synagogue in Kolkata, India From the time of the Mishnah and Talmud to the present, Judaism has required specialists or authorities for the practice of very few rituals or ceremonies. A Jew can fulfill most requirements for prayer by himself. Some activities—reading the Torah and haftarah (a supplementary portion from the Prophets or Writings), the prayer for mourners, the blessings for bridegroom and bride, the complete grace after meals—require a minyan, the presence of ten Jews. The most common professional clergy in a synagogue are:     Rabbi of a congregation – Jewish scholar who is charged with answering the legal questions of a congregation. This role requires ordination by the congregation's preferred authority (i.e., from a respected Orthodox rabbi or, if the congregation is Conservative or Reform, from academic seminaries). A congregation does not necessarily require a rabbi. Some congregations have a rabbi but also allow members of the congregation to act as shatz or baal kriyah (see below).         Hassidic Rebbe – rabbi who is the head of a Hasidic dynasty.     Hazzan (note: the "h" denotes voiceless pharyngeal fricative) (cantor) – a trained vocalist who acts as shatz. Chosen for a good voice, knowledge of traditional tunes, understanding of the meaning of the prayers and sincerity in reciting them. A congregation does not need to have a dedicated hazzan. Jewish prayer services do involve two specified roles, which are sometimes, but not always, filled by a rabbi or hazzan in many congregations. In other congregations these roles are filled on an ad-hoc basis by members of the congregation who lead portions of services on a rotating basis:     Shaliach tzibur or Shatz (leader—literally "agent" or "representative"—of the congregation) leads those assembled in prayer and sometimes prays on behalf of the community. When a shatz recites a prayer on behalf of the congregation, he is not acting as an intermediary but rather as a facilitator. The entire congregation participates in the recital of such prayers by saying amen at their conclusion; it is with this act that the shatz's prayer becomes the prayer of the congregation. Any adult capable of reciting the prayers clearly may act as shatz. In Orthodox congregations and some Conservative congregations, only men can be prayer leaders, but all Progressive communities now allow women to serve in this function.     The Baal kriyah or baal koreh (master of the reading) reads the weekly Torah portion. The requirements for being the baal kriyah are the same as those for the shatz. These roles are not mutually exclusive. The same person is often qualified to fill more than one role and often does. Often there are several people capable of filling these roles and different services (or parts of services) will be led by each. Many congregations, especially larger ones, also rely on a:     Gabbai (sexton) – Calls people up to the Torah, appoints the shatz for each prayer session if there is no standard shatz, and makes certain that the synagogue is kept clean and supplied. The three preceding positions are usually voluntary and considered an honor. Since the Enlightenment large synagogues have often adopted the practice of hiring rabbis and hazzans to act as shatz and baal kriyah, and this is still typically the case in many Conservative and Reform congregations. However, in most Orthodox synagogues these positions are filled by laypeople on a rotating or ad-hoc basis. Although most congregations hire one or more Rabbis, the use of a professional hazzan is generally declining in American congregations, and the use of professionals for other offices is rarer still. A Yemeni sofer writing a torah in the 1930s Specialized religious roles     Dayan (judge) – An ordained rabbi with special legal training who belongs to a beth din (rabbinical court). In Israel, religious courts handle marriage and divorce cases, conversion and financial disputes in the Jewish community.     Mohel (circumciser) – An expert in the laws of circumcision who has received training from a previously qualified mohel and performs the brit milah (circumcision).     Shochet (ritual slaughterer) – In order for meat to be kosher, it must be slaughtered by a shochet who is an expert in the laws of kashrut and has been trained by another shochet.     Sofer (scribe) – Torah scrolls, tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (scrolls put on doorposts), and gittin (bills of divorce) must be written by a sofer who is an expert in Hebrew calligraphy and has undergone rigorous training in the laws of writing sacred texts.     Rosh yeshiva – A Torah scholar who runs a yeshiva.     Mashgiach/Mashgicha of a yeshiva – Depending on which yeshiva, might either be the person responsible for ensuring attendance and proper conduct, or even supervise the emotional and spiritual welfare of the students and give lectures on mussar (Jewish ethics).     Mashgiach/Mashgicha – Supervises manufacturers of kosher food, importers, caterers and restaurants to ensure that the food is kosher. Must be an expert in the laws of kashrut and trained by a rabbi, if not a rabbi himself or herself. Historical Jewish groupings (to 1700) Around the 1st century CE, there were several small Jewish sects: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Christians. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, these sects vanished.[15][194] Christianity survived, but by breaking with Judaism and becoming a separate religion; the Pharisees survived but in the form of Rabbinic Judaism (today, known simply as "Judaism").[15] The Sadducees rejected the divine inspiration of the Prophets and the Writings, relying only on the Torah as divinely inspired. Consequently, a number of other core tenets of the Pharisees' belief system (which became the basis for modern Judaism), were also dismissed by the Sadducees. (The Samaritans practiced a similar religion, which is traditionally considered separate from Judaism.) Like the Sadducees who relied only on the Torah, some Jews in the 8th and 9th centuries rejected the authority and divine inspiration of the oral law as recorded in the Mishnah (and developed by later rabbis in the two Talmuds), relying instead only upon the Tanakh. These included the Isunians, the Yudganites, the Malikites,[clarification needed] and others. They soon developed oral traditions of their own, which differed from the rabbinic traditions, and eventually formed the Karaite sect. Karaites exist in small numbers today, mostly living in Israel. Rabbinical and Karaite Jews each hold that the others are Jews, but that the other faith is erroneous. Over a long time, Jews formed distinct ethnic groups in several different geographic areas—amongst others, the Ashkenazi Jews (of central and Eastern Europe), the Sephardi Jews (of Spain, Portugal, and North Africa), the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, the Yemenite Jews from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and the Malabari and Cochin Jews from Kerala . Many of these groups have developed differences in their prayers, traditions and accepted canons; however, these distinctions are mainly the result of their being formed at some cultural distance from normative (rabbinic) Judaism, rather than based on any doctrinal dispute. Persecutions Main articles: Persecution of Jews, Antisemitism, and History of antisemitism Antisemitism arose during the Middle Ages, in the form of persecutions, pogroms, forced conversions, expulsions, social restrictions and ghettoization. This was different in quality from the repressions of Jews which had occurred in ancient times. Ancient repressions were politically motivated and Jews were treated the same as members of other ethnic groups. With the rise of the Churches, the main motive for attacks on Jews changed from politics to religion and the religious motive for such attacks was specifically derived from Christian views about Jews and Judaism.[195] During the Middle Ages, Jewish people who lived under Muslim rule generally experienced tolerance and integration,[196] but there were occasional outbreaks of violence like Almohad's persecutions.[197] Hasidism Main article: Hasidic Judaism Hasidic Judaism was founded by Yisroel ben Eliezer (1700–1760), also known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (or Besht). It originated in a time of persecution of the Jewish people when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too "academic", and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy. Its adherents favored small and informal gatherings called Shtiebel, which, in contrast to a traditional synagogue, could be used both as a place of worship and for celebrations involving dancing, eating, and socializing.[198] Ba'al Shem Tov's disciples attracted many followers; they themselves established numerous Hasidic sects across Europe. Unlike other religions, which typically expanded through word of mouth or by use of print, Hasidism spread largely owing to Tzadiks, who used their influence to encourage others to follow the movement. Hasidism appealed to many Europeans because it was easy to learn, did not require full immediate commitment, and presented a compelling spectacle.[199] Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Eastern Europe. Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States. The movement itself claims to be nothing new, but a refreshment of original Judaism. As some have put it: "they merely re-emphasized that which the generations had lost". Nevertheless, early on there was a serious schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews. European Jews who rejected the Hasidic movement were dubbed by the Hasidim as Misnagdim, (lit. "opponents"). Some of the reasons for the rejection of Hasidic Judaism were the exuberance of Hasidic worship, its deviation from tradition in ascribing infallibility and miracles to their leaders, and the concern that it might become a messianic sect. Over time differences between the Hasidim and their opponents have slowly diminished and both groups are now considered part of Haredi Judaism. The Enlightenment and new religious movements Main articles: Haskalah and Jewish religious movements In the late 18th century CE, Europe was swept by a group of intellectual, social and political movements known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment led to reductions in the European laws that prohibited Jews to interact with the wider secular world, thus allowing Jews access to secular education and experience. A parallel Jewish movement, Haskalah or the "Jewish Enlightenment", began, especially in Central Europe and Western Europe, in response to both the Enlightenment and these new freedoms. It placed an emphasis on integration with secular society and a pursuit of non-religious knowledge through reason. With the promise of political emancipation, many Jews saw no reason to continue to observe halakha and increasing numbers of Jews assimilated into Christian Europe. Modern religious movements of Judaism all formed in reaction to this trend. In Central Europe, followed by Great Britain and the United States, Reform (or Liberal) Judaism developed, relaxing legal obligations (especially those that limited Jewish relations with non-Jews), emulating Protestant decorum in prayer, and emphasizing the ethical values of Judaism's Prophetic tradition. Modern Orthodox Judaism developed in reaction to Reform Judaism, by leaders who argued that Jews could participate in public life as citizens equal to Christians while maintaining the observance of halakha. Meanwhile, in the United States, wealthy Reform Jews helped European scholars, who were Orthodox in practice but critical (and skeptical) in their study of the Bible and Talmud, to establish a seminary to train rabbis for immigrants from Eastern Europe. These left-wing Orthodox rabbis were joined by right-wing Reform rabbis who felt that halakha should not be entirely abandoned, to form the Conservative movement. Orthodox Jews who opposed the Haskalah formed Haredi Orthodox Judaism. After massive movements of Jews following The Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel, these movements have competed for followers from among traditional Jews in or from other countries. Spectrum of observance Judaism is practiced around the world. This is an 1889 siddur published in Hebrew and Marathi for use by the Bene Israel community Jewish religious practice varies widely through all levels of observance. According to the 2001 edition of the National Jewish Population Survey, in the United States' Jewish community—the world's second largest—4.3 million Jews out of 5.1 million had some sort of connection to the religion.[200] Of that population of connected Jews, 80% participated in some sort of Jewish religious observance, but only 48% belonged to a congregation, and fewer than 16% attend regularly.[201] Judaism and other religions Christianity and Judaism Main article: Christianity and Judaism See also: Christianity and antisemitism and Christian–Jewish reconciliation The 12th century Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca in Toledo, Spain was converted to a church shortly after anti-Jewish pogroms in 1391 Christianity was originally a sect of Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions diverged in the first century. The differences between Christianity and Judaism originally centered on whether Jesus was the Jewish Messiah but eventually became irreconcilable. Major differences between the two faiths include the nature of the Messiah, of atonement and sin, the status of God's commandments to Israel, and perhaps most significantly of the nature of God himself. Due to these differences, Judaism traditionally regards Christianity as Shituf or worship of the God of Israel which is not monotheistic. Christianity has traditionally regarded Judaism as obsolete with the invention of Christianity and Jews as a people replaced by the Church, though a Christian belief in dual-covenant theology emerged as a phenomenon following Christian reflection on how their theology influenced the Nazi Holocaust.[202] Since the time of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church upheld the Constitutio pro Judæis (Formal Statement on the Jews), which stated:     We decree that no Christian shall use violence to force them to be baptized, so long as they are unwilling and refuse.…Without the judgment of the political authority of the land, no Christian shall presume to wound them or kill them or rob them of their money or change the good customs that they have thus far enjoyed in the place where they live."[203] Until their emancipation in the late 18th and the 19th century, Jews in Christian lands were subject to humiliating legal restrictions and limitations. They included provisions requiring Jews to wear specific and identifying clothing such as the Jewish hat and the yellow badge, restricting Jews to certain cities and towns or in certain parts of towns (ghettos), and forbidding Jews to enter certain trades (for example selling new clothes in medieval Sweden). Disabilities also included special taxes levied on Jews, exclusion from public life, restraints on the performance of religious ceremonies, and linguistic censorship. Some countries went even further and completely expelled Jews, for example, England in 1290 (Jews were readmitted in 1655) and Spain in 1492 (readmitted in 1868). The first Jewish settlers in North America arrived in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1654; they were forbidden to hold public office, open a retail shop, or establish a synagogue. When the colony was seized by the British in 1664 Jewish rights remained unchanged, but by 1671 Asser Levy was the first Jew to serve on a jury in North America.[204] In 1791, Revolutionary France was the first country to abolish disabilities altogether, followed by Prussia in 1848. Emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom was achieved in 1858 after an almost 30-year struggle championed by Isaac Lyon Goldsmid[205] with the ability of Jews to sit in parliament with the passing of the Jews Relief Act 1858. The newly created German Empire in 1871 abolished Jewish disabilities in Germany, which were reinstated in the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Jewish life in Christian lands was marked by frequent blood libels, expulsions, forced conversions and massacres. Religious prejudice was an underlying source against Jews in Europe. Christian rhetoric and antipathy towards Jews developed in the early years of Christianity and was reinforced by ever increasing anti-Jewish measures over the ensuing centuries. The action taken by Christians against Jews included acts of violence, and murder culminating in the Holocaust.[206]: 21 [207]: 169 [208] These attitudes were reinforced by Christian preaching, in art and popular teaching for two millennia which expressed contempt for Jews,[209] as well as statutes which were designed to humiliate and stigmatise Jews. The Nazi Party was known for its persecution of Christian Churches; many of them, such as the Protestant Confessing Church and the Catholic Church,[210] as well as Quakers and Jehovah's Witnesses, aided and rescued Jews who were being targeted by the antireligious régime.[211] The attitude of Christians and Christian Churches toward the Jewish people and Judaism have changed in a mostly positive direction since World War II. Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church have "upheld the Church's acceptance of the continuing and permanent election of the Jewish people" as well as a reaffirmation of the covenant between God and the Jews.[212] In December 2015, the Vatican released a 10,000-word document that, among other things, stated that Catholics should work with Jews to fight antisemitism.[213] Islam and Judaism Main article: Islam and Judaism Muslim women in the mellah of Essaouira The bimah of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt Both Judaism and Islam track their origins from the patriarch Abraham, and they are therefore considered Abrahamic religions. In both Jewish and Muslim tradition, the Jewish and Arab peoples are descended from the two sons of Abraham—Isaac and Ishmael, respectively. While both religions are monotheistic and share many commonalities, they differ based on the fact that Jews do not consider Jesus or Muhammad to be prophets. The religions' adherents have interacted with each other since the 7th century when Islam originated and spread in the Arabian peninsula. Indeed, the years 712 to 1066 CE under the Ummayad and the Abbasid rulers have been called the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. Non-Muslim monotheists living in these countries, including Jews, were known as dhimmis. Dhimmis were allowed to practice their own religions and administer their own internal affairs, but they were subject to certain restrictions that were not imposed on Muslims.[214] For example, they had to pay the jizya, a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-Muslim males,[214] and they were also forbidden to bear arms or testify in court cases involving Muslims.[215] Many of the laws regarding dhimmis were highly symbolic. For example, dhimmis in some countries were required to wear distinctive clothing, a practice not found in either the Qur'an or the hadiths but invented in early medieval Baghdad and inconsistently enforced.[216] Jews in Muslim countries were not entirely free from persecution—for example, many were killed, exiled or forcibly converted in the 12th century, in Persia, and by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in North Africa and Al-Andalus,[217] as well as by the Zaydi imams of Yemen in the 17th century (see: Mawza Exile). At times, Jews were also restricted in their choice of residence—in Morocco, for example, Jews were confined to walled quarters (mellahs) beginning in the 15th century and increasingly since the early 19th century.[218] In the mid-20th century, Jews were expelled from nearly all of the Arab countries.[219][220] Most have chosen to live in Israel. Today, antisemitic themes including Holocaust denial have become commonplace in the propaganda of Islamic movements such as Hizbullah and Hamas, in the pronouncements of various agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even in the newspapers and other publications of Refah Partisi.[221] Syncretic movements incorporating Judaism     Simmons, Shraga (9 May 2009). "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus". Aish HaTorah. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2010. "Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:     #Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. #Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah. #Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations. #Jewish belief is based on national revelation." Conservative     Waxman, Jonathan (2006). "Messianic Jews Are Not Jews". United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2007. "Hebrew Christian, Jewish Christian, Jew for Jesus, Messianic Jew, Fulfilled Jew. The name may have changed over the course of time, but all of the names reflect the same phenomenon: one who asserts that s/he is straddling the theological fence between Christianity and Judaism, but in truth is firmly on the Christian side.…we must affirm as did the Israeli Supreme Court in the well-known Brother Daniel case that to adopt Christianity is to have crossed the line out of the Jewish community." Reform     "Missionary Impossible". Hebrew Union College. 9 August 1999. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2007. "Missionary Impossible, an imaginative video and curriculum guide for teachers, educators, and rabbis to teach Jewish youth how to recognize and respond to "Jews-for-Jesus," "Messianic Jews," and other Christian proselytizers, has been produced by six rabbinic students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Cincinnati School. The students created the video as a tool for teaching why Jewish college and high school youth and Jews in intermarried couples are primary targets of Christian missionaries." Reconstructionist/Renewal     "FAQ's About Jewish Renewal". Aleph.org. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2007. "What is ALEPH's position on so called messianic Judaism? ALEPH has a policy of respect for other spiritual traditions, but objects to deceptive practices and will not collaborate with denominations which actively target Jews for recruitment. Our position on so-called "Messianic Judaism" is that it is Christianity and its proponents would be more honest to call it that." Raphael, Melissa (April 1998). "Goddess Religion, Postmodern Jewish Feminism, and the Complexity of Alternative Religious Identities". Nova Religio. 1 (2): 198–215. doi:10.1525/nr.1998.1.2.198. Cohn-Sherbok, Dan (2010). "Jewish Buddhists". Judaism Today. London; New York: Continuum. pp. 98–100. ISBN 978-0-8264-3829-4. Neusner & Avery-Peck 2003, pp. 354–370, "New Age Judaism".     Myers, Jody Elizabeth (2007). Kabbalah and the spiritual quest: the Kabbalah Centre in America. Westport, Conn: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-98940-8. General     Jacobs, Louis (2003). A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion (Online ed.). Oxford Reference. ISBN 978-0-19-280088-6.     Neusner, Jacob; et al. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Judaism Online.     Online version of The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906)     About Judaism by Dotdash (formerly About.com)     Shamash's Judaism and Jewish Resources Orthodox/Haredi     Orthodox Judaism – The Orthodox Union     Rohr Jewish Learning Institute     The Various Types of Orthodox Judaism Archived 3 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine     Aish HaTorah     Ohr Somayach Traditional/Conservadox     Union for Traditional Judaism Conservative     The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism     Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel     United Synagogue Youth Reform/Progressive     The Union for Reform Judaism (USA)     Reform Judaism (UK)     Liberal Judaism (UK)     World Union for Progressive Judaism (Israel) Reconstructionist     Jewish Reconstructionist Federation Renewal     ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal     OHALAH Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal Humanistic     Society for Humanistic Judaism Karaite     World Movement for Karaite Judaism Jewish religious literature and texts     Complete Tanakh (in Hebrew, with vowels).     Parallel Hebrew-English Tanakh     English Tanakh from the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version.     Torah.org (also known as Project Genesis) – contains Torah commentaries and studies of Tanakh, along with Jewish ethics, philosophy, holidays and other classes.     The complete formatted Talmud online – audio files of lectures for each page from an Orthodox viewpoint are provided in French, English, Yiddish and Hebrew. 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(January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) State of Israel מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ (Hebrew) دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎ (Arabic) Star of David centred between two horizontal stripes of a Jewish prayer shawl Flag Menorah surrounded by an olive branch on either side Emblem Anthem: הַתִּקְוָה‎ (Hatīkvāh; "The Hope") 1:15 Show globe Map of Israel (Green Line) Show all Israel within internationally recognized borders shown in dark green; Israeli-occupied territories and the Gaza Strip shown in light green Capital and largest city     Jerusalem (limited recognition)[fn 1][fn 2] 31°47′N 35°13′E Official language    Hebrew Recognized language    Arabic[fn 3] Ethnic groups (2023)[11]          73% Jews     21% Arabs     6% others Demonym(s)    Israeli Government    Unitary parliamentary republic • President     Isaac Herzog • Prime Minister     Benjamin Netanyahu • Knesset Speaker     Amir Ohana • Chief Justice     Esther Hayut Legislature    Knesset Independence out of British Palestine • Declaration     14 May 1948 • Admission to the United Nations     11 May 1949 • Basic Laws     1958–2018 Area • Total     20,770–22,072 km2 (8,019–8,522 sq mi)[a] (149th) • Water (%)     2.71 (as of 2015)[12] Population • 2023 estimate     9,792,800[13][fn 4] (93rd) • 2008 census     7,412,200[14][fn 4] • Density     444/km2 (1,150.0/sq mi) (29th) GDP (PPP)    2023 estimate • Total     Increase $537.140 billion[15] (48th) • Per capita     Increase $54,771[15] (29th) GDP (nominal)    2023 estimate • Total     Decrease $521.688 billion[15] (29th) • Per capita     Decrease $53,195[15] (13th) Gini (2018)    34.8[fn 4][16] medium HDI (2021)    Increase 0.919[17] very high · 22nd Currency    New shekel (₪) (ILS) Time zone    UTC+2:00 (IST) • Summer (DST)     UTC+3:00 (IDT) Date format        יי-חח-שששש (AM)     dd-mm-yyyy (CE) Driving side    right Calling code    +972 ISO 3166 code    IL Internet TLD    .il     20,770 km2 is Israel within the Green Line. 22,072 km2 includes the occupied Golan Heights (c. 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi)) and East Jerusalem (c. 64 km2 (25 sq mi)). Israel (/ˈɪzri.əl, -reɪ-/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל Yīsrāʾēl [jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل ʾIsrāʾīl), officially the State of Israel (מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل Dawlat Isrāʾīl), is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, by Syria to the northeast, by Jordan to the east, by the Red Sea to the south, by Egypt to the southwest, by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and by the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the economic and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is unrecognized internationally.[18][fn 5] Israel is located in the Southern Levant, a region known historically as Canaan, the Land of Israel, Palestine and the Holy Land. In ancient times, the region was home to several Israelite and Jewish kingdoms, including Israel and Judah and Hasmonean Judea. Over the ages, the region witnessed rule by imperial powers such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. The Jewish–Roman wars initiated a process which turned Jews from a majority population in the region into a widely dispersed people. The region later came under Byzantine and Arab rule. In the medieval period, it was part of the Islamic Caliphates, the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Ottoman Empire. The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism, a movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland. British control under the League of Nations after World War I, known as the British Mandate, heightened tensions between Jewish and Arab communities. The UN-approved 1947 partition plan subsequently triggered a civil war between these two communities. The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. Its establishment was met with both international support and regional opposition. Almost immediately, neighboring Arab states, in rejection of the partition plan, initiated the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Despite facing initial challenges, Israel managed to survive and consolidate its territory. Subsequent conflicts, including the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, shaped the nation's borders and security concerns. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, rooted in competing national aspirations, remains unsolved. Peace efforts, including the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, have encountered numerous obstacles. Israel's prolonged military occupation of Palestinian territories has faced international criticism for violating Palestinian human rights. Israel has also signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, normalized relations with several Arab countries, and faced security threats, including acts of terrorism and intense conflict with militant organizations, most notably Hamas. The country has a parliamentary system elected by means of proportional representation. The prime minister serves as head of government, and is elected by the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislature.[19] Israel is a developed country and an OECD member,[20] with a population of over 9 million people as of 2021.[21] It has the world's 29th-largest economy by nominal GDP and 13th by nominal GDP per capita.[15] Etymology Further information: Israel (name) and Names of the Levant § Israel and Judea The Merneptah Stele (13th century BCE). The majority of biblical archeologists translate a set of hieroglyphs as "Israel", the first instance of the name in the record. Under the British Mandate (1920–1948), the whole region was known as 'Palestine'.[22] Upon independence in 1948, the country formally adopted the name 'State of Israel' (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'elⓘ [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]) after other proposed historical and religious names including 'Land of Israel' (Eretz Israel), Ever (from ancestor Eber), Zion, and Judea, were considered but rejected,[23] while the name 'Israel' was suggested by Ben-Gurion and passed by a vote of 6–3.[24] In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.[25] The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically been used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel and the entire Jewish people respectively.[26] The name 'Israel' (Hebrew: Yīsrāʾēl; Septuagint Greek: Ἰσραήλ, Israēl, 'El (God) persists/rules', though after Hosea 12:4 often interpreted as 'struggle with God')[27][28][29][30] in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, according to the Hebrew Bible, was given the name after he successfully wrestled with the angel of the Lord.[31] Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. Jacob and his sons had lived in Canaan but were forced by famine to go into Egypt for four generations, lasting 430 years,[32] until Moses, a great-great-grandson of Jacob,[33] led the Israelites back into Canaan during the "Exodus". The earliest known archaeological artefact to mention the word "Israel" as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).[34] History Main article: History of Israel For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Israeli history. Early expansions of hominins out of Africa into the prehistoric Levant, where Israel is located, dates back at least 1.5 million years ago based on traces found at Ubeidiya in the Jordan Rift Valley,[35] while the Skhul and Qafzeh hominins, Homo sapiens fossils dating back 120,000 years, are some of the earliest traces of anatomically modern humans outside of Africa.[36] The Natufian culture emerged in the southern Levant by the 10th millennium BCE,[37] followed by the Ghassulian culture by around 4,500 BCE.[38] Bronze and Iron Ages Main article: History of ancient Israel and Judah Further information: Canaan, Israelites, Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), and Kingdom of Judah Canaanite wall of Jerusalem in the City of David The Canaanites are archaeologically attested in the Middle Bronze Age (2100–1550 BCE).[39] During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), large parts of Canaan formed vassal states paying tribute to the New Kingdom of Egypt.[40] As a result of the Late Bronze Age collapse, Canaan fell into chaos, and Egyptian control over the region collapsed completely.[41][42] There is evidence that urban centers such as Hazor, Beit She'an, Megiddo, Ekron, Ashdod, and Ashkelon were damaged or destroyed.[43] A people named Israel appear for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an ancient Egyptian inscription which dates to about 1200 BCE.[44][45][46][47] Ancestors of the Israelites are thought to have included ancient Semitic-speaking peoples native to this area.[48]: 78–79  According to the modern archaeological account, the Israelites and their culture branched out of the Canaanite peoples and their cultures through the development of a distinct monolatristic—and later monotheistic—religion centered on Yahweh.[49][50][51] They spoke an archaic form of the Hebrew language, known as Biblical Hebrew.[52] Around the same time, the Philistines settled on the southern coastal plain.[53][54] Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the narrative in the Torah concerning the patriarchs, The Exodus and the tales of conquest described in the Book of Joshua, and instead views the narrative as constituting the Israelites' national myth.[55] However, some elements of these traditions do appear to have historical roots.[56][57][58] Map of Israel and Judah in the 9th century BCE There is debate about the earliest existence of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their extent and power. While it is unclear if there was ever a United Kingdom of Israel,[59][60] historians and archaeologists agree that the northern Kingdom of Israel existed by ca. 900 BCE[61]: 169–195 [62] and that the Kingdom of Judah existed by ca. 850 BCE.[63][64] The Kingdom of Israel was the more prosperous of the two kingdoms and soon developed into a regional power;[65] during the days of the Omride dynasty, it controlled Samaria, Galilee, the upper Jordan Valley, the Sharon and large parts of the Transjordan.[66] Samaria, the capital, was home to one of the largest Iron Age structures in the Levant.[67][68] The Kingdom of Israel was destroyed around 720 BCE, when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire.[69] The Kingdom of Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem, later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian Empire and then the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It is estimated that the region's population was around 400,000 in the Iron Age II.[70] In 587/6 BCE, following a revolt in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple,[71][72] dissolved the kingdom and exiled much of the Judean elite to Babylon, beginning the Babylonian captivity.[73] The defeat was also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.[74][75] After capturing Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, issued a proclamation allowing the exiled Judean population to return to Judah.[76][77] The returned Jewish population was permitted to self-govern and rebuild the Temple. Classical antiquity Main article: Second Temple period Further information: Yehud (province), Hasmonean dynasty, Herodian dynasty, Judaea (Roman province), and Syria Palaestina The construction of the Second Temple was completed c. 520 BCE.[76] The Persians ruled the region as the province of Yehud,[78] which had a population of around 30,000 people in the 5th to 4th centuries BCE.[61]: 308  In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great of Macedon conquered the region as part of his campaign against the Persian Empire. After his death, the area was controlled by the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires as a part of Coele-Syria. Over the ensuing centuries, the Hellenization of the region led to cultural tensions that came to a head during the reign of Antiochus IV, giving rise to the Maccabean Revolt of 167 BCE. The civil unrest weakened Seleucid rule and in the late 2nd century the semi-autonomous Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea arose, eventually attaining full independence and expanding into neighboring regions.[79][80][81] Masada fortress, the location of a 1st-century Roman siege The Roman Republic invaded the region in 63 BCE, first taking control of Syria, and then intervening in the Hasmonean Civil War. The struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian factions in Judea led to the installation of Herod the Great as a dynastic vassal of Rome. In 6 CE, the area was fully annexed as the Roman province of Judaea, a period that heralded tensions with Roman rule, and led to a series of Jewish–Roman wars, resulting in widespread destruction. The First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE) resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and a sizable portion of the population being killed or displaced.[82] A second uprising known as the Bar Kokhba revolt took place during 132–136 CE. Initial successes allowed the Jews to form an independent state in Judea, but the Romans massed large forces and brutally crushed the rebellion, devastating and depopulating Judea's countryside.[82][83][84][85][86] Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony under the name of Aelia Capitolina, and the province of Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina.[87][88] Jews were expelled from the districts surrounding Jerusalem,[89][85] and joined communities in the diaspora.[90] Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence and Galilee became its religious center.[91][92] Jewish communities also continued to reside in the southern Hebron Hills and on the coastal plain.[85] Late antiquity and the medieval period Further information: Diocese of the East, Bilad al-Sham, and Kingdom of Jerusalem 3rd-century Kfar Bar'am synagogue in the Galilee[93] With the transition of Roman rule into that of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Constantine, Early Christianity displaced the more tolerant Roman Paganism as an external influence.[94][95] With the conversion of Constantine in the 4th century, the situation for the Jewish majority in Palestine "became more difficult".[90] A series of laws were passed that discriminated against Jews and Judaism, and Jews were persecuted by both the church and the authorities.[95] Many Jews had emigrated to flourishing Diaspora communities,[96] while locally there was both Christian immigration and local conversion. By the middle of the 5th century, there was a Christian majority.[97][98] Towards the end of the 5th century, Samaritan revolts erupted, continuing until the late 6th century and resulting in a large decrease in the Samaritan population.[99] After the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem and the short-lived Jewish revolt against Heraclius in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconsolidated control of the area in 628.[100] In 634–641 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant.[96][101][102][103] Over the next six centuries, control of the region transferred between the Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid caliphates, and subsequently the Seljuks and Ayyubid dynasties.[104] The population of the area drastically decreased during the following several centuries, dropping from an estimated 1 million during Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period. Alongside this population decline, there was a steady process of Arabization and Islamization brought on by non-Muslim emigration, Muslim immigration, and local conversion to Islam.[103][102][105][70] The end of the 11th century brought the Crusades, papally-sanctioned incursions of Christian crusaders intent on wresting Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control and establishing Crusader States.[106] The Ayyubids pushed back the crusaders before Muslim rule was fully restored by the Mamluk sultans of Egypt in 1291.[107] Modern period and the emergence of Zionism Main articles: Ottoman Syria, Jerusalem Sanjak, and Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem Further information: Old Yishuv and Zionism Jews at the Western Wall in the 1870s In 1516, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and proceeded to be ruled as a part of Ottoman Syria for the next four centuries. In 1660, a Druze revolt led to the destruction of Safed and Tiberias.[108] In the late 18th century, local Arab Sheikh Zahir al-Umar created a de facto independent Emirate in the Galilee. Ottoman attempts to subdue the Sheikh failed, but after Zahir's death the Ottomans regained control of the area. In 1799 governor Jazzar Pasha successfully repelled an assault on Acre by troops of Napoleon, prompting the French to abandon the Syrian campaign.[109] In 1834, a revolt by Palestinian Arab peasants broke out against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies under Muhammad Ali. Although the revolt was suppressed, Muhammad Ali's army retreated and Ottoman rule was restored with British support in 1840.[110] Shortly after, the Tanzimat reforms were implemented across the Ottoman Empire. Since the existence of the earliest Jewish diaspora, many Jews have aspired to return to "Zion" and the "Land of Israel",[111] though the amount of effort that should be spent towards such an aim was a matter of dispute.[112] Although the Jewish population shrank dramatically throughout the periods of Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, and Islamic rule, a Jewish presence continued to survive in the region. The Jewish population of Palestine from the outset of Ottoman rule to the beginning of the Zionist movement, known as the Old Yishuv, comprised a minority of the predominantly Muslim and Christian population and fluctuated in size throughout the centuries. During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities—Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem.[113] In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European Jews who were opponents of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.[114][115] The First Zionist Congress (1897) in Basel, Switzerland The first wave of modern Jewish migration to Ottoman-ruled Palestine, known as the First Aliyah, began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe.[116] Although the Zionist movement already existed in practice, Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism,[117] a movement that sought to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, thus offering a solution to the so-called Jewish question of the European states, in conformity with the goals and achievements of other national projects of the time.[118] In 1896, Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), offering his vision of a future Jewish state; the following year he presided over the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland.[119] The Second Aliyah (1904–14) began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half of them left eventually. Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews,[120] although the Second Aliyah included socialist groups who established the kibbutz movement.[121] Though the immigrants of the Second Aliyah largely sought to create communal agricultural settlements, the period saw the establishment of Tel Aviv as the first planned Jewish town in 1909. This period also saw the emergence of Jewish armed militias, the first being Bar-Giora, a guard founded in 1907. Two years later, the larger Hashomer organization was founded as its replacement. British Mandate Main article: Mandatory Palestine Further information: Yishuv, Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine, and 1948 Palestine war See also: Balfour Declaration and United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine In 1917, during World War I, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent the Balfour Declaration to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, that stated that Britain intended for the creation of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.[122][123] In 1918, the Jewish Legion, a group primarily of Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine.[124] In 1920, after the Allies conquered the Levant during World War I, the territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system, and the British-administered area which included modern day Israel was named Mandatory Palestine.[107][125][126] Arab opposition to British rule and Jewish immigration led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of a Jewish militia known as the Haganah (meaning "The Defense" in Hebrew) as an outgrowth of Hashomer, from which the Irgun and Lehi paramilitaries later split off.[127] In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain the Mandate for Palestine under terms which included the Balfour Declaration with its promise to the Jews, and with similar provisions regarding the Arab Palestinians.[128] The population of the area at this time was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11%,[129] and Arab Christians about 9.5% of the population.[130] The Third (1919–23) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–29) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine. The rise of Nazism and the increasing persecution of Jews in 1930s Europe led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This was a major cause of the Arab revolt of 1936–39, which was launched as a reaction to continued Jewish immigration and land purchases. The revolt, which also involved a significant amount of intercommunal fighting among the Arabs, was suppressed by British security forces and Zionist militias. Several hundred British security personnel and Jews were killed, while 5,032 Arabs were killed 14,760 were wounded, and 12,622 were detained.[131][132][133] An estimated ten percent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population was killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled.[134] The British introduced restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine with the White Paper of 1939. With countries around the world turning away Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, a clandestine movement known as Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to Palestine. By the end of World War II, the Jewish population of Palestine had increased to 31% of the total population.[135] After World War II, the UK found itself facing a Jewish guerrilla campaign over Jewish immigration restrictions, as well as continued conflict with the Arab community over limit levels. The Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule.[136] At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors and refugees sought a new life far from their destroyed communities in Europe. The Haganah attempted to bring these refugees to Palestine in a programme called Aliyah Bet in which tens of thousands of Jewish refugees attempted to enter Palestine by ship. Most of the ships were intercepted by the Royal Navy and the refugees rounded up and placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus by the British.[137][138] UN Map, "Palestine plan of partition with economic union" On 22 July 1946, Irgun bombed the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, which was housed in the southern wing[139] of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.[140][141][142] A total of 91 people of various nationalities were killed and 46 were injured.[143] The hotel was the site of the Secretariat of the Government of Palestine and the Headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan.[143][144] The attack initially had the approval of the Haganah. It was conceived as a response to Operation Agatha (a series of widespread raids, including one on the Jewish Agency, conducted by the British authorities) and was the deadliest directed at the British during the Mandate era.[143][144] The Jewish insurgency continued throughout the rest of 1946 and 1947 despite concerted efforts by the British military and Palestine Police Force to suppress it. British efforts to mediate a negotiated solution with Jewish and Arab representatives also failed as the Jews were unwilling to accept any solution that did not involve a Jewish state and suggested a partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, while the Arabs were adamant that a Jewish state in any part of Palestine was unacceptable and that the only solution was a unified Palestine under Arab rule. In February 1947, the British referred the Palestine issue to the newly formed United Nations. On 15 May 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations resolved that the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine be created "to prepare for consideration at the next regular session of the Assembly a report on the question of Palestine."[145] In the Report of the Committee dated 3 September 1947 to the General Assembly,[146] the majority of the Committee in Chapter VI proposed a plan to replace the British Mandate with "an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem [...] the last to be under an International Trusteeship System."[147] Meanwhile, the Jewish insurgency continued and peaked in July 1947, with a series of widespread guerrilla raids culminating in the Sergeants affair, in which the Irgun took two British sergeants hostage as attempted leverage against the planned execution of three Irgun operatives. After the executions were carried out, the Irgun killed the two British soldiers, hanged their bodies from trees, and left a booby trap at the scene which injured a British soldier. The incident caused widespread outrage in the UK.[148] In September 1947, the British cabinet decided that the Mandate was no longer tenable and to evacuate Palestine. According to Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech Jones, four major factors led to the decision to evacuate Palestine: the inflexibility of Jewish and Arab negotiators who were unwilling to compromise on their core positions over the question of a Jewish state in Palestine, the economic pressure that stationing a large garrison in Palestine to deal with the Jewish insurgency, the possibility of a wider Jewish rebellion, and the possibility of an Arab rebellion put on a British economy already strained by World War II, the "deadly blow to British patience and pride" caused by the hangings of the sergeants, and the mounting criticism the government faced in failing to find a new policy for Palestine in place of the White Paper of 1939.[148] On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II) recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union.[149] The plan attached to the resolution was essentially that proposed by the majority of the Committee in the report of 3 September. The Jewish Agency, which was the recognized representative of the Jewish community, accepted the plan, which assigned 55–56% of Mandatory Palestine to the Jews. At the time, the Jews were about a third of the population of Palestine and owned around 6-7% of the land. Arabs constituted the majority of Palestine's population and owned about 20% of the land, with the remainder held by the Mandate authorities or foreign landowners.[150][151][152][153][154][155][156] The Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected it,[157] and indicated that they would reject any other plan of partition.[158][159] On 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and riots broke out in Jerusalem.[160] The situation spiraled into a civil war; just two weeks after the UN vote, Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech Jones announced that the British Mandate would end on 15 May 1948, at which point the British would evacuate. As Arab militias and gangs attacked Jewish areas, they were faced mainly by the Haganah, as well as the smaller Irgun and Lehi. In April 1948, the Haganah moved onto the offensive.[161][162] During this period 250,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled, due to a number of factors.[163] State of Israel Main article: History of Israel (1948–present) Independence and the early years Further information: Israeli Declaration of Independence David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948 Raising of the Ink Flag on 10 March 1949, marking the end of the 1948 war On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel."[164][165] The only reference in the text of the Declaration to the borders of the new state is the use of the term Eretz-Israel ("Land of Israel").[166] The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq—entered into parts of what had been British Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War;[167][168][169] contingents from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan joined the war.[170][171] The apparent purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state at inception, and some Arab leaders talked about "driving the Jews into the sea".[172][155][173] According to Benny Morris, Jews were worried that the invading Arab armies held the intent to slaughter them.[174] The Arab league stated the invasion was to restore law and order and to prevent further bloodshed.[175] After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established.[176] Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip. The UN estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled by or fled from advancing Israeli forces during the conflict—what would become known in Arabic as the Nakba ("catastrophe").[177] Some 156,000 remained and became Arab citizens of Israel.[178] Israel was admitted as a member of the UN by majority vote on 11 May 1949.[179] An Israeli-Jordanian attempt at negotiating a peace agreement broke down after the British government, fearful of the Egyptian reaction to such a treaty, expressed their opposition to the Jordanian government.[180] In the early years of the state, the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics.[181][182] Immigration to Israel during the late 1940s and early 1950s was aided by the Israeli Immigration Department and the non-government sponsored Mossad LeAliyah Bet (lit. "Institute for Immigration B") which organized illegal and clandestine immigration.[183] Both groups facilitated regular immigration logistics like arranging transportation, but the latter also engaged in clandestine operations in countries, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where the lives of Jews were believed to be in danger and exit from those places was difficult. Mossad LeAliyah Bet was disbanded in 1953.[184] The immigration was in accordance with the One Million Plan. The immigrants came for differing reasons: some held Zionist beliefs or came for the promise of a better life in Israel, while others moved to escape persecution or were expelled.[185][186] An influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel during the first three years increased the number of Jews from 700,000 to 1,400,000. By 1958, the population of Israel rose to two million.[187] Between 1948 and 1970, approximately 1,150,000 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel.[188] Some new immigrants arrived as refugees with no possessions and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot; by 1952, over 200,000 people were living in these tent cities.[189] Jews of European background were often treated more favorably than Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries—housing units reserved for the latter were often re-designated for the former, with the result that Jews newly arrived from Arab lands generally ended up staying in transit camps for longer.[190][191] During this period, food, clothes and furniture had to be rationed in what became known as the austerity period. The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany that triggered mass protests by Jews angered at the idea that Israel could accept monetary compensation for the Holocaust.[192] Arab–Israeli conflict Main article: Arab–Israeli conflict During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, nearly always against civilians,[193] mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip,[194] leading to several Israeli reprisal operations. In 1956, the United Kingdom and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which the Egyptians had nationalized. The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, together with the growing amount of Fedayeen attacks against Israel's southern population, and recent Arab grave and threatening statements, prompted Israel to attack Egypt.[195][196][197] Israel joined a secret alliance with the United Kingdom and France and overran the Sinai Peninsula but was pressured to withdraw by the UN in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights in the Red Sea via the Straits of Tiran and the Canal.[198][199][200] The war, known as the Suez Crisis, resulted in significant reduction of Israeli border infiltration.[201] 1:14CC U.S. newsreel on the trial of Adolf Eichmann In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial.[202] The trial had a major impact on public awareness of the Holocaust.[203] Eichmann remains the only person executed in Israel by conviction in an Israeli civilian court.[204] During the spring and summer of 1963 Israel was engaged in a diplomatic standoff with the United States due to the Israeli nuclear programme.[205][206] Since 1964, Arab countries, concerned over Israeli plans to divert waters of the Jordan River into the coastal plain,[207] had been trying to divert the headwaters to deprive Israel of water resources, provoking tensions between Israel on the one hand, and Syria and Lebanon on the other. Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel and called for its destruction.[208][209][210] By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of actual battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces.[211] Territory held by Israel:   before the Six-Day War   after the war The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982. In May 1967, Egypt massed its army near the border with Israel, expelled UN peacekeepers, stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and blocked Israel's access to the Red Sea.[212][213][214] Other Arab states mobilized their forces.[215] Israel reiterated that these actions were a casus belli and, on 5 June, launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt. Jordan, Syria and Iraq responded and attacked Israel. In a Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.[216] Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem, and the 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories.[citation needed] Following the 1967 war and the "Three Nos" resolution of the Arab League, Israel faced attacks from the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1967–1970 War of Attrition, and from Palestinian groups targeting Israelis in the occupied territories, in Israel proper, and around the world. Most important among the various Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".[217] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks[218][219] against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world,[220] including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organizers of the massacre, a bombing and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon. On 6 October 1973, as Jews were observing Yom Kippur, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, that opened the Yom Kippur War. The war ended on 25 October with Israel successfully repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but having suffered over 2,500 soldiers killed in a war which collectively took 10–35,000 lives in about 20 days.[221] An internal inquiry exonerated the government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.[222][better source needed] In July 1976, an airliner was hijacked during its flight from Israel to France by Palestinian guerrillas and landed at Entebbe International Airport, Uganda. Israeli commandos carried out an operation in which 102 out of 106 Israeli hostages were successfully rescued. Peace process Main article: Israeli–Palestinian peace process The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control from the Labor Party.[fn 6] Later that year, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state.[224] In the two years that followed, Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1979).[225] In return, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[225] On 11 March 1978, a PLO guerilla raid from Lebanon led to the Coastal Road massacre. Israel responded by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon to destroy the PLO bases south of the Litani River. Most PLO fighters withdrew, but Israel was able to secure southern Lebanon until a UN force and the Lebanese army could take over. The PLO soon resumed its policy of attacks against Israel. In the next few years, the PLO infiltrated the south and kept up a sporadic shelling across the border. Israel carried out numerous retaliatory attacks by air and on the ground. Israel's 1980 law declared that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel".[226][better source needed] Meanwhile, Begin's government provided incentives for Israelis to settle in the occupied West Bank, increasing friction with the Palestinians in that area.[227] The Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, passed in 1980, was believed by some to reaffirm Israel's 1967 annexation of Jerusalem by government decree, and reignited international controversy over the status of the city. No Israeli legislation has defined the territory of Israel and no act specifically included East Jerusalem therein.[228] In 1981 Israel effectively annexed the Golan Heights, although annexation was not recognized internationally.[229] The international community largely rejected these moves, with the UN Security Council declaring both the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law null and void.[230][231] Israel's population diversity expanded in the 1980s and 1990s. Several waves of Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel since the 1980s, while between 1990 and 1994, immigration from the post-Soviet states increased Israel's population by twelve percent.[232] On 7 June 1981, during the Iran–Iraq War, the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's sole nuclear reactor under construction just outside Baghdad, in order to impede Iraq's nuclear weapons programme. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon that year to destroy the bases from which the PLO launched attacks and missiles into northern Israel.[233] In the first six days of fighting, the Israelis destroyed the military forces of the PLO in Lebanon and decisively defeated the Syrians. An Israeli government inquiry—the Kahan Commission—would later hold Begin and several Israeli generals as indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre and hold Defense minister Ariel Sharon as bearing "personal responsibility" for the massacre.[234] Sharon was forced to resign as Defense Minister.[235] In 1985, Israel responded to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Cyprus by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986, but maintained a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces engaged in conflict with Hezbollah. The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule,[236] broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence occurring in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Over the following six years, the Intifada became more organized and included economic and cultural measures aimed at disrupting the Israeli occupation. More than a thousand people were killed in the violence.[237] During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Scud missile attacks against Israel. Despite public outrage, Israel heeded American calls to refrain from hitting back and did not participate in that war.[238][239] Shimon Peres (left) with Yitzhak Rabin (center) and King Hussein of Jordan (right), prior to signing the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994 In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became prime minister following an election in which his party called for compromise with Israel's neighbours.[240][241] The following year, Shimon Peres on behalf of Israel, and Mahmoud Abbas for the PLO, signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority the right to govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[242] The PLO also recognized Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism.[243][better source needed] In 1994, the Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.[244] Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements[245] and checkpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions.[246] Israeli public support for the Accords waned as Israel was struck by Palestinian suicide attacks.[247] In November 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated as he left a peace rally by Yigal Amir, a far-right Jew who opposed the Accords.[248] During Benjamin Netanyahu's premiership at the end of the 1990s, Israel agreed to withdraw from Hebron,[249] though this was never ratified or implemented,[250] and signed the Wye River Memorandum, giving greater control to the Palestinian National Authority.[251] Ehud Barak, elected Prime Minister in 1999, began the new millennium by withdrawing forces from Southern Lebanon and conducting negotiations with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at the 2000 Camp David Summit. During the summit, Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The proposed state included the entirety of the Gaza Strip and over 90% of the West Bank with Jerusalem as a shared capital.[252] Each side blamed the other for the failure of the talks. 21st century Further information: Iran–Israel proxy conflict      This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: the events of the last two decades outside of conflict is barely covered. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2023) The site of the 2001 Tel Aviv Dolphinarium discotheque massacre, in which 21 Israelis were killed In late 2000, after a controversial visit by Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, the Second Intifada began. It would continue for the next four and a half years. Suicide bombings were a recurrent feature of the Intifada, causing Israeli civilian life to become a battlefield.[253] Some commentators contend that the Intifada was pre-planned by Arafat due to the collapse of peace talks.[254][255][256][257] Sharon became prime minister in a 2001 special election. During his tenure, Sharon carried out his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and also spearheaded the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier,[258] ending the Intifada.[259][260] Between 2000 and 2008, 1,063 Israelis, 5,517 Palestinians and 64 foreign citizens had been killed.[261] In 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers precipitated the month-long Second Lebanon War.[262][263] In 2007, the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria. In 2008, Israel entered another conflict as a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed. The 2008–2009 Gaza War lasted three weeks and ended after Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire.[264][265] Hamas announced its own ceasefire, with its own conditions of complete withdrawal and opening of border crossings. Despite neither the rocket launchings nor Israeli retaliatory strikes having completely stopped, the fragile ceasefire remained in order.[266] In what Israel described as a response to more than a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities,[267] Israel began an operation in the Gaza Strip in 2012, lasting eight days.[268] Israel started another operation in Gaza following an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas in July 2014.[269] In May 2021, another round of fighting took place in Gaza and Israel, lasting eleven days.[270] By the 2010s, the increasing regional cooperation between Israel and Arab League countries have been established, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords. The Israeli security situation shifted from the traditional Arab–Israeli conflict towards the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war. On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by Hamas, launched a major attack on Israel.[271] On that same day, approximately 1300 Israelis, predominantly civilians, were killed in communities near the Gaza Strip border and during a music festival. Hostages, including elders, women, and children, were taken to the Gaza Strip.[272][273][274] Geography and environment Main articles: Geography of Israel and Wildlife of Israel Geography of Israel     vte Galilee Coastal plain Judaean Mountains Jordan Valley Negev Levantine Sea (Mediterranean) Kinneret Dead Sea Gulf of Eilat West Bank Gaza Strip Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt Satellite images of Israel and neighboring territories during the day and night Israel is located in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent region. The country is at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, bounded by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank to the east, and Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the southwest. It lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 34° and 36° E. The sovereign territory of Israel (according to the demarcation lines of the 1949 Armistice Agreements and excluding all territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War) is approximately 20,770 square kilometers (8,019 sq mi) in area, of which two percent is water.[275] However Israel is so narrow (100 km at its widest, compared to 400 km from north to south) that the exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean is double the land area of the country.[276] The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,072 square kilometers (8,522 sq mi),[277] and the total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and partially Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 square kilometers (10,733 sq mi).[278] Approximately 80% of Israeli Jews are born in Israel, 14% are immigrants from Europe and the Americas, and 6% are immigrants from Asia and Africa.[317] Jews from Europe and the former Soviet Union and their descendants born in Israel, including Ashkenazi Jews, constitute approximately 50% of Jewish Israelis. Jews who left or fled Arab and Muslim countries and their descendants, including both Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews,[318] form most of the rest of the Jewish population.[319][320] Jewish intermarriage rates run at over 35% and recent studies suggest that the percentage of Israelis descended from both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews increases by 0.5 percent every year, with over 25% of school children now originating from both communities.[321] Around 4% of Israelis (300,000), ethnically defined as "others", are Russian descendants of Jewish origin or family who are not Jewish according to rabbinical law, but were eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.[322][323][324] The total number of Israeli settlers beyond the Green Line is over 600,000 (≈10% of the Jewish Israeli population).[325] In 2016, 399,300 Israelis lived in West Bank settlements,[326] including those that predated the establishment of the State of Israel and which were re-established after the Six-Day War, in cities such as Hebron and Gush Etzion bloc. In addition to the West Bank settlements, there were more than 200,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem,[327] and 22,000 in the Golan Heights.[326] Approximately 7,800 Israelis lived in settlements in the Gaza Strip, known as Gush Katif, until they were evacuated by the government as part of its 2005 disengagement plan.[328] Israeli Arabs (including the Arab population of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights) comprise 21.1% of the population or 1,995,000 people.[329] In a 2017 telephone poll, 40% of Arab citizens of Israel identified as "Arab in Israel" or "Arab citizen of Israel", 15% identified as "Palestinian", 8.9% as "Palestinian in Israel" or "Palestinian citizen of Israel", and 8.7% as "Arab"; 60% of Israeli Arabs have a positive view of the state.[330][331] According to Sammy Smooha, "The identity of 83.0% of the Arabs in 2019 (up from 75.5% in 2017) has an Israeli component and 61.9% (unchanged from 60.3%) has a Palestinian component. However, when these two components were presented as competitors, 69.0% of the Arabs in 2019 chose exclusive or primary Palestinian identity, compared with 29.8% who chose exclusive or primary Israeli Arab identity."[332] Major urban areas For a more comprehensive list, see List of cities in Israel. View over the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area Israel has four major metropolitan areas: Gush Dan (Tel Aviv metropolitan area; population 3,854,000), Jerusalem metropolitan area (population 1,253,900), Haifa metropolitan area (population 924,400), and Beersheba metropolitan area (population 377,100).[333] Israel's largest municipality, in population and area, is Jerusalem with 966,210 residents in an area of 125 square kilometres (48 sq mi).[334] Israeli government statistics on Jerusalem include the population and area of East Jerusalem, which is widely recognized as part of the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation.[335] Tel Aviv and Haifa rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 467,875 and 282,832, respectively.[334] The (mainly Haredi) city of Bnei Brak is the most densely populated city in Israel and one of the 10 most densely populated cities in the world.[336] Israel has 16 cities with populations over 100,000. In all, there are 77 Israeli localities granted "municipalities" (or "city") status by the Ministry of the Interior,[337] four of which are in the West Bank.[338] Two more cities are planned: Kasif, a planned city to be built in the Negev, and Harish, originally a small town that is being built into a large city since 2015.[339]       vte Largest cities in Israel Israel Central Bureau of Statistics[334]     Rank     Name     District     Pop.     Rank     Name     District     Pop.     Jerusalem Jerusalem Tel Aviv Tel Aviv     1     Jerusalem     Jerusalem     966,210a     11     Ramat Gan     Tel Aviv     169,706     Haifa Haifa Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion 2     Tel Aviv     Tel Aviv     467,875     12     Ashkelon     Southern     149,160 3     Haifa     Haifa     282,832     13     Rehovot     Central     147,878 4     Rishon LeZion     Central     257,128     14     Beit Shemesh     Jerusalem     141,764 5     Petah Tikva     Central     252,270     15     Bat Yam     Tel Aviv     126,290 6     Ashdod     Southern     225,975     16     Herzliya     Tel Aviv     103,318 7     Netanya     Central     224,066     17     Kfar Saba     Central     101,801 8     Bnei Brak     Tel Aviv     212,395     18     Hadera     Haifa     100,631 9     Beersheba     Southern     211,251     19     Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut     Central     97,097 10     Holon     Tel Aviv     197,464     20     Lod     Central     82,629 ^a This number includes East Jerusalem and West Bank areas, which had a total population of 573,330 inhabitants in 2019.[340] Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is internationally unrecognized. Language Main article: Languages of Israel Road sign in Hebrew, Arabic, and English Israel's sole official language is Hebrew. Until 2018, Arabic was also one of two official languages of the State of Israel;[8] in 2018 it was downgraded to having a 'special status in the state' with its use by state institutions to be set in law.[9][10] Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken every day by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority, with Hebrew taught in Arab schools. As a country of immigrants, many languages can be heard on the streets. Due to mass immigration from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia (some 130,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel),[341][342] Russian and Amharic are widely spoken.[343] More than one million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel from the post-Soviet states between 1990 and 2004.[344] French is spoken by around 700,000 Israelis,[345] mostly originating from France and North Africa (see Maghrebi Jews). English was an official language during the Mandate period; it lost this status after the establishment of Israel, but retains a role comparable to that of an official language,[346][347][348] as may be seen in road signs and official documents. Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programmes are broadcast in English with subtitles and the language is taught from the early grades in elementary school. In addition, Israeli universities offer courses in the English language on various subjects.[349][better source needed] Religion Main article: Religion in Israel See also: Abrahamic religions Religion in Israel     vte      Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.      Jewish,      Muslim,      Christian,      Druze,      Other. Until 1995, figures for Christians also included Others.[350] Israel has a three-tier court system. At the lowest level are magistrate courts, situated in most cities across the country. Above them are district courts, serving as both appellate courts and courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest tier is the Supreme Court, located in Jerusalem; it serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the High Court of Justice. In the latter role, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, allowing individuals, both citizens and non-citizens, to petition against the decisions of state authorities.[403] Although Israel supports the goals of the International Criminal Court, it has not ratified the Rome Statute, citing concerns about the ability of the court to remain free from political impartiality.[404][better source needed] Israel's legal system combines three legal traditions: English common law, civil law, and Jewish law.[275] It is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent) and is an adversarial system, where the parties in the suit bring evidence before the court. Court cases are decided by professional judges with no role for juries.[405][better source needed] Marriage and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: Jewish, Muslim, Druze, and Christian. The election of judges is carried out by a committee of two Knesset members, three Supreme Court justices, two Israeli Bar members and two ministers (one of which, Israel's justice minister, is the committee's chairman). The committee's members of the Knesset are secretly elected by the Knesset, and one of them is traditionally a member of the opposition; the committee's Supreme Court justices are chosen by tradition from all Supreme Court justices by seniority; the Israeli Bar members are elected by the bar; and the second minister is appointed by the Israeli cabinet. The current justice minister, and the committee's chairman, is Yariv Levin.[406] Administration of Israel's courts (both the "General" courts and the Labor Courts) is carried by the Administration of Courts, situated in Jerusalem. Both General and Labor courts are paperless courts: the storage of court files, as well as court decisions, are conducted electronically. Israel's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties in Israel. As a result of "Enclave law", large portions of Israeli civil law are applied to Israeli settlements and Israeli residents in the occupied territories.[407] Administrative divisions Main article: Districts of Israel Districts of Israel Northern Haifa Central Tel Aviv Judea and Samaria Area Jerusalem Southern     vte The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known as mehozot (Hebrew: מחוזות; singular: mahoz) – Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, North, South, and Tel Aviv districts, as well as the Judea and Samaria Area in the West Bank. All of the Judea and Samaria Area and parts of the Jerusalem and Northern districts are not recognized internationally as part of Israel. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (Hebrew: נפות; singular: nafa), which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions.[408] District     Capital     Largest city     Population, 2021[326] Jews     Arabs     Total     note Jerusalem     Jerusalem     66%     32%     1,209,700     a North     Nof HaGalil     Nazareth     42%     54%     1,513,600     Haifa     Haifa     67%     25%     1,092,700     Center     Ramla     Rishon LeZion     87%     8%     2,304,300     Tel Aviv     Tel Aviv     92%     2%     1,481,400     South     Beersheba     Ashdod     71%     22%     1,386,000     Judea and Samaria Area     Ariel     Modi'in Illit     98%     0%     465,400     b     ^a Including 361,700 Arabs and 233,900 Jews in East Jerusalem, as of 2020.[327]     ^b Israeli citizens only. Israeli-occupied territories Main articles: Israeli-occupied territories and Israeli occupation of the West Bank Overview of administration and sovereignty in Israel and the Palestinian territories This box:     viewtalkedit Area     Administered by     Recognition of governing authority     Sovereignty claimed by     Recognition of claim Gaza Strip     Palestinian National Authority (de jure) Controlled by Hamas (de facto)     Witnesses to the Oslo II Accord     State of Palestine     137 UN member states West Bank     Palestinian enclaves     Palestinian National Authority and Israeli military Area C     Israeli enclave law (Israeli settlements) and Israeli military (Palestinians under Israeli occupation) East Jerusalem     Israeli administration     Honduras, Guatemala, Nauru, and the United States     China, Russia West Jerusalem     Russia, Czech Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Nauru, and the United States     United Nations as an international city along with East Jerusalem     Various UN member states and the European Union; joint sovereignty also widely supported Golan Heights     United States     Syria     All UN member states except the United States Israel (proper)     163 UN member states     Israel     163 UN member states     vte Israeli-occupied territories Ongoing        Occupation of the West Bank         Enclaves within the West Bank         Displacement in East Jerusalem     Gaza Strip occupation and blockade     Golan Heights occupation Historical        Southern Lebanon occupation     Sinai Peninsula occupation Proposed        Jordan Valley annexation     West Bank annexation Map of Israel showing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights In 1967, as a result of the Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Israel also captured the Sinai Peninsula, but returned it to Egypt as part of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty.[225] Between 1982 and 2000, Israel occupied part of southern Lebanon, in what was known as the Security Belt. Since Israel's capture of these territories, Israeli settlements and military installations have been built within each of them, except Lebanon. The Golan Heights and East Jerusalem have been fully incorporated into Israel under Israeli law, but not under international law. Israel has applied civilian law to both areas and granted their inhabitants permanent residency status and the ability to apply for citizenship. The UN Security Council has declared the annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be "null and void" and continues to view the territories as occupied.[409][410] The status of East Jerusalem in any future peace settlement has at times been a difficult issue in negotiations between Israeli governments and representatives of the Palestinians, as Israel views it as its sovereign territory, as well as part of its capital. Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. The West Bank excluding East Jerusalem is known in Israeli law as the Judea and Samaria Area; the almost 400,000 Israeli settlers residing in the area are considered part of Israel's population, have Knesset representation, a large part of Israel's civil and criminal laws applied to them, and their output is considered part of Israel's economy.[411][fn 4] The land itself is not considered part of Israel under Israeli law, as Israel has consciously refrained from annexing the territory, without ever relinquishing its legal claim to the land or defining a border with the area.[411] There is no border between Israel-proper and the West Bank for Israeli vehicles. Israeli political opposition to annexation is primarily due to the perceived "demographic threat" of incorporating the West Bank's Palestinian population into Israel.[411] Outside of the Israeli settlements, the West Bank remains under direct Israeli military rule, and Palestinians in the area cannot become Israeli citizens. The international community maintains that Israel does not have sovereignty in the West Bank, and considers Israel's control of the area to be the longest military occupation in modern history.[414] The West Bank was occupied and annexed by Jordan in 1950, following the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Only Britain recognized this annexation and Jordan has since ceded its claim to the territory to the PLO. The population are mainly Palestinians, including refugees of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[415] From their occupation in 1967 until 1993, the Palestinians living in these territories were under Israeli military administration. Since the Israel–PLO letters of recognition, most of the Palestinian population and cities have been under the internal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, and only partial Israeli military control, although Israel has on several occasions redeployed its troops and reinstated full military administration during periods of unrest. In response to increasing attacks during the Second Intifada, the Israeli government started to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier.[416] When completed, approximately 13% of the barrier will be constructed on the Green Line or in Israel with 87% inside the West Bank.[417][418] Israel's claim of universal suffrage has been questioned due to its blurred territorial boundaries and its simultaneous extension of voting rights to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories and denial of voting rights to their Palestinian neighbours. The claim has also been challenged due to the alleged ethnocratic nature of the state.[419][420] Area C of the West Bank, controlled by Israel under Oslo Accords, in blue and red, in December 2011 The Gaza Strip is considered to be a "foreign territory" under Israeli law; however, since Israel operates a land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, together with Egypt, the international community considers Israel to be the occupying power. The Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt from 1948 to 1967 and then by Israel after 1967. In 2005, as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, Israel removed all of its settlers and forces from the territory, however, it continues to maintain control of its airspace and waters. The international community, including numerous international humanitarian organizations and various bodies of the UN, consider Gaza to remain occupied.[421][422][423][424][425] Following the 2007 Battle of Gaza, when Hamas assumed power in the Gaza Strip,[426] Israel tightened its control of the Gaza crossings along its border, as well as by sea and air, and prevented persons from entering and exiting the area except for isolated cases it deemed humanitarian.[426] Gaza has a border with Egypt, and an agreement between Israel, the European Union, and the PA governed how border crossing would take place (it was monitored by European observers).[427] The application of democracy to its Palestinian citizens, and the selective application of Israeli democracy in the Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories, has been criticized.[428][429] International opinion The International Court of Justice, principal judicial organ of the UN, said, in its 2004 advisory opinion on the legality of the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, that the lands captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory, and further found that the construction of the wall within the occupied Palestinian territory to violate international law.[430] Most negotiations relating to the territories have been on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which emphasizes "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war", and calls on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in return for normalization of relations with Arab states, a principle known as "Land for peace".[431][432][433] Israel has been criticized for engaging in systematic and widespread violations of human rights in the occupied territories, including the occupation itself,[434] and war crimes against civilians.[435][436][437][438] The allegations include violations of international humanitarian law[439] by the UN Human Rights Council,[440] The U.S. State Department has called reports of abuses of significant human rights of Palestinians 'credible' both within Israel[441] and the occupied territories.[442] Amnesty International and other NGOs have documented mass arbitrary arrests, torture, unlawful killings, systemic abuses and impunity[443][444][445][446][447][448] in tandem with a denial of the right to Palestinian self-determination.[449][450][451][452][453] In response to such allegations, Prime Minister Netanyahu has defended the country's security forces for protecting the innocent from terrorists[454] and expressed contempt for what he describes as a lack of concern about the human rights violations committed by "criminal killers".[455] Some observers, such as Israeli officials, scholars,[456] United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley[457][458] and UN secretary-generals Ban Ki-moon[459] and Kofi Annan,[460] also assert that the UN is disproportionately concerned with Israeli misconduct.[excessive detail?] The international community widely regards Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal under international law.[461] United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, passed on 23 December 2016 in a 14–0 vote by members of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) with the United States abstaining. The resolution states that Israel's settlement activity constitutes a "flagrant violation" of international law, has "no legal validity" and demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.[462] A United Nations special rapporteur concluded that settlement program was a war crime under the Rome Statute,[463] and Amnesty International found that the settlement program constitutes an illegal transfer of civilians into occupied territory as well as amounting to "pillage", which is prohibited by both the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions as well as being a war crime under the Rome Statute.[464] Apartheid accusations Main article: Israel and apartheid Israel's treatment of the Palestinians within the occupied territories has drawn accusations that it is guilty of the crime of apartheid by Israeli human rights groups Yesh Din and B'tselem, and other international organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, with the criticism extending to its treatment of Palestinians within Israel as well.[465][466] Amnesty's report was criticized by politicians and government representatives from Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany, while it was welcomed by Palestinians, representatives from other states, and organizations such as the Arab League.[467][468][469][470][471][472] A 2021 survey of academic experts on the Middle East found an increase from 59%[473] to 65% of these scholars describing Israel as a "one-state reality akin to apartheid".[474] In 2022, Michael Lynk, a Canadian law professor appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council said that the situation met the legal definition of apartheid.[475] Subsequent reports from his successor, Francesca Albanese and from Permanent United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Israel Palestine conflict chair Navi Pillay echoed this opinion.[476][477] The crime of apartheid is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.[478][479] Foreign relations Main articles: Foreign relations of Israel and International recognition of Israel   Diplomatic relations   Diplomatic relations suspended   Former diplomatic relations   No diplomatic relations, but former trade relations   No diplomatic relations Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 164 member states of the United Nations, as well as with the Holy See, Kosovo, the Cook Islands and Niue. It has 107 diplomatic missions around the world;[480] countries with whom they have no diplomatic relations include most Muslim countries.[481] Six out of twenty-two nations in the Arab League have normalized relations with Israel. Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively, but Israel remains formally in a state of war with Syria, a status that dates back uninterrupted to 1948. It has been in a similarly formal state of war with Lebanon since the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 2000, with the Israel–Lebanon border remaining unagreed by treaty. In late 2020, Israel normalized relations with four more Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in September (known as the Abraham Accords),[482] Sudan in October,[483] and Morocco in December.[484] Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel is still widely considered an enemy country among Egyptians.[485] Iran had diplomatic relations with Israel under the Pahlavi dynasty[486] but withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Islamic Revolution.[487] Israeli citizens may not visit Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen (countries Israel fought in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War that Israel does not have a peace treaty with) without permission from the Ministry of the Interior.[488] As a result of the 2008–09 Gaza War, Mauritania, Qatar, Bolivia, and Venezuela suspended political and economic ties with Israel,[489] though Bolivia renewed ties in 2019.[490] China maintains good ties with both Israel and the Arab world.[491] Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat at the signing ceremony of the Oslo Accords with then US President Bill Clinton The United States and the Soviet Union were the first two countries to recognize the State of Israel, having declared recognition roughly simultaneously.[492] Diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were broken in 1967, following the Six-Day War, and renewed in October 1991.[493] The United States regards Israel as its "most reliable partner in the Middle East",[494] based on "common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests".[495] The United States has provided $68 billion in military assistance and $32 billion in grants to Israel since 1967, under the Foreign Assistance Act (period beginning 1962),[496] more than any other country for that period until 2003.[496][497][498] Most surveyed Americans have also held consistently favorable views of Israel.[499][500] The United Kingdom is seen as having a "natural" relationship with Israel on account of the Mandate for Palestine.[501] Relations between the two countries were also made stronger by former prime minister Tony Blair's efforts for a two state resolution. By 2007, Germany had paid 25 billion euros in reparations to the Israeli state and individual Israeli Holocaust survivors.[502] Israel is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.[503] Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991,[504] Turkey has cooperated with the Jewish state since its recognition of Israel in 1949. Turkey's ties to other Muslim-majority nations in the region have at times resulted in pressure from Arab and Muslim states to temper its relationship with Israel.[505] Relations between Turkey and Israel took a downturn after the 2008–09 Gaza War and Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla.[506] Relations between Greece and Israel have improved since 1995 due to the decline of Israeli–Turkish relations.[507] The two countries have a defense cooperation agreement and in 2010, the Israeli Air Force hosted Greece's Hellenic Air Force in a joint exercise at the Uvda base. The joint Cyprus-Israel oil and gas explorations centered on the Leviathan gas field are an important factor for Greece, given its strong links with Cyprus.[508] Cooperation in the world's longest subsea electric power cable, the EuroAsia Interconnector, has strengthened relations between Cyprus and Israel.[509] Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop strategic and economic relations with Israel.[510] Azerbaijan supplies the country with a substantial amount of its oil needs, and Israel is a critical arms supplier for Azerbaijan.[510] Kazakhstan also has an economic and strategic partnership with Israel.[511] India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military, technological and cultural partnership with the country since then.[512] A 2009 survey done on behalf of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs listed India as more pro-Israel than 12 other countries surveyed.[513][514] India is the largest customer of the Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after Russia.[515] Ethiopia is Israel's main ally in Africa due to common political, religious and security interests.[516] Israel provides expertise to Ethiopia on irrigation projects and thousands of Ethiopian Jews live in Israel. Foreign aid Israel has a history of providing emergency foreign aid and humanitarian response teams to disasters across the world.[517] In 1955 Israel began its foreign aid programme in Burma. The programme's focus subsequently shifted to Africa.[518] Israel's humanitarian efforts officially began in 1957, with the establishment of Mashav, the Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation.[519] In this early period, whilst Israel's aid represented only a small percentage of total aid to Africa, its programme was effective in creating goodwill throughout the continent; however, following the 1967 war relations soured.[520] Israel's foreign aid programme subsequently shifted its focus to Latin America.[518] Since the late 1970s Israel's foreign aid has gradually decreased, although in recent years Israel has tried to reestablish its aid to Africa.[521] There are additional Israeli humanitarian and emergency response groups that work with the Israel government, including IsraAid, a joint programme run by 14 Israeli organizations and North American Jewish groups,[522] ZAKA,[523] The Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team (FIRST),[524] Israeli Flying Aid (IFA),[525] Save a Child's Heart (SACH)[526] and Latet.[527] Between 1985 and 2015, Israel sent 24 delegations of IDF search and rescue unit, the Home Front Command, to 22 countries.[528] Currently Israeli foreign aid ranks low among OECD nations, spending less than 0.1% of its GNI on development assistance.[529] The UN has set a target of 0.7%. In 2015 six nations reached the UN target.[530] The country ranked 38th in the 2018 World Giving Index.[531] Military Main articles: Israel Defense Forces and Israeli security forces Further information: List of wars involving Israel, List of the Israel Defense Forces operations, and Israel and weapons of mass destruction F-35 fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces and is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the Ramatkal, subordinate to the Cabinet. The IDF consists of the army, air force and navy. It was founded during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organizations—chiefly the Haganah—that preceded the establishment of the state.[532] The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman), which works with Mossad and Shabak.[533] The Israel Defense Forces have been involved in several major wars and border conflicts in its short history, making it one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world.[534] Most Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of 18. Men serve two years and eight months and women two years.[535] Following mandatory service, Israeli men join the reserve forces and usually do up to several weeks of reserve duty every year until their forties. Most women are exempt from reserve duty. Arab citizens of Israel (except the Druze) and those engaged in full-time religious studies are exempt from military service, although the exemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention in Israeli society for many years.[536][537] An alternative for those who receive exemptions on various grounds is Sherut Leumi, or national service, which involves a programme of service in hospitals, schools and other social welfare frameworks.[538] A small minority of Israeli Arabs also volunteer to serve in the army.[539] As a result of its conscription programme, the IDF maintains approximately 176,500 active troops and an additional 465,000 reservists, giving Israel one of the world's highest percentage of citizens with military training.[540] Iron Dome is the world's first operational anti-artillery rocket defense system. The nation's military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The Arrow missile is one of the world's few operational anti-ballistic missile systems.[541] The Python air-to-air missile series is often considered one of the most crucial weapons in its military history.[542] Israel's Spike missile is one of the most widely exported anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) in the world.[543] Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile air defense system gained worldwide acclaim after intercepting hundreds of Qassam, 122 mm Grad and Fajr-5 artillery rockets fire by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip.[544][545] Since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.[546] The success of the Ofeq programme has made Israel one of seven countries capable of launching such satellites.[547] Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons[548] and per a 1993 report, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.[549][needs update] Israel has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons[550] and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity toward its nuclear capabilities.[551] The Israeli Navy's Dolphin submarines are believed to be armed with nuclear Popeye Turbo missiles, offering second-strike capability.[552] Since the Gulf War in 1991, when Israel was attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles, all homes in Israel are required to have a reinforced security room, Merkhav Mugan, impermeable to chemical and biological substances.[553] Since Israel's establishment, military expenditure constituted a significant portion of the country's gross domestic product, with peak of 30.3% of GDP spent on defense in 1975.[554] In 2021, Israel ranked 15th in the world by total military expenditure, with $24.3 billion, and 6th by defense spending as a percentage of GDP, with 5.2%.[555] Since 1974, the United States has been a particularly notable contributor of military aid to Israel.[556] Under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016, the U.S. is expected to provide the country with $3.8 billion per year, or around 20% of Israel's defense budget, from 2018 to 2028.[557] Israel ranked 9th globally for arms exports in 2022.[558] The majority of Israel's arms exports are unreported for security reasons.[559] Israel is consistently rated low in the Global Peace Index, ranking 134th out of 163 nations for peacefulness in 2022.[560] Economy Main article: Economy of Israel The Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Israel is considered the most advanced country in Western Asia and the Middle East in economic and industrial development.[561][562] In recent years Israel has had the highest growth rate in the Western world along with Ireland.[563] In 2023, the IMF estimated Israel's GDP at 564 billion dollars and Israel's GDP per capita at 58,270 (ranking 13rd worldwide), a figure comparable to other highly developed and rich countries.[564] Israel has the highest average wealth per adult in the Middle East.[565] The Economist ranked Israel as the 4th most successful economy among the developed countries for 2022.[563] It has the highest number of billionaires in the Middle East ranked 18th.[566] Israel's quality university education and the establishment of a highly motivated and educated populace is largely responsible for spurring the country's high technology boom and rapid economic development.[364] In 2010, it joined the OECD.[20][567] The country is ranked 20th in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report[568] and 35th on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index.[569] Israel was also ranked fifth in the world by share of people in high-skilled employment.[570] Israeli economic data covers the economic territory of Israel, including the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.[412] Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef. Imports to Israel, totaling $96.5 billion in 2020, include raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, and consumer goods.[275] Leading exports include machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, and textiles and apparel; in 2020, Israeli exports reached $114 billion.[275] The Bank of Israel holds $201 billion of foreign-exchange reserves, the 17th highest in the world.[275] Since the 1970s, Israel has received military aid from the United States, as well as economic assistance in the form of loan guarantees, which now account for roughly half of Israel's external debt. Israel has one of the lowest external debts in the developed world, and is a lender in terms of net external debt (assets vs. liabilities abroad), which in 2015 stood at a surplus of $69 billion.[571] Israel has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world after the United States,[572] and the third-largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies after the U.S. and China.[573] It is the world leader for number of start-ups per capita.[574] Intel[575] and Microsoft[576] built their first overseas research and development facilities in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, Facebook and Motorola have opened research and development centres in the country. In 2007, American investor Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway bought the Israeli company Iscar for $4 billion, its first acquisition outside the United States.[577] The days which are allocated to working times in Israel are Sunday through Thursday (for a five-day workweek), or Friday (for a six-day workweek). In observance of Shabbat, in places where Friday is a work day and the majority of population is Jewish, Friday is a "short day", usually lasting until 14:00 in the winter, or 16:00 in the summer. Several proposals have been raised to adjust the work week with the majority of the world, and make Sunday a non-working day, while extending working time of other days or replacing Friday with Sunday as a work day.[578] Science and technology Main articles: Science and technology in Israel and List of Israeli inventions and discoveries Matam high-tech park in Haifa Israel's development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.[579][580] Israel is first in the world in expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP.[581] It is ranked sixteenth in the Global Innovation Index in 2022, down from tenth in 2019 and fifth in the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index.[582][583][584][585][586][587] Israel has 140 scientists, technicians, and engineers per 10,000 employees, the highest number in the world, for comparison the U.S. has 85 per 100,000.[588][589][590] Israel has produced six Nobel Prize-winning scientists since 2004[591] and has been frequently ranked as one of the countries with the highest ratios of scientific papers per capita in the world.[592][593][594] Israel has led the world in stem-cell research papers per capita since 2000.[595] Israeli universities are ranked among the top 50 world universities in computer science (Technion and Tel Aviv University), mathematics (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and chemistry (Weizmann Institute of Science).[388] In 2012, Israel was ranked ninth in the world by the Futron's Space Competitiveness Index.[596] The Israel Space Agency coordinates all Israeli space research programmes with scientific and commercial goals, and have indigenously designed and built at least 13 commercial, research and spy satellites.[597] Some of Israel's satellites are ranked among the world's most advanced space systems.[598] Shavit is a space launch vehicle produced by Israel to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit.[599] It was first launched in 1988, making Israel the eighth nation to have a space launch capability. In 2003, Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia.[600] The ongoing shortage of water in the country has spurred innovation in water conservation techniques, and a substantial agricultural modernization, drip irrigation, was invented in Israel. Israel is also at the technological forefront of desalination and water recycling. The Sorek desalination plant is the largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination facility in the world.[601] By 2014, Israel's desalination programmes provided roughly 35% of Israel's drinking water and it is expected to supply 40% by 2015 and 70% by 2050.[602] As of 2015, more than 50 percent of the water for Israeli households, agriculture and industry is artificially produced.[603] The country hosts an annual Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition & Conference (WATEC) that attracts thousands of people from across the world.[604][605] In 2011, Israel's water technology industry was worth around $2 billion a year with annual exports of products and services in the tens of millions of dollars. As a result of innovations in reverse osmosis technology, Israel is set to become a net exporter of water in the coming years.[606] A horizontal parabolic dish, with a triangular structure on its top. The world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center[607] Israel has embraced solar energy; its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology[608] and its solar companies work on projects around the world.[609][610] Over 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest per capita in the world.[294][611] According to government figures, the country saves 8% of its electricity consumption per year because of its solar energy use in heating.[612] The high annual incident solar irradiance at its geographic latitude creates ideal conditions for what is an internationally renowned solar research and development industry in the Negev Desert.[608][609][610] Israel had a modern electric car infrastructure involving a countrywide network of charging stations to facilitate the charging and exchange of car batteries. It was thought that this would have lowered Israel's oil dependency and lowered the fuel costs of hundreds of Israel's motorists that use cars powered only by electric batteries.[613][614][615] The Israeli model was being studied by several countries and being implemented in Denmark and Australia.[616] However, Israel's trailblazing electric car company Better Place shut down in 2013.[617] Energy Main article: Energy in Israel Israel began producing natural gas from its own offshore gas fields in 2004. Between 2005 and 2012, Israel had imported gas from Egypt via the al-Arish–Ashkelon pipeline, which was terminated due to Egyptian Crisis of 2011–14. In 2009, a natural gas reserve, Tamar, was found near the coast of Israel. A second natural gas reserve, Leviathan, was discovered in 2010.[618] The natural gas reserves in these two fields (Leviathan has around 19 trillion cubic feet) could make Israel energy secure for more than 50 years. In 2013, Israel began commercial production of natural gas from the Tamar field. As of 2014, Israel produced over 7.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas a year.[619] Israel had 199 billion cubic meters (bcm) of proven reserves of natural gas as of the start of 2016.[620] The Leviathan gas field started production in 2019.[621] Ketura Sun is Israel's first commercial solar field. Built in early 2011 by the Arava Power Company on Kibbutz Ketura, Ketura Sun covers twenty acres and is expected to produce green energy amounting to 4.95 megawatts (MW). The field consists of 18,500 photovoltaic panels made by Suntech, which will produce about 9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year.[622] In the next twenty years, the field will spare the production of some 125,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.[623] The field was inaugurated on 15 June 2011.[624] On 22 May 2012 Arava Power Company announced that it had reached financial close on an additional 58.5 MW for 8 projects to be built in the Arava and the Negev valued at 780 million NIS or approximately $204 million.[625] Transport Main article: Transport in Israel Ben Gurion International Airport Israel has a modern transport system. The country has 19,224 kilometres (11,945 mi) of paved roads,[626] and 3 million motor vehicles.[627] The number of motor vehicles per 1,000 persons is 365, relatively low with respect to developed countries.[627] Israel has 5,715 buses on scheduled routes,[628] operated by several carriers, the largest and oldest of which is Egged, serving most of the country.[629] Railways stretch across 1,277 kilometres (793 mi) and are operated solely by government-owned Israel Railways.[630] Following major investments beginning in the early to mid-1990s, the number of train passengers per year has grown from 2.5 million in 1990, to 53 million in 2015; railways are also transporting 7.5 million tons of cargo, per year.[630] Israel is served by three international airports, Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main hub for international air travel near Tel Aviv, Ramon Airport, which serves the southernmost port city of Eilat and Haifa Airport in the North of the country. Ben Gurion, Israel's largest airport, handled over 15 million passengers in 2015.[631] The country has three main ports: the Port of Haifa, the country's oldest and largest, on the Mediterranean coast, Ashdod Port; and the smaller Port of Eilat on the Red Sea. Tourism Main article: Tourism in Israel See also: List of archaeological sites in Israel and Palestine Ein Bokek resort on the shore of the Dead Sea Tourism, especially religious tourism, is an important industry in Israel, with the country's temperate climate, beaches, archaeological, other historical and biblical sites, and unique geography also drawing tourists. Israel's security problems have taken their toll on the industry, but the number of incoming tourists is on the rebound.[632] In 2017, a record of 3.6 million tourists visited Israel, yielding a 25 percent growth since 2016 and contributed NIS 20 billion to the Israeli economy.[633][634][635][636] Real estate Main article: Housing in Israel Housing prices in Israel are listed in the top third,[637] with an average of 150 salaries required to buy an apartment.[638] As of 2022, there are about 2.7 million properties in Israel, with an annual increase of more than 50,000.[639] However, the demand for housing exceeds supply, with a shortage of about 200,000 apartments as of 2021,[640] and thus rising house prices. As a result, by 2021 housing prices rose by 5.6%.[641] High prices do not stop Israelis from buying properties. In 2021, Israelis took a record of NIS 116.1 billion in mortgages, an increase of 50% from 2020.[642] Culture Main article: Culture of Israel Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of its population. Jews from diaspora communities around the world brought their cultural and religious traditions back with them, creating a melting pot of Jewish customs and beliefs.[643] Arab influences are present in many cultural spheres,[644][645] such as architecture,[646] music,[647] and cuisine.[648] Israel is the only country in the world where life revolves around the Hebrew calendar. Work and school holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays, and the official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.[649] Literature Main article: Israeli literature Shmuel Yosef Agnon, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature Israeli literature is primarily poetry and prose written in Hebrew, as part of the renaissance of Hebrew as a spoken language since the mid-19th century, although a small body of literature is published in other languages, such as English. By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library of Israel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings, and other non-print media.[650] In 2016, 89 percent of the 7,300 books transferred to the library were in Hebrew.[651] In 1966, Shmuel Yosef Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs.[652] Leading Israeli poets have been Yehuda Amichai, Nathan Alterman, Leah Goldberg, and Rachel Bluwstein.[653] Internationally famous contemporary Israeli novelists include Amos Oz, Etgar Keret and David Grossman.[654][655] The Israeli-Arab satirist Sayed Kashua (who writes in Hebrew) is also internationally known.[citation needed] Israel has also been the home of Emile Habibi, whose novel The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist, and other writings, won him the Israel prize for Arabic literature.[656][657] Music and dance Main articles: Music of Israel and Dance in Israel Several dozen musicians in formal dress, holding their instruments, behind a conductor Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta Israeli music contains musical influences from all over the world; Mizrahi and Sephardic music, Hasidic melodies, Greek music, jazz, and pop rock are all part of the music scene.[658][659] Among Israel's world-renowned[660][661] orchestras is the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been in operation for over seventy years and today performs more than two hundred concerts each year.[662] Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Ofra Haza are among the internationally acclaimed musicians born in Israel. Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since 1973, winning the competition four times and hosting it twice.[663][664] Eilat has hosted its own international music festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, every summer since 1987.[665] The nation's canonical folk songs, known as "Songs of the Land of Israel", deal with the experiences of the pioneers in building the Jewish homeland.[666] Cinema and theatre Main article: Cinema of Israel Ten Israeli films have been final nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards since the establishment of Israel. The 2009 movie Ajami was the third consecutive nomination of an Israeli film.[667] Palestinian Israeli filmmakers have made a number of films dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the status of Palestinians within Israel, such as Mohammed Bakri's 2002 film Jenin, Jenin and The Syrian Bride.[citation needed] Continuing the strong theatrical traditions of the Yiddish theatre in Eastern Europe, Israel maintains a vibrant theatre scene. Founded in 1918, Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv is Israel's oldest repertory theater company and national theater.[668] Media Main article: Media of Israel The 2017 Freedom of the Press annual report by Freedom House ranked Israel as the Middle East and North Africa's most free country, and 64th globally.[669] In the 2017 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Israel (including "Israel extraterritorial" since 2013 ranking)[670] was placed 91st of 180 countries, first in the Middle East and North Africa region.[671] Reporters Without Borders noted that "Palestinian journalists are systematically subjected to violence as a result of their coverage of events in the West Bank".[672] More than fifty Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israel since 2001.[673] Museums For a more comprehensive list, see List of Israeli museums. Shrine of the Book, repository of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel's most important cultural institutions[674] and houses the Dead Sea Scrolls,[675] along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art.[674] Israel's national Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, is the world central archive of Holocaust-related information.[676] ANU - Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University, is an interactive museum devoted to the history of Jewish communities around the world.[677] Apart from the major museums in large cities, there are high-quality art spaces in many towns and kibbutzim. Mishkan LeOmanut in kibbutz Ein Harod Meuhad is the largest art museum in the north of the country.[678] Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world.[679] Several Israeli museums are devoted to Islamic culture, including the Rockefeller Museum and the L. A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art, both in Jerusalem. The Rockefeller specializes in archaeological remains from the Ottoman and other periods of Middle East history. It is also the home of the first hominid fossil skull found in Western Asia, called Galilee Man.[680] A cast of the skull is on display at the Israel Museum.[681] Cuisine Main article: Israeli cuisine A meal including falafel, hummus, French fries and Israeli salad Israeli cuisine includes local dishes as well as Jewish cuisine brought to the country by immigrants from the diaspora. Since the establishment of the state in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli fusion cuisine has developed.[682] Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of the Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in the Levantine, Arab, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, such as falafel, hummus, shakshouka, couscous, and za'atar. Schnitzel, pizza, hamburgers, French fries, rice and salad are also common in Israel.[citation needed] Roughly half of the Israeli-Jewish population attests to keeping kosher at home.[683][684] Kosher restaurants, though rare in the 1960s, make up around a quarter of the total as of 2015, perhaps reflecting the largely secular values of those who dine out.[682] Hotel restaurants are much more likely to serve kosher food.[682] The non-kosher retail market was traditionally sparse, but grew rapidly and considerably following the influx of immigrants from the post-Soviet states during the 1990s.[685] Together with non-kosher fish, rabbits and ostriches, pork—often called "white meat" in Israel[685]—is produced and consumed, though it is forbidden by both Judaism and Islam.[686] Sports Main article: Sport in Israel Maccabi Haifa F.C. fans at Sammy Ofer Stadium in the city of Haifa The most popular spectator sports in Israel are association football and basketball.[687] The Israeli Premier League is the country's premier football league, and the Israeli Basketball Premier League is the premier basketball league.[688] Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem are the largest football clubs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv have competed in the UEFA Champions League and Hapoel Tel Aviv reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup; in 1970 the Israel national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup, the only time it participated in the World Cup. The 1974 Asian Games, held in Tehran, were the last Asian Games in which Israel participated, plagued by the Arab countries that refused to compete with Israel. Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games and since then has not competed in Asian sport events.[689] In 1994, UEFA agreed to admit Israel, and its football teams now compete in Europe.[citation needed] Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. has won the European championship in basketball six times.[690] In 2016, the country was chosen as a host for the EuroBasket 2017. Israel has won nine Olympic medals since its first win in 1992, including a gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[691] Israel has won over 100 gold medals in the Paralympic Games and is ranked 20th in the all-time medal count. The 1968 Summer Paralympics were hosted by Israel.[692] The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish and Israeli athletes, was inaugurated in the 1930s, and has been held every four years since then. Israeli tennis champion Shahar Pe'er ranked 11th in the world on 31 January 2011.[693] Krav Maga, a martial art developed by Jewish ghetto defenders during the struggle against fascism in Europe, is used by the Israeli security forces and police. Its effectiveness and practical approach to self-defense, have won it widespread admiration and adherence around the world.[694] Boris Gelfand, chess Grandmaster Chess is a leading sport in Israel and is enjoyed by people of all ages. There are many Israeli grandmasters and Israeli chess players have won a number of youth world championships.[695] Israel stages an annual international championship and hosted the World Team Chess Championship in 2005. The Ministry of Education and the World Chess Federation agreed upon a project of teaching chess within Israeli schools, and it has been introduced into the curriculum of some schools.[696] The city of Beersheba has become a national chess center, with the game being taught in the city's kindergartens. Owing partly to Soviet immigration, it is home to the largest number of chess grandmasters of any city in the world.[697][698] The Israeli chess team won the silver medal at the 2008 Chess Olympiad[699] and the bronze, coming in third among 148 teams, at the 2010 Olympiad. Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand won the Chess World Cup 2009[700] and the 2011 Candidates Tournament for the right to challenge the world champion. He lost the World Chess Championship 2012 to reigning world champion Anand after a speed-chess tie breaker. 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IdRef         2 İslâm Ansiklopedisi Portals:     flag Israel      Judaism     icon Countries     icon Asia Categories:     Israel1948 establishments in AsiaCountries and territories where Arabic is an official languageCountries in AsiaEastern MediterraneanJewish politiesLevantMember states of the Union for the MediterraneanMember states of the United NationsMiddle Eastern countriesPolitical entities in the Land of IsraelRepublicsStates and territories established in 1948West Asian countries Hebrew (Hebrew alphabet: עִבְרִית‎, ʿĪvrīt, pronounced [ivˈʁit] ⓘ or [ʕivˈrit] ⓘ; Samaritan script: ࠏࠨࠁࠬࠓࠪࠉࠕ ʿÎbrit; Paleo-Hebrew script: 𐤏𐤁𐤓‫𐤉𐤕) is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. It was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a spoken language by their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans, before dying out after 200 CE. However, it was largely preserved as a liturgical language, featuring prominently in Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. Having ceased to be a dead language in the 19th century, today's Hebrew serves as the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival. It is the only non-extinct Canaanite language, and is also one of only two Northwest Semitic languages still spoken, with the other being Aramaic.[14][15] The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE.[16] Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew, with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Lashon Hakodesh (לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ‎‎, lit. 'the holy tongue' or 'the tongue [of] holiness') since ancient times. The language was not referred to by the name Hebrew in the Bible, but as Yehudit (transl. 'the language of Judah') or Səpaṯ Kəna'an (transl. "the language of Canaan").[1][note 2] Mishnah Gittin 9:8 refers to the language as Ivrit, meaning Hebrew; however, Mishnah Megillah refers to the language as Ashurit, meaning Assyrian, which is derived from the name of the alphabet used, in contrast to Ivrit, meaning the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet.[17] Hebrew ceased to be a regular spoken language sometime between 200 and 400 CE as it declined in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Bar Kokhba revolt, which was carried out against the Roman Empire by the Jews of Judaea.[18][19][note 3] Aramaic and, to a lesser extent, Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among societal elites and immigrants.[21] Hebrew survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, intra-Jewish commerce, and Jewish poetic literature. The first dated book printed in Hebrew was published by Abraham Garton in Reggio (Calabria, Italy) in 1475.[22] With the rise of Zionism in the 19th century, the Hebrew language experienced a full-scale revival as a spoken and literary language, after which it became the main language of the Yishuv in Palestine, and subsequently the lingua franca of the State of Israel with official status. According to Ethnologue, Hebrew was spoken by five million people worldwide in 1998;[4] in 2013, it was spoken by over nine million people worldwide.[23] After Israel, the United States has the second-largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans).[24] Modern Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, while pre-revival forms of Hebrew are used for prayer or study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around the world today; the latter group utilizes the Samaritan dialect as their liturgical tongue. As a non-first language, it is studied mostly by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, by archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations, and by theologians in Christian seminaries. Etymology The modern English word "Hebrew" is derived from Old French Ebrau, via Latin from the Ancient Greek Ἑβραῖος (hebraîos) and Aramaic 'ibrāy, all ultimately derived from Biblical Hebrew Ivri (עברי‎), one of several names for the Israelite (Jewish and Samaritan) people (Hebrews). It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham's ancestor, Eber, mentioned in Genesis 10:21. The name is believed to be based on the Semitic root ʕ-b-r (עבר‎) meaning "beyond", "other side", "across";[25] interpretations of the term "Hebrew" generally render its meaning as roughly "from the other side [of the river/desert]"—i.e., an exonym for the inhabitants of the land of Israel and Judah, perhaps from the perspective of Mesopotamia, Phoenicia or Transjordan (with the river referred to being perhaps the Euphrates, Jordan or Litani; or maybe the northern Arabian Desert between Babylonia and Canaan).[26] Compare the word Habiru or cognate Assyrian ebru, of identical meaning.[27] One of the earliest references to the language's name as "Ivrit" is found in the prologue to the Book of Sirach,[note 4][clarification needed] from the 2nd century BCE.[28] The Hebrew Bible does not use the term "Hebrew" in reference to the language of the Hebrew people;[29] its later historiography, in the Book of Kings, refers to it as ‏יְהוּדִית Yehudit "Judahite (language)".[30] History Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages. Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages.[31] According to Avraham Ben-Yosef, Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the period from about 1200 to 586 BCE.[32] Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile when the predominant international language in the region was Old Aramaic. Hebrew was extinct as a colloquial language by late antiquity, but it continued to be used as a literary language, especially in Spain, as the language of commerce between Jews of different native languages, and as the liturgical language of Judaism, evolving various dialects of literary Medieval Hebrew, until its revival as a spoken language in the late 19th century.[33][34] Oldest Hebrew inscriptions Further information: Paleo-Hebrew alphabet and Ancient Hebrew writings The Shebna Inscription, from the tomb of a royal steward found in Siloam, dates to the 7th century BCE. In May 2023, Scott Stirpling published the finding of what he claims to be the oldest known Hebrew inscription, a curse tablet found at Mount Ebal, dated from around 3200 years ago. The presence of the Hebrew name of god, Yahweh, as three letters, yod heh vav, according to the author and his team meant that the tablet is Hebrew and not Canaanite.[35][36] However, practically all professional archeologists and epigraphers apart from Stripling's team claim that there is no text on this object.[37] In July 2008, Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa that he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating from around 3,000 years ago.[38] Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said that the inscription was "proto-Canaanite" but cautioned that "[t]he differentiation between the scripts, and between the languages themselves in that period, remains unclear", and suggested that calling the text Hebrew might be going too far.[39] The Gezer calendar also dates back to the 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic period, the traditional time of the reign of David and Solomon. Classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew, the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar (named after the city in whose proximity it was found) is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that, through the Greeks and Etruscans, later became the Latin alphabet of ancient Rome. The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels, and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places in which later Hebrew spelling requires them. Numerous older tablets have been found in the region with similar scripts written in other Semitic languages, for example, Proto-Sinaitic. It is believed that the original shapes of the script go back to Egyptian hieroglyphs, though the phonetic values are instead inspired by the acrophonic principle. The common ancestor of Hebrew and Phoenician is called Canaanite, and was the first to use a Semitic alphabet distinct from that of Egyptian. One ancient document is the famous Moabite Stone, written in the Moabite dialect; the Siloam inscription, found near Jerusalem, is an early example of Hebrew. Less ancient samples of Archaic Hebrew include the ostraca found near Lachish, which describe events preceding the final capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian captivity of 586 BCE. Classical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew Main article: Biblical Hebrew In its widest sense, Biblical Hebrew refers to the spoken language of ancient Israel flourishing between the 10th century BCE and the turn of the 4th century CE.[40] It comprises several evolving and overlapping dialects. The phases of Classical Hebrew are often named after important literary works associated with them.     Archaic Biblical Hebrew, also called Old Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew, from the 10th to the 6th century BCE, corresponding to the Monarchic Period until the Babylonian exile and represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), notably the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). It was written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. A script descended from this, the Samaritan alphabet, is still used by the Samaritans.     Hebrew script used in writing a Torah scroll. Note ornamental "crowns" on tops of certain letters.     Standard Biblical Hebrew, also called Biblical Hebrew, Early Biblical Hebrew, Classical Biblical Hebrew or Classical Hebrew (in the narrowest sense), around the 8th to 6th centuries BCE, corresponding to the late Monarchic period and the Babylonian exile. It is represented by the bulk of the Hebrew Bible that attains much of its present form around this time.     Late Biblical Hebrew, from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BCE, corresponding to the Persian period and represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible, notably the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Basically similar to Classical Biblical Hebrew, apart from a few foreign words adopted for mainly governmental terms, and some syntactical innovations such as the use of the particle she- (alternative of "asher", meaning "that, which, who"). It adopted the Imperial Aramaic script (from which the modern Hebrew script descends).     Israelian Hebrew is a proposed northern dialect of biblical Hebrew, believed to have existed in all eras of the language, in some cases competing with late biblical Hebrew as an explanation for non-standard linguistic features of biblical texts. Early post-Biblical Hebrew     Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, corresponding to the Hellenistic and Roman Periods before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and represented by the Qumran Scrolls that form most (but not all) of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Commonly abbreviated as DSS Hebrew, also called Qumran Hebrew. The Imperial Aramaic script of the earlier scrolls in the 3rd century BCE evolved into the Hebrew square script of the later scrolls in the 1st century CE, also known as ketav Ashuri (Assyrian script), still in use today.     Mishnaic Hebrew from the 1st to the 3rd or 4th century CE, corresponding to the Roman Period after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and represented by the bulk of the Mishnah and Tosefta within the Talmud and by the Dead Sea Scrolls, notably the Bar Kokhba letters and the Copper Scroll. Also called Tannaitic Hebrew or Early Rabbinic Hebrew. Sometimes the above phases of spoken Classical Hebrew are simplified into "Biblical Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 10th century BCE to 2nd century BCE and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE and extant in certain other Dead Sea Scrolls).[41] However, today most Hebrew linguists classify Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew as a set of dialects evolving out of Late Biblical Hebrew and into Mishnaic Hebrew, thus including elements from both but remaining distinct from either.[42] By the start of the Byzantine Period in the 4th century CE, Classical Hebrew ceased as a regularly spoken language, roughly a century after the publication of the Mishnah, apparently declining since the aftermath of the catastrophic Bar Kokhba revolt around 135 CE. Displacement by Aramaic See also: Aramaic language Rashi script A silver matchbox holder with inscription in Hebrew In the early 6th century BCE, the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered the ancient Kingdom of Judah, destroying much of Jerusalem and exiling its population far to the east in Babylon. During the Babylonian captivity, many Israelites learned Aramaic, the closely related Semitic language of their captors. Thus, for a significant period, the Jewish elite became influenced by Aramaic.[43] After Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, he allowed the Jewish people to return from captivity.[44][45] As a result,[improper synthesis?] a local version of Aramaic came to be spoken in Israel alongside Hebrew. By the beginning of the Common Era, Aramaic was the primary colloquial language of Samarian, Babylonian and Galileean Jews, and western and intellectual Jews spoke Greek,[citation needed] but a form of so-called Rabbinic Hebrew continued to be used as a vernacular in Judea until it was displaced by Aramaic, probably in the 3rd century CE. Certain Sadducee, Pharisee, Scribe, Hermit, Zealot and Priest classes maintained an insistence on Hebrew, and all Jews maintained their identity with Hebrew songs and simple quotations from Hebrew texts.[20][46][47] While there is no doubt that at a certain point, Hebrew was displaced as the everyday spoken language of most Jews, and that its chief successor in the Middle East was the closely related Aramaic language, then Greek,[46][note 3] scholarly opinions on the exact dating of that shift have changed very much.[19] In the first half of the 20th century, most scholars followed Abraham Geiger and Gustaf Dalman in thinking that Aramaic became a spoken language in the land of Israel as early as the beginning of Israel's Hellenistic period in the 4th century BCE, and that as a corollary Hebrew ceased to function as a spoken language around the same time. Moshe Zvi Segal, Joseph Klausner and Ben Yehuda are notable exceptions to this view. During the latter half of the 20th century, accumulating archaeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls has disproven that view. The Dead Sea Scrolls, uncovered in 1946–1948 near Qumran revealed ancient Jewish texts overwhelmingly in Hebrew, not Aramaic. The Qumran scrolls indicate that Hebrew texts were readily understandable to the average Jew, and that the language had evolved since Biblical times as spoken languages do.[note 5] Recent scholarship recognizes that reports of Jews speaking in Aramaic indicate a multilingual society, not necessarily the primary language spoken. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew co-existed within Israel as a spoken language.[49] Most scholars now date the demise of Hebrew as a spoken language to the end of the Roman period, or about 200 CE.[50] It continued on as a literary language down through the Byzantine period from the 4th century CE. The exact roles of Aramaic and Hebrew remain hotly debated. A trilingual scenario has been proposed for the land of Israel. Hebrew functioned as the local mother tongue with powerful ties to Israel's history, origins and golden age and as the language of Israel's religion; Aramaic functioned as the international language with the rest of the Middle East; and eventually Greek functioned as another international language with the eastern areas of the Roman Empire.[citation needed] William Schniedewind argues that after waning in the Persian period, the religious importance of Hebrew grew in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and cites epigraphical evidence that Hebrew survived as a vernacular language – though both its grammar and its writing system had been substantially influenced by Aramaic.[51] According to another summary, Greek was the language of government, Hebrew the language of prayer, study and religious texts, and Aramaic was the language of legal contracts and trade.[52] There was also a geographic pattern: according to Bernard Spolsky, by the beginning of the Common Era, "Judeo-Aramaic was mainly used in Galilee in the north, Greek was concentrated in the former colonies and around governmental centers, and Hebrew monolingualism continued mainly in the southern villages of Judea."[46] In other words, "in terms of dialect geography, at the time of the tannaim Palestine could be divided into the Aramaic-speaking regions of Galilee and Samaria and a smaller area, Judaea, in which Rabbinic Hebrew was used among the descendants of returning exiles."[20][47] In addition, it has been surmised that Koine Greek was the primary vehicle of communication in coastal cities and among the upper class of Jerusalem, while Aramaic was prevalent in the lower class of Jerusalem, but not in the surrounding countryside.[52] After the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century CE, Judaeans were forced to disperse. Many relocated to Galilee, so most remaining native speakers of Hebrew at that last stage would have been found in the north.[53] The Christian New Testament contains some Semitic place names and quotes.[54] The language of such Semitic glosses (and in general the language spoken by Jews in scenes from the New Testament) is often referred to as "Hebrew" in the text,[55] although this term is often re-interpreted as referring to Aramaic instead[note 6][note 7] and is rendered accordingly in recent translations.[57] Nonetheless, these glosses can be interpreted as Hebrew as well.[58] It has been argued that Hebrew, rather than Aramaic or Koine Greek, lay behind the composition of the Gospel of Matthew.[59] (See the Hebrew Gospel hypothesis or Language of Jesus for more details on Hebrew and Aramaic in the gospels.) Mishnah and Talmud Main article: Mishnaic Hebrew The term "Mishnaic Hebrew" generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the Talmud, excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language. The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah that was published around 200 CE, although many of the stories take place much earlier, and were written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered to be one of the dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel. A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic Midrashim (Sifra, Sifre, Mekhilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta. The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere; the generic term for these passages is Baraitot. The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew fell into disuse as a spoken language. The later section of the Talmud, the Gemara, generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in two forms of Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew, which sometimes occurs in the text of the Gemara. Hebrew was always regarded as the language of Israel's religion, history and national pride, and after it faded as a spoken language, it continued to be used as a lingua franca among scholars and Jews traveling in foreign countries.[60] After the 2nd century CE when the Roman Empire exiled most of the Jewish population of Jerusalem following the Bar Kokhba revolt, they adapted to the societies in which they found themselves, yet letters, contracts, commerce, science, philosophy, medicine, poetry and laws continued to be written mostly in Hebrew, which adapted by borrowing and inventing terms. Medieval Hebrew Main article: Medieval Hebrew Aleppo Codex: 10th century Hebrew Bible with Masoretic pointing (Joshua 1:1). Kochangadi Synagogue in Kochi, India dated to 1344. After the Talmud, various regional literary dialects of Medieval Hebrew evolved. The most important is Tiberian Hebrew or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that became the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus still influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century CE is sometimes called "Biblical Hebrew" because it is used to pronounce the Hebrew Bible; however, properly it should be distinguished from the historical Biblical Hebrew of the 6th century BCE, whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed. Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the scholarship of the Masoretes (from masoret meaning "tradition"), who added vowel points and grammar points to the Hebrew letters to preserve much earlier features of Hebrew, for use in chanting the Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes inherited a biblical text whose letters were considered too sacred to be altered, so their markings were in the form of pointing in and around the letters. The Syriac alphabet, precursor to the Arabic alphabet, also developed vowel pointing systems around this time. The Aleppo Codex, a Hebrew Bible with the Masoretic pointing, was written in the 10th century, likely in Tiberias, and survives to this day. It is perhaps the most important Hebrew manuscript in existence. During the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the grammarians of Classical Arabic. Important Hebrew grammarians were Judah ben David Hayyuj, Jonah ibn Janah, Abraham ibn Ezra[61] and later (in Provence), David Kimhi. A great deal of poetry was written, by poets such as Dunash ben Labrat, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Judah ha-Levi, Moses ibn Ezra and Abraham ibn Ezra, in a "purified" Hebrew based on the work of these grammarians, and in Arabic quantitative or strophic meters. This literary Hebrew was later used by Italian Jewish poets.[62] The need to express scientific and philosophical concepts from Classical Greek and Medieval Arabic motivated Medieval Hebrew to borrow terminology and grammar from these other languages, or to coin equivalent terms from existing Hebrew roots, giving rise to a distinct style of philosophical Hebrew. This is used in the translations made by the Ibn Tibbon family. (Original Jewish philosophical works were usually written in Arabic.[citation needed]) Another important influence was Maimonides, who developed a simple style based on Mishnaic Hebrew for use in his law code, the Mishneh Torah. Subsequent rabbinic literature is written in a blend between this style and the Aramaized Rabbinic Hebrew of the Talmud. Hebrew persevered through the ages as the main language for written purposes by all Jewish communities around the world for a large range of uses—not only liturgy, but also poetry, philosophy, science and medicine, commerce, daily correspondence and contracts. There have been many deviations from this generalization such as Bar Kokhba's letters to his lieutenants, which were mostly in Aramaic,[63] and Maimonides' writings, which were mostly in Arabic;[64] but overall, Hebrew did not cease to be used for such purposes. For example, the first Middle East printing press, in Safed (modern Israel), produced a small number of books in Hebrew in 1577, which were then sold to the nearby Jewish world.[65] This meant not only that well-educated Jews in all parts of the world could correspond in a mutually intelligible language, and that books and legal documents published or written in any part of the world could be read by Jews in all other parts, but that an educated Jew could travel and converse with Jews in distant places, just as priests and other educated Christians could converse in Latin. For example, Rabbi Avraham Danzig wrote the Chayei Adam in Hebrew, as opposed to Yiddish, as a guide to Halacha for the "average 17-year-old" (Ibid. Introduction 1). Similarly, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan's purpose in writing the Mishnah Berurah was to "produce a work that could be studied daily so that Jews might know the proper procedures to follow minute by minute". The work was nevertheless written in Talmudic Hebrew and Aramaic, since, "the ordinary Jew [of Eastern Europe] of a century ago, was fluent enough in this idiom to be able to follow the Mishna Berurah without any trouble."[66] Revival Main article: Revival of the Hebrew language Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Hebrew has been revived several times as a literary language, most significantly by the Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement of early and mid-19th-century Germany. In the early 19th century, a form of spoken Hebrew had emerged in the markets of Jerusalem between Jews of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate for commercial purposes. This Hebrew dialect was to a certain extent a pidgin.[67] Near the end of that century the Jewish activist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, owing to the ideology of the national revival (שיבת ציון, Shivat Tziyon, later Zionism), began reviving Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Eventually, as a result of the local movement he created, but more significantly as a result of the new groups of immigrants known under the name of the Second Aliyah, it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those languages were Jewish dialects of local languages, including Judaeo-Spanish (also called "Judezmo" and "Ladino"), Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic and Bukhori (Tajiki), or local languages spoken in the Jewish diaspora such as Russian, Persian and Arabic. The major result of the literary work of the Hebrew intellectuals along the 19th century was a lexical modernization of Hebrew. New words and expressions were adapted as neologisms from the large corpus of Hebrew writings since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Ben-Yehuda) and older Aramaic and Latin. Many new words were either borrowed from or coined after European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of the newly declared State of Israel. Hebrew is the most widely spoken language in Israel today. In the Modern Period, from the 19th century onward, the literary Hebrew tradition revived as the spoken language of modern Israel, called variously Israeli Hebrew, Modern Israeli Hebrew, Modern Hebrew, New Hebrew, Israeli Standard Hebrew, Standard Hebrew and so on. Israeli Hebrew exhibits some features of Sephardic Hebrew from its local Jerusalemite tradition but adapts it with numerous neologisms, borrowed terms (often technical) from European languages and adopted terms (often colloquial) from Arabic. The literary and narrative use of Hebrew was revived beginning with the Haskalah movement. The first secular periodical in Hebrew, Ha-Me'assef (The Gatherer), was published by maskilim in Königsberg (today's Kaliningrad) from 1783 onwards.[68] In the mid-19th century, publications of several Eastern European Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g. Hamagid, founded in Ełk in 1856) multiplied. Prominent poets were Hayim Nahman Bialik and Shaul Tchernichovsky; there were also novels written in the language. The revival of the Hebrew language as a mother tongue was initiated in the late 19th century by the efforts of Ben-Yehuda. He joined the Jewish national movement and in 1881 immigrated to Palestine, then a part of the Ottoman Empire. Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the diaspora "shtetl" lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for making the literary and liturgical language into everyday spoken language. However, his brand of Hebrew followed norms that had been replaced in Eastern Europe by different grammar and style, in the writings of people like Ahad Ha'am and others. His organizational efforts and involvement with the establishment of schools and the writing of textbooks pushed the vernacularization activity into a gradually accepted movement. It was not, however, until the 1904–1914 Second Aliyah that Hebrew had caught real momentum in Ottoman Palestine with the more highly organized enterprises set forth by the new group of immigrants. When the British Mandate of Palestine recognized Hebrew as one of the country's three official languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew, in 1922), its new formal status contributed to its diffusion. A constructed modern language with a truly Semitic vocabulary and written appearance, although often European in phonology, was to take its place among the current languages of the nations. While many saw his work as fanciful or even blasphemous[69] (because Hebrew was the holy language of the Torah and therefore some thought that it should not be used to discuss everyday matters), many soon understood the need for a common language amongst Jews of the British Mandate who at the turn of the 20th century were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. A Committee of the Hebrew Language was established. After the establishment of Israel, it became the Academy of the Hebrew Language. The results of Ben-Yehuda's lexicographical work were published in a dictionary (The Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew, Ben-Yehuda Dictionary [he]). The seeds of Ben-Yehuda's work fell on fertile ground, and by the beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. At the time, members of the Old Yishuv and a very few Hasidic sects, most notably those under the auspices of Satmar, refused to speak Hebrew and spoke only Yiddish. In the Soviet Union, the use of Hebrew, along with other Jewish cultural and religious activities, was suppressed. Soviet authorities considered the use of Hebrew "reactionary" since it was associated with Zionism, and the teaching of Hebrew at primary and secondary schools was officially banned by the People's Commissariat for Education as early as 1919, as part of an overall agenda aiming to secularize education (the language itself did not cease to be studied at universities for historical and linguistic purposes[70]). The official ordinance stated that Yiddish, being the spoken language of the Russian Jews, should be treated as their only national language, while Hebrew was to be treated as a foreign language.[71] Hebrew books and periodicals ceased to be published and were seized from the libraries, although liturgical texts were still published until the 1930s. Despite numerous protests,[72] a policy of suppression of the teaching of Hebrew operated from the 1930s on. Later in the 1980s in the USSR, Hebrew studies reappeared due to people struggling for permission to go to Israel (refuseniks). Several of the teachers were imprisoned, e.g. Yosef Begun, Ephraim Kholmyansky, Yevgeny Korostyshevsky and others responsible for a Hebrew learning network connecting many cities of the USSR. Modern Hebrew Main article: Modern Hebrew Hebrew, Arabic and English multilingual signs on an Israeli highway Dual language Hebrew and English keyboard Standard Hebrew, as developed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was based on Mishnaic spelling and Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation. However, the earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had Yiddish as their native language and often introduced calques from Yiddish and phono-semantic matchings of international words. Despite using Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation as its primary basis, modern Israeli Hebrew has adapted to Ashkenazi Hebrew phonology in some respects, mainly the following:     the elimination of pharyngeal articulation in the letters chet (ח‎) and ayin ( ע‎) by most Hebrew speakers.     the conversion of (ר‎) /r/ from an alveolar flap [ɾ] to a voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] or uvular trill [ʀ], by most of the speakers, like in most varieties of standard German or Yiddish. see Guttural R     the pronunciation (by many speakers) of tzere < ֵ ‎> as [eɪ] in some contexts (sifréj and téjša instead of Sephardic sifré and tésha)     the partial elimination of vocal Shva < ְ ‎> (zmán instead of Sephardic zĕman)[73]     in popular speech, penultimate stress in proper names (Dvóra instead of Dĕvorá; Yehúda instead of Yĕhudá) and some other words[74]     similarly in popular speech, penultimate stress in verb forms with a second person plural suffix (katávtem "you wrote" instead of kĕtavtém).[note 8] The vocabulary of Israeli Hebrew is much larger than that of earlier periods. According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann:     The number of attested Biblical Hebrew words is 8198, of which some 2000 are hapax legomena (the number of Biblical Hebrew roots, on which many of these words are based, is 2099). The number of attested Rabbinic Hebrew words is less than 20,000, of which (i) 7879 are Rabbinic par excellence, i.e. they did not appear in the Old Testament (the number of new Rabbinic Hebrew roots is 805); (ii) around 6000 are a subset of Biblical Hebrew; and (iii) several thousand are Aramaic words which can have a Hebrew form. Medieval Hebrew added 6421 words to (Modern) Hebrew. The approximate number of new lexical items in Israeli is 17,000 (cf. 14,762 in Even-Shoshan 1970 [...]). With the inclusion of foreign and technical terms [...], the total number of Israeli words, including words of biblical, rabbinic and medieval descent, is more than 60,000.[75]: 64–65  In Israel, Modern Hebrew is currently taught in institutions called Ulpanim (singular: Ulpan). There are government-owned, as well as private, Ulpanim offering online courses and face-to-face programs. Current status Academy of the Hebrew Language Modern Hebrew is the primary official language of the State of Israel. As of 2013, there are about 9 million Hebrew speakers worldwide,[76] of whom 7 million speak it fluently.[77][78][79] Currently, 90% of Israeli Jews are proficient in Hebrew, and 70% are highly proficient.[80] Some 60% of Israeli Arabs are also proficient in Hebrew,[80] and 30% report having a higher proficiency in Hebrew than in Arabic.[23] In total, about 53% of the Israeli population speaks Hebrew as a native language,[81] while most of the rest speak it fluently. In 2013 Hebrew was the native language of 49% of Israelis over the age of 20, with Russian, Arabic, French, English, Yiddish and Ladino being the native tongues of most of the rest. Some 26% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 12% of Arabs reported speaking Hebrew poorly or not at all.[80][82] Steps have been taken to keep Hebrew the primary language of use, and to prevent large-scale incorporation of English words into the Hebrew vocabulary. The Academy of the Hebrew Language of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem currently invents about 2,000 new Hebrew words each year for modern words by finding an original Hebrew word that captures the meaning, as an alternative to incorporating more English words into Hebrew vocabulary. The Haifa municipality has banned officials from using English words in official documents, and is fighting to stop businesses from using only English signs to market their services.[83] In 2012, a Knesset bill for the preservation of the Hebrew language was proposed, which includes the stipulation that all signage in Israel must first and foremost be in Hebrew, as with all speeches by Israeli officials abroad. The bill's author, MK Akram Hasson, stated that the bill was proposed as a response to Hebrew "losing its prestige" and children incorporating more English words into their vocabulary.[84] Hebrew is one of several languages for which the constitution of South Africa calls to be respected in their use for religious purposes.[8] Also, Hebrew is an official national minority language in Poland, since 6 January 2005.[7] Phonology Further information: Biblical Hebrew § Phonology, and Modern Hebrew phonology Biblical Hebrew had a typical Semitic consonant inventory, with pharyngeal /ʕ ħ/, a series of "emphatic" consonants (possibly ejective, but this is debated), lateral fricative /ɬ/, and in its older stages also uvular /χ ʁ/. /χ ʁ/ merged into /ħ ʕ/ in later Biblical Hebrew, and /b ɡ d k p t/ underwent allophonic spirantization to [v ɣ ð x f θ] (known as begadkefat). The earliest Biblical Hebrew vowel system contained the Proto-Semitic vowels /a aː i iː u uː/ as well as /oː/, but this system changed dramatically over time. By the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls, /ɬ/ had shifted to /s/ in the Jewish traditions, though for the Samaritans it merged with /ʃ/ instead.[42] The Tiberian reading tradition of the Middle Ages had the vowel system /a ɛ e i ɔ o u ă ɔ̆ ɛ̆/, though other Medieval reading traditions had fewer vowels. A number of reading traditions have been preserved in liturgical use. In Oriental (Sephardi and Mizrahi) Jewish reading traditions, the emphatic consonants are realized as pharyngealized, while the Ashkenazi (northern and eastern European) traditions have lost emphatics and pharyngeals (although according to Ashkenazi law, pharyngeal articulation is preferred over uvular or glottal articulation when representing the community in religious service such as prayer and Torah reading), and show the shift of /w/ to /v/. The Samaritan tradition has a complex vowel system that does not correspond closely to the Tiberian systems. Modern Hebrew pronunciation developed from a mixture of the different Jewish reading traditions, generally tending towards simplification. In line with Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation, emphatic consonants have shifted to their ordinary counterparts, /w/ to /v/, and [ɣ ð θ] are not present. Most Israelis today also merge /ʕ ħ/ with /ʔ χ/, do not have contrastive gemination, and pronounce /r/ as a uvular fricative [ʁ] or a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] rather than an alveolar trill, because of Ashkenazi Hebrew influences. The consonants /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ have become phonemic due to loan words, and /w/ has similarly been re-introduced. Consonants Proto- Semitic     IPA     Hebrew     Example written     Biblical     Tiberian     Modern     Word     Meaning *b     [b]     ב‎3     ḇ/b     /b/     /v/, /b/     /v/, /b/     בית     house *d     [d]     ד‎3     ḏ/d     /d/     /ð/, /d/     /d/     דב     bear *g     [ɡ]     ג‎3     ḡ/g     /ɡ/     /ɣ/, /g/     /ɡ/     גמל     camel *p     [p]     פ‎3     p̄/p     /p/     /f/, /p/     /f/, /p/     פחם     coal *t     [t]     ת‎3     ṯ/t     /t/     /θ/, /t/     /t/     תמר     palm *k     [k]     כ‎3     ḵ/k     /k/     /x/, /k/     /χ/, /k/     כוכב     star *ṭ     [tʼ]     ט‎     ṭ     /tˤ/     /tˤ/     /t/     טבח     cook *q     [kʼ]     ק‎     q     /kˤ/     /q/     /k/     קבר     tomb *ḏ     [ð] / [d͡ð]     ז‎2     z     /z/     /z/     /z/     זכר     male *z     [z] / [d͡z]     זרק     threw *s     [s] / [t͡s]     ס‎     s     /s/     /s/     /s/     סוכר     sugar *š     [ʃ] / [s̠]     שׁ‎2     š     /ʃ/     /ʃ/     /ʃ/     שׁמים     sky *ṯ     [θ] / [t͡θ]     שׁמונה     eight *ś     [ɬ] / [t͡ɬ]     שׂ‎1     ś     /ɬ/     /s/     /s/     שׂמאל     left *ṱ     [θʼ] / [t͡θʼ]     צ‎     ṣ     /sˤ/     /sˤ/     /ts/     צל     shadow *ṣ     [sʼ] / [t͡sʼ]     צרח     screamed *ṣ́     [ɬʼ] / [t͡ɬʼ]     צחק     laughed *ġ     [ɣ]~[ʁ]     ע‎     ʻ     /ʁ/     /ʕ/     /ʔ/, -     עורב     raven *ʻ     [ʕ]     /ʕ/     עשׂר     ten *ʼ     [ʔ]     א‎     ʼ     /ʔ/     /ʔ/     /ʔ/, -     אב     father *ḫ     [x]~[χ]     ח‎2     ḥ     /χ/     /ħ/     /χ/     חמשׁ     five *ḥ     [ħ]     /ħ/     חבל     rope *h     [h]     ה‎     h     /h/     /h/     /h/, -     הגר     emigrated *m     [m]     מ‎     m     /m/     /m/     /m/     מים     water *n     [n]     נ‎     n     /n/     /n/     /n/     נביא     prophet *r     [ɾ]     ר‎     r     /ɾ/     /ɾ/     /ʁ/     רגל     leg *l     [l]     ל‎     l     /l/     /l/     /l/     לשׁון     tongue *y     [j]     י‎     y     /j/     /j/     /j/     יד     hand *w     [w]     ו‎     w     /w/     /w/     /v/     ורד     rose Proto-Semitic     IPA     Hebrew     Biblical     Tiberian     Modern     Example Notes:     Proto-Semitic *ś was still pronounced as [ɬ] in Biblical Hebrew, but no letter was available in the Phoenician alphabet, so the letter ש‎ did double duty, representing both /ʃ/ and /ɬ/. Later on, however, /ɬ/ merged with /s/, but the old spelling was largely retained, and the two pronunciations of ש‎ were distinguished graphically in Tiberian Hebrew as שׁ‎ /ʃ/ vs. שׂ‎ /s/ < /ɬ/.     Biblical Hebrew as of the 3rd century BCE apparently still distinguished the phonemes ġ versus ʻ and ḫ versus ḥ, as witnessed by transcriptions in the Septuagint. As in the case of /ɬ/, no letters were available to represent these sounds, and existing letters did double duty: ח‎ for /χ/ and /ħ/ and ע‎ for /ʁ/ and /ʕ/. In all of these cases, however, the sounds represented by the same letter eventually merged, leaving no evidence (other than early transcriptions) of the former distinctions.     Hebrew and Aramaic underwent begadkefat spirantization at a certain point, whereby the stop sounds /b ɡ d k p t/ were softened to the corresponding fricatives [v ɣ ð x f θ] (written ḇ ḡ ḏ ḵ p̄ ṯ) when occurring after a vowel and not geminated. This change probably happened after the original Old Aramaic phonemes /θ, ð/ disappeared in the 7th century BCE,[85] and most likely occurred after the loss of Hebrew /χ, ʁ/ c. 200 BCE.[note 9] It is known to have occurred in Hebrew by the 2nd century.[86] After a certain point this alternation became contrastive in word-medial and final position (though bearing low functional load), but in word-initial position they remained allophonic.[87] In Modern Hebrew, the distinction has a higher functional load due to the loss of gemination, although only the three fricatives /v χ f/ are still preserved (the fricative /x/ is pronounced /χ/ in modern Hebrew). (The others are pronounced like the corresponding stops, as Modern Hebrew pronunciation was based on the Sephardic pronunciation which lost the distinction) Grammar Main article: Modern Hebrew grammar Further information: History of Hebrew grammar Hebrew grammar is partly analytic, expressing such forms as dative, ablative and accusative using prepositional particles rather than grammatical cases. However, inflection plays a decisive role in the formation of verbs and nouns. For example, nouns have a construct state, called "smikhut", to denote the relationship of "belonging to": this is the converse of the genitive case of more inflected languages. Words in smikhut are often combined with hyphens. In modern speech, the use of the construct is sometimes interchangeable with the preposition "shel", meaning "of". There are many cases, however, where older declined forms are retained (especially in idiomatic expressions and the like), and "person"-enclitics are widely used to "decline" prepositions. Morphology Like all Semitic languages, the Hebrew language exhibits a pattern of stems consisting typically of "triliteral", or 3-consonant consonantal roots, from which nouns, adjectives, and verbs are formed in various ways: e.g. by inserting vowels, doubling consonants, lengthening vowels and/or adding prefixes, suffixes or infixes. 4-consonant roots also exist and became more frequent in the modern language due to a process of coining verbs from nouns that are themselves constructed from 3-consonant verbs. Some triliteral roots lose one of their consonants in most forms and are called "Nakhim" (Resting). Hebrew uses a number of one-letter prefixes that are added to words for various purposes. These are called inseparable prepositions or "Letters of Use" (Hebrew: אותיות השימוש, romanized: Otiyot HaShimush). Such items include: the definite article ha- (/ha/) (= "the"); prepositions be- (/be/) (= "in"), le- (/le/) (= "to"; a shortened version of the preposition el), mi- (/mi/) (= "from"; a shortened version of the preposition min); conjunctions ve- (/ve/) (= "and"), she- (/ʃe/) (= "that"; a shortened version of the Biblical conjunction asher), ke- (/ke/) (= "as", "like"; a shortened version of the conjunction kmo). The Hebrew word for "Hebrew" (עברית) in its cursive form The vowel accompanying each of these letters may differ from those listed above, depending on the first letter or vowel following it. The rules governing these changes are hardly observed in colloquial speech as most speakers tend to employ the regular form. However, they may be heard in more formal circumstances. For example, if a preposition is put before a word that begins with a moving Shva, then the preposition takes the vowel /i/ (and the initial consonant may be weakened): colloquial be-kfar (= "in a village") corresponds to the more formal bi-khfar. The definite article may be inserted between a preposition or a conjunction and the word it refers to, creating composite words like mé-ha-kfar (= "from the village"). The latter also demonstrates the change in the vowel of mi-. With be, le and ke, the definite article is assimilated into the prefix, which then becomes ba, la or ka. Thus *be-ha-matos becomes ba-matos (= "in the plane"). This does not happen to mé (the form of "min" or "mi-" used before the letter "he"), therefore mé-ha-matos is a valid form, which means "from the airplane".     * indicates that the given example is grammatically non-standard. Syntax Like most other languages, the vocabulary of the Hebrew language is divided into verbs, nouns, adjectives and so on, and its sentence structure can be analyzed by terms like object, subject and so on.     Though early Biblical Hebrew had a VSO ordering, this gradually transitioned to a subject-verb-object ordering. Many Hebrew sentences have several correct orders of words.     In Hebrew, there is no indefinite article.     Hebrew sentences do not have to include verbs; the copula in the present tense is omitted. For example, the sentence "I am here" (אני פה ani po) has only two words; one for I (אני) and one for here (פה). In the sentence "I am that person" (אני הוא האדם הזה ani hu ha'adam ha'ze), the word for "am" corresponds to the word for "he" (הוא). However, this is usually omitted. Thus, the sentence (אני האדם הזה) is more often used and means the same thing.     Negative and interrogative sentences have the same order as the regular declarative one. A question that has a yes/no answer begins with "האם" (ha'im, an interrogative form of 'if'), but it is largely omitted in informal speech.     In Hebrew there is a specific preposition (את et) for direct objects that would not have a preposition marker in English. The English phrase "he ate the cake" would in Hebrew be הוא אכל את העוגה hu akhal et ha'ugah (literally, "He ate את the cake"). The word את, however, can be omitted, making הוא אכל העוגה hu akhal ha'ugah ("He ate the cake"). Former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was convinced that את should never be used as it elongates the sentence without adding meaning.     In spoken Hebrew ‏את ה-‏ et ha- is also often contracted to ‏-תַ'‏ ta-, e.g. ת'אנשים ta-anashim instead of את האנשים et ha-anashim (the ' indicates non-standard use). This phenomenon has also been found by researchers in the Bar Kokhba documents: מעיד אני עלי תשמים… שאני נותן תכבלים ברגליכם, writing תללו instead of את הללו, as well as תדקל and so on.[citation needed] Writing system Main articles: Hebrew alphabet and Hebrew braille Hebrew alphabet Users of the language write Modern Hebrew from right to left using the Hebrew alphabet – an "impure" abjad, or consonant-only script, of 22 letters. The ancient paleo-Hebrew alphabet resembles those used for Canaanite and Phoenician.[citation needed] Modern scripts derive from the "square" letter form, known as Ashurit (Assyrian), which developed from the Aramaic script. A cursive Hebrew script is used in handwriting: the letters tend to appear more circular in form when written in cursive, and sometimes vary markedly from their printed equivalents. The medieval version of the cursive script forms the basis of another style, known as Rashi script. When necessary, vowels are indicated by diacritic marks above or below the letter representing the syllabic onset, or by use of matres lectionis, which are consonantal letters used as vowels. Further diacritics may serve to indicate variations in the pronunciation of the consonants (e.g. bet/vet, shin/sin); and, in some contexts, to indicate the punctuation, accentuation and musical rendition of Biblical texts (see Hebrew cantillation). Liturgical use in Judaism Audio example of liturgical Hebrew 0:18 This is a portion of the blessing that is traditionally chanted before the Aliyah La-Torah (reading of the Torah). Problems playing this file? See media help. Hebrew has always been used as the language of prayer and study, and the following pronunciation systems are found. Ashkenazi Hebrew, originating in Central and Eastern Europe, is still widely used in Ashkenazi Jewish religious services and studies in Israel and abroad, particularly in the Haredi and other Orthodox communities. It was influenced by Yiddish pronunciation. Sephardi Hebrew is the traditional pronunciation of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews and Sephardi Jews in the countries of the former Ottoman Empire, with the exception of Yemenite Hebrew. This pronunciation, in the form used by the Jerusalem Sephardic community, is the basis of the Hebrew phonology of Israeli native speakers. It was influenced by Ladino pronunciation. Mizrahi (Oriental) Hebrew is actually a collection of dialects spoken liturgically by Jews in various parts of the Arab and Islamic world. It was derived from the old Arabic language, and in some cases influenced by Sephardi Hebrew. Yemenite Hebrew or Temanit differs from other Mizrahi dialects by having a radically different vowel system, and distinguishing between different diacritically marked consonants that are pronounced identically in other dialects (for example gimel and "ghimel".) These pronunciations are still used in synagogue ritual and religious study in Israel and elsewhere, mostly by people who are not native speakers of Hebrew. However, some traditionalist Israelis use liturgical pronunciations in prayer. Many synagogues in the diaspora, even though Ashkenazi by rite and by ethnic composition, have adopted the "Sephardic" pronunciation in deference to Israeli Hebrew. However, in many British and American schools and synagogues, this pronunciation retains several elements of its Ashkenazi substrate, especially the distinction between tsere and segol. See also     flagIsrael portalJudaism portaliconLanguage portal     Paleo-Hebrew alphabet     List of Hebrew dictionaries     Hebraism     Hebraization of English     Hebrew abbreviations     Hebrew literature     Hebrew numerals     Jewish languages     List of English words of Hebrew origin     Romanization of Hebrew     Study of the Hebrew language     Works related to Hebrew language and literature at Wikisource Government     Official website of the Academy of the Hebrew Language     Ma'agarim – The Historical Dictionary Project by the Academy of the Hebrew Language     Hebrew Phrases by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism General information     Hebrew language at the Jewish Encyclopedia     A Guide to Hebrew at BBC Online     A Short History of the Hebrew Language by Chaim Menachem Rabin     Hebrew language at Curlie Tutorials, courses and dictionaries     Hebrew language at the University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts     Hebrew Basic Course by the Foreign Service Institute     Phonetically Transcribed Modern Hebrew Course Archived 26 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine by Polyglot Daniel Epstein Hebrew language at Wikipedia's sister projects:     Definitions from Wiktionary     Media from Commons     Quotations from Wikiquote     Texts from Wikisource     Textbooks from Wikibooks     Resources from Wikiversity     Phrasebook from Wikivoyage     Hebrew edition of Wikipedia     vte Hebrew language Overviews        Language Alphabet History Ancient inscriptions Transliteration to English / from English Gematria Eras        Biblical (northern dialect) Mishnaic Medieval Modern Reading traditions        Ashkenazi Sephardi Italian Mizrahi (Syrian) Yemenite Samaritan Tiberian (extinct) Palestinian (extinct) Babylonian (extinct) Orthography    Eras        Biblical Scripts        Rashi Braille Ashuri Cursive Crowning Paleo-Hebrew Solitreo Alphabet        Alef Bet Gimel Dalet Hei Vav Zayin Het Tet Yud Kaf Lamed Mem Nun Samech Ayin Pei Tsadi Kuf Reish Shin Taw Niqqud        Tiberian Babylonian Palestinian Samaritan     Shva Hiriq Tzere Segol Patach Kamatz Holam Kubutz and Shuruk Dagesh Mappiq Maqaf Rafe Sin/Shin Dot Spelling        with Niqqud / missing / full Mater lectionis Abbreviations Plene scriptum Punctuation        Diacritics Meteg Cantillation Geresh Gershayim Inverted nun Shekel sign Numerals Phonology        Biblical Hebrew Modern Hebrew Philippi's law Law of attenuation Grammar        Biblical Modern     Verbal morphology Semitic roots Prefixes Suffixes Segolate Waw-consecutive Academic        Revival Academy Study Ulpan Keyboard Hebrew / ancient / modern Israeli literature Names Surnames Unicode and HTML Reference works        Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures Brown–Driver–Briggs Strong's Concordance Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament Links to related articles     vte Languages of Israel Official        Hebrew Special status        Arabic         Palestinian Bedouin Non-official        Amharic Domari English French German Ladino Kurdish Romanian Russian Yiddish others Sign languages        Abu Kaf Al-Atrash Al-Sayyid El-Naim Ein Mahel Ghardaian Israeli Kafr Qasem Levantine Arabic Russian See also: Jewish languages     vte Semitic languages East        Akkadian         Canaano-Akkadian Eblaite West    Cen- tral    North- west    Cana- anite    Hebrew    Eras        Biblical (northern dialect) Mishnaic Medieval Modern Reading traditions        Ashkenazi Babylonian Italian Mizrahi (Syrian) Palestinian Samaritan Sephardi Tiberian Yemenite Others        Ammonite Edomite Moabite Phoenician         Punic Samalian Aramaic    Historical        Old Aramaic Imperial Aramaic Biblical Aramaic Middle Aramaic Western        Nabataean Palestinian         Christian Palestinian Jewish Palestinian Samaritan Palmyrene Western Neo-Aramaic Eastern    Neo- Aramaic    Central Neo-Aramaic        Mlaḥsô Turoyo Northeastern Neo-Aramaic    Christian    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tt-group        Mesmes Muher West Gurage         Inor             Endegen Mesqan Sebat Bet             Chaha Ezha Gumer Gura Gyeto Modern Arabian        Baṭḥari Ḥarsusi Hobyot Mehri Shehri Soqotri Old Arabian        Faifi Hadramautic Minaean Qatabanian         Awsanian Razihi Sabaic     Italics indicate extinct or historical languages. Languages between parentheses are varieties of the language on their left.     vte Jewish languages Afroasiatic    Hebrew    Eras        Biblical Mishnaic Medieval Modern Reading traditions        Ashkenazi Sephardi Mizrahi Yemenite Tiberian Judaeo-Aramaic        Biblical Targum Talmudic Jewish Palestinian Aramaic         Galilean Barzani Hulaulá Lishana Deni Lishán Didán Lishanid Noshan Betanure Judaeo-Arabic        Judaeo-Egyptian Judaeo-Iraqi Judaeo-Moroccan Judaeo-Tripolitanian Judaeo-Tunisian Judaeo-Yemeni Others        Geʽez (Ethiosemitic) Kayla/Qwara (Cushitic) Judaeo-Berber (Berber) Indo-European    Germanic    Yiddish (dialects/argots)        Eastern         Galitzish Litvish Poylish Ukrainish Udmurtish Klezmer-loshn Western         Judeo-Alsatian Lachoudisch Scots-Yiddish Jewish English        Yeshivish Yinglish Heblish Judaeo-Romance        Judaeo-Catalan Judaeo-Italian         Judaeo-Piedmontese Judaeo-Spanish         Haketia             Tetuani Judeo-Latin Judeo-Provençal Judeo-Gascon Judaeo-French Judaeo-Portuguese Judaeo-Aragonese Judaeo-Iranian        Bukhori Judeo-Tat Judeo-Persian Judeo-Hamedani Judaeo-Shirazi Judaeo-Kurdish Judaeo-Yazdi Judaeo-Kermani Judaeo-Kashani Judeo-Golpaygani Others        Yevanic (Hellenic) Knaanic (Slavic) Judeo-Urdu, Judaeo-Marathi (Indo-Aryan) Others        Krymchak/Karaim (Turkic) Judaeo-Malayalam (Dravidian) Judaeo-Georgian (Kartvelian) Judaeo-Papiamento (Portuguese-based Creole) Judaeo-Malay (Malayic) Sign languages        Israeli Sign Language (German Sign) Algerian Jewish Sign Language (village sign language) Italics indicate extinct languages Hebrew language Overviews        Language Alphabet History Ancient inscriptions Transliteration to English / from English Gematria Eras        Biblical (northern dialect) Mishnaic Medieval Modern Reading traditions        Ashkenazi Sephardi Italian Mizrahi (Syrian) Yemenite Samaritan Tiberian (extinct) Palestinian (extinct) Babylonian (extinct) Orthography    Eras        Biblical Scripts        Rashi Braille Ashuri Cursive Crowning Paleo-Hebrew Solitreo Alphabet        Alef Bet Gimel Dalet Hei Vav Zayin Het Tet Yud Kaf Lamed Mem Nun Samech Ayin Pei Tsadi Kuf Reish Shin Taw Niqqud        Tiberian Babylonian Palestinian Samaritan     Shva Hiriq Tzere Segol Patach Kamatz Holam Kubutz and Shuruk Dagesh Mappiq Maqaf Rafe Sin/Shin Dot Spelling        with Niqqud / missing / full Mater lectionis Abbreviations Plene scriptum Punctuation        Diacritics Meteg Cantillation Geresh Gershayim Inverted nun Shekel sign Numerals Phonology        Biblical Hebrew Modern Hebrew Philippi's law Law of attenuation Grammar        Biblical Modern     Verbal morphology Semitic roots Prefixes Suffixes Segolate Waw-consecutive Academic        Revival Academy Study Ulpan Keyboard Hebrew / ancient / modern Israeli literature Names Surnames Unicode and HTML Reference works        Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures Brown–Driver–Briggs Strong's Concordance Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament Links to related articles     vte Languages of Israel Official        Hebrew Special status        Arabic         Palestinian Bedouin Non-official        Amharic Domari English French German Ladino Kurdish Romanian Russian Yiddish others Sign languages        Abu Kaf Al-Atrash Al-Sayyid El-Naim Ein Mahel Ghardaian Israeli Kafr Qasem Levantine Arabic Russian See also: Jewish languages     vte Semitic languages East        Akkadian         Canaano-Akkadian Eblaite West    Cen- tral    North- west    Cana- anite    Hebrew    Eras        Biblical (northern dialect) Mishnaic Medieval Modern Reading traditions        Ashkenazi Babylonian Italian Mizrahi (Syrian) Palestinian Samaritan Sephardi Tiberian Yemenite Others        Ammonite Edomite Moabite Phoenician         Punic Samalian Aramaic    Historical        Old Aramaic Imperial Aramaic Biblical Aramaic Middle Aramaic Western        Nabataean Palestinian         Christian Palestinian Jewish Palestinian Samaritan Palmyrene Western Neo-Aramaic Eastern    Neo- Aramaic    Central Neo-Aramaic        Mlaḥsô Turoyo Northeastern Neo-Aramaic    Christian        Suret         Assyrian Chaldean Barwar Bohtan Neo-Aramaic Hértevin Koy Sanjaq Surat Qaraqosh Senaya Urmia Christian Judeo- Aramaic        Barzani Betanure Inter-Zab Koy Sanjaqc Sanandaj Trans-Zab Urmia Jewish Zakho     Mandaic         Neo-Mandaic Others        Ashurian and Hatran Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Syriac Others        Amorite         Ugaritic Ancient North Arabian         Dadanitic Dumaitic Hasaitic Hismaic Safaitic Taymanitic Thamudic Himyaritic Sutean Arabic    Historical        Proto-Arabic Nabataean Arabic Old Arabic Pre-classical Arabic Literary        Classical Modern Standard Dialect groups        Egyptian Arabic Levantine Maghrebi         Maltese             Siculo-Arabic Mesopotamian Peninsular South    Ethiopic    North        Geʽez         Dahalik Tigre Tigrinya South    Trans- versal    Amharic–Argobba        Amharic Argobba Harari– East Gurage        Harari East Gurage         Siltʼe             Inneqor Ulbare Wolane Zay Outer    n-group        Gafat Soddo tt-group        Mesmes Muher West Gurage         Inor             Endegen Mesqan Sebat Bet             Chaha Ezha Gumer Gura Gyeto Modern Arabian        Baṭḥari Ḥarsusi Hobyot Mehri Shehri Soqotri Old Arabian        Faifi Hadramautic Minaean Qatabanian         Awsanian Razihi Sabaic     Italics indicate extinct or historical languages. Languages between parentheses are varieties of the language on their left.     vte Jewish languages Afroasiatic    Hebrew    Eras        Biblical Mishnaic Medieval Modern Reading traditions        Ashkenazi Sephardi Mizrahi Yemenite Tiberian Judaeo-Aramaic        Biblical Targum Talmudic Jewish Palestinian Aramaic         Galilean Barzani Hulaulá Lishana Deni Lishán Didán Lishanid Noshan Betanure Judaeo-Arabic        Judaeo-Egyptian Judaeo-Iraqi Judaeo-Moroccan Judaeo-Tripolitanian Judaeo-Tunisian Judaeo-Yemeni Others        Geʽez (Ethiosemitic) Kayla/Qwara (Cushitic) Judaeo-Berber (Berber) Indo-European    Germanic    Yiddish (dialects/argots)        Eastern         Galitzish Litvish Poylish Ukrainish Udmurtish Klezmer-loshn Western         Judeo-Alsatian Lachoudisch Scots-Yiddish Jewish English        Yeshivish Yinglish Heblish Judaeo-Romance        Judaeo-Catalan Judaeo-Italian         Judaeo-Piedmontese Judaeo-Spanish         Haketia             Tetuani Judeo-Latin Judeo-Provençal Judeo-Gascon Judaeo-French Judaeo-Portuguese Judaeo-Aragonese Judaeo-Iranian        Bukhori Judeo-Tat Judeo-Persian Judeo-Hamedani Judaeo-Shirazi Judaeo-Kurdish Judaeo-Yazdi Judaeo-Kermani Judaeo-Kashani Judeo-Golpaygani Others        Yevanic (Hellenic) Knaanic (Slavic) Judeo-Urdu, Judaeo-Marathi (Indo-Aryan) Others        Krymchak/Karaim (Turkic) Judaeo-Malayalam (Dravidian) Judaeo-Georgian (Kartvelian) Judaeo-Papiamento (Portuguese-based Creole) Judaeo-Malay (Malayic) Sign languages        Israeli Sign Language (German Sign) Algerian Jewish Sign Language (village sign language)

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