ישראל מהי?
ישראל היא נס,  אמר נשיא צרפת ניקולא סרקוזי, בוושינגטון (7 נובמבר 2007).  "תמיד חשבתי שישראל היא נס, כמקום שלכל יהודי בעולם יש לאן ללכת אם משהו יקרה לו".

ישראל היא מקום, היא דרך, היא אמונה, היא דת, היא מורשת, היא חלום, היא תקווה, היא התמודדות, היא חלוציות, היא נוף, היא אדם, היא עבר, היא מלחמה ושלום, היא חקלאות, היא חי וצומח, היא דו קיום, היא חווייה.
ישראל היא אמנם ארץ קטנטונת אך ככל שמבקרים בה יותר כך מגלים את נבכיה העמוקים ונדבכיה המשובחים.
ישראל משופעת באתרי נוף מרתקים, באתרים היסטוריים נדירים ובה מפגש אנושי מגוון עם מורשות שונות, מלחמות ודו-קיום שברירי - חלוציות, תקוות, חלומות והגשמות.
לישראל מיגוון רחב של נופים: מהשלג בחרמון רווי המים בארץ ירדן וחרמונים, ועד הנופים הצחיחים והמרתקים של מדבר יהודה והנגב. הארץ זרועה אתרים היסטוריים, שהולכים ונחשפים גם בעצם ימים אלה ואוצרותיה הארכיאולוגים מתעשרים עוד ועוד, ואנו מתבשרים חדשות לבקרים על גילויים חדשים הזורים אור נוסף על ההסטוריה העשירה של הארץ הניבנית – לעיתים ננגסת ולעיתים מתהדרת – ומשנה את פניה ללא הרף.
חני זיו

?What is Israel
Israel is a miracle, exclaimed French President Nicholas Sarkozy in Washington (November 7, 2007). I have always considered Israel a miracle, a refuge where every Jew in the world can go if something befalls him

Israel is a place, a way of life, faith, religion,heritage, a dream, hope, coping, pioneering, scenery and man. It is the past, war and peace, agriculture, fauna and flora, coexistence, an experience.
Israel may be a tiny country but the more one visits it the more one discovers its many, wondrous layers.
Israel is teeming with exciting vistas, rare historical sites and a variegated human encounter with various heritages. Wars and a fragile coexistence – a pioneering spirit, hopes, dreams and their realization.
Israel features a broad kaleidoscope of scenery, from snow in the Hermon with its plentiful sources of water in Jordan and Hermonim, to the arid, stark scenery of the Judean Desert and the Negev.
The land is strewn with historical sites, which are being revealed even now, and its archaeological treasures grow ever richer. We are regularly informed of new revelations that shed light on the amazing history of this ancient land, which is constantly being rebuilt – at times shrunken and at others gracefully embellished, with an ever-changing face.
Hani Ziv

Soaring over Israel's Panoramic Scenery
OFEK - Aerial Photography

Birkat Ram and Hermon

Capernaum

לשנה הבאה בירושלים הבנויה - הכותל המערבי

"The Land of Israel is the open Bible, the written testimony, the identity and right of the Jewish people. Under its skies, the prophets of Israel made their demand for social justice and proclaimed their vision of a world with a pact among nations that will no longer know war." – In a speech delivered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the UN General Assembly, September 15, 2005

"מבין כל הארצות המכוערות שבעולם - ארץ-ישראל היא האלופה. ההרים חשופים, הגבעות קרחות, העמקים הם ישימון כעור ודל צמחייה. זוהי ארץ חרבה ומקוללת, יריחו נשארה תל הריסות כפי שהשאיר אותה יהושע בן-נון, נצרת היא עיר נידחת, ירושלים עלובה וקודרת, שורצת מצורעים, נכים וחובבי בקשישים נצחיים ותושביה בלויי סחבות ומצחינים, עמוסים בזבובים ופרעושים והבעת פניהם מטומטמת".

סמואל קלמנס - מרק טווין, מחבר "תום סויר" ו"הקלברי פין", שביקר בארץ-ישראל ב- 1867




עין כרם - כנסיית הביקור

"Among all of the ugly lands in the world, the Land of Israel takes first place. Its exposed mountains, bald hills, barren valleys and sparse vegetation. It is a cursed, devastated land. Jericho remains a mound of destruction, just as Joshua left it. Nazareth is desolate. Jerusalem is pitiful and gloomy, full of lepers, the crippled and lovers of eternal bakshish. Its residents are clothed in smelly rags, with flies and fleas swarming around them, the expression on their faces blank."Samuel Clemens – Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, who visited the Land of Israel in 1867.

Ein Karem

Jerusalem Gethsemane 

Beit Shean

The Carmel Coastline

"'The Land of Israel,' as a Jewish concept with halachic-historic-cultural authenticity, is the profound justification for our presence here as Jews. Without it, our national demand has no meaning for us or anyone else. 'The Land of Israel' is a Jewish symbol and our link with it defines our identity. Relinquishing it would be comparable to national suicide. On the other hand, 'the State of Israel' is a modern organizational tool created by Zionism in order to incorporate within the ancient symbol of 'the Land of Israel' vital values such as national independence, mutual obligation, sovereignty and national, social and human dignity; national responsibility, the gathering of the exiles, national unity, democracy and a multitude of cultures.  

Barry Zimerman, Givat Haim

The Western Galilee

"ארץ ישראל איננה דבר חיצוני, קנין חיצוני לאומה... ארץ ישראל היא חטיבה עצמותית קשורה בקשר חיים עם האומה..."הרב קוק זצ"ל (1865- 1935) בתחילת ספרו החשוב "אורות",





חיפה

"The Land of Israel is not an external object, a surface possession for the nation…The Land of Israel is a powerful unit which is fused to the nation with the bond of life." The spiritual leader, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook (1865-1935) in the beginning of his insightful book 'Lights.'


Haifa

Jerusalem

חיפה - סטלה מאריס - כוכב הים

Haifa

Israel is the national home, the spiritual dwelling, and the foundation for the liberty of the Jewish people
gavison-medan.org

Mount Tabor

הר תבור

Mount Tabor

הירדן ההררי

The Mountainous Jordan Area

"Eretz Israel is a land of signs: It shows signs of oil, signs of gas, signs of copper and many other encouraging signs."
Prime Minister of Israel, Levi Eshkol

Tabgha and Surroundings

Caesarea

Nazareth- Church of the Annunciation

Masada

Mount of Beatitudes

יפו העתיקה - הנמל

Jaffa Port

כנרת - מוצא הירדן

Kinneret Jordan

ציפורי

Zippori

הירדן

The Jordan River

 

יפו העתיקה

Ancient Jaffa

Tel Aviv

כנסת ישראל

Eilat

בתחומי ארץ ישראל שלושה אזורי אקלים: ברוב חלקה המרכזי והצפוני של הארץ שורר אקלים ים-תיכוני, המאופיין בקיץ חם ובחורף גשום. במישור החוף הקיץ לח והחורף נוח, ואילו בהרים הקיץ יבש והחורף עשוי להיות קר. בדרום הארץ ומזרחה שורר אקלים מדברי, המאופיין במזג אוויר חם ויבש ובהפרשי טמפרטורות ניכרים בין היום והלילה. בין האזור המדברי והים-תיכוני מצוי האזור הערבתי, ששורר בו אקלים מעבר בין האקלים הים-תיכוני והמדברי.

ישראל היא ארץ שמש מובהקת, וכמות האור והקרינה בה היא מהגבוהות בעולם. עובדה זאת מבטיחה הצלחה בשיזוף, אבל מחייבת גם שימוש באמצעי הגנה מתאימים. רוב המשקעים בארץ ישראל הם גשמי חורף, אם כי בהר החרמון יורד שלג בחורף, ולעיתים יורד שלג גם בהרים הגבוהים. ברוב חלקי החבל הים-תיכוני יורדים יותר מ-400 מ"מ גשם בשנה, בחבל המדברי יורדים פחות מ-250 מ"מ גשם בשנה, ובחבל הערבתי יורדים 300-400 מ"מ גשם בשנה. עונת הגשמים נמשכת מסוף אוקטובר עד תחילת מאי, אבל רוב הגשמים יורדים בחודשים דצמבר-פברואר. עונת היובש נמשכת בדרך כלל מתחילת מאי עד סוף אוקטובר, והחודשים החמים ביותר הם יולי-אוגוסט.

בחודשים ספטמבר-נובמבר ואפריל-יוני. מזג האוויר נוח בדרך כלל, כמעט לא יורד גשם ואפשר להתרחץ בהם בים ולטייל באזורים המדבריים בנוחות.

60 לישראל
60 פרחי בר בישראל
60 ציפורים  בישראל
60 ארועים בצל דגל ישראל
60 טיולים בישראל

Information about Israel:

ID: Official name: The State of Israel

Government: Parliamentary democracy

Capital: Jerusalem

Area: 21,643 sq.m.

Population: Population of Israel on the eve of 2010 - 7.5 Million
Religious composition: 76.5% Jews, 16% Muslims, 2% Christians, 1.5% Druze, 4% without religious classification.

Official language: Hebrew, Arabic

Currency: New shekel

Gross Domestic Product: $154 billion

GDP Per Capita: $22.944 (calculation according to purchasing power). Standard of living index: ranked 22^nd in the world.

International telephone dialing code: 972

Internet ending: il

Israel is a modern country located in a variegated region from the point of view of climate and geography. It features snow-capped mountains in the north and arid deserts in its southern region, untouched, natural areas alongside modern and vibrant cities. Israel's ethnic and religious mosaic is both rich and stimulating. It has many cultural institutions and a broad variety of entertainment and leisure time activities. Due to its long history and holiness to the three monotheistic religions, it boasts many ancient and holy sites. Israel's climate is mild most of the year and one can explore its beauty year round.

The State Emblems

 Israel's flag is made up of two parallel blue stripes on a white background. In the center, in between the two stripes, is a blue Star of David. The State of Israel's national anthem is Hatikva, based on a poem written by the poet Naftali Hertz Imber (1856-1909) and its melody is based on a Romanian folk tune written by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Hatikva was named the anthem of the Zionist Movement in 1933 and upon the state's inception was chosen to serve as its national anthem. The Knesset officially named Hatikva the state anthem only in 2004. The State of Israel's emblem is the menorah with seven branches flanked on both sides by olive branches. The word Israel appears below it. The source of the menorah is an embossment on the Arch of Titus in Rome depicting the victory march of the Roman military commander Titus following the crushing of the great rebellion and destruction of the Holy Temple in the year 70. The source of the olive branches is the Book of Zechariah. The menorah of the Holy Temple, as it is depicted in the Arch of Titus, symbolizes not only the People of Israel's glorious past but also its downfall and the beginning of the dispersal in the Diaspora. The choice of this emblem not only links the new state with its magnificent past but also returns the menorah from its long exile, thus symbolizing the end of its banishment.

The Political System

The State of Israel is a parliamentary democracy. It is headed by the president, who plays a symbolic and representative role. The state is run by three authorities, the legislative authority – the Knesset; the executive authority – the government; and the judiciary authority.

The legislative authority, the Knesset, numbers 120 members who are elected in general elections every four years. The Knesset enacts laws, adopts political decisions, elects the president and cabinet, and supervises the government's activities. The executive authority is the government which is responsible for the country's proper management and carrying out the laws enacted by the Knesset. The prime minister is a member of the Knesset whom the president appoints to form a government, which has the Knesset's confidence. As since the state's inception no single party has had an absolute majority, all of the Israeli governments have been based on coalitions.

The third authority is the judiciary authority, which administers the observance of the law. The High Court stands at the head of the judiciary authority. It deals with appeals of verdicts passed by lower courts, and as the supreme court hears appeals of private citizens against the state authorities. Alongside the main civil judiciary system, Israel has a system of courts which the law has entrusted with authority in certain areas. These courts include the labor court, the military court and religious courts (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze), which deal with issues such as marriage and divorce.

Israel's Economy

The Israeli economy is a success story. Although it has almost no mineral resources, and despite the wars and waves of immigration which have placed a huge burden upon it, Israel is among the most prosperous countries in the world. Since its inception, annual export has grown from some $30 million to over $30 billion. In recent years many changes have taken place in the Israel economy: In the country's first years it mainly exported citrus fruits as well as polished diamonds and various industrial products. Today most of its export is made up of hi-tech and state-of-the-art products in many areas including electronics, software, hardware, optics, communications and medical equipment. Over the years, Israel's economic ideology changed as well. At the beginning Israel's economy was completely centralized, with the government involved in almost every aspect of the economy. Following the political upheaval in 1977, Israel's economic policy underwent a profound change and since the mid 1980's Israeli governments have adopted a liberal economic policy. The country's GDP is $154 billion (ranking number 51 in the world). Its GDP per capita is $22,944 (ranking number 44 in the world.) Israel's annual export comes to $42 billion. Its imports are valued at $45 billion. The annual growth rate is approximately 5%. Inflation stands at 2% and the unemployment level is 8.9%. The outstanding branch of the Israeli economy is hi-tech, which in the 1990's was the main force behind the country's economic growth. Other large industries include pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tourism, the military industry, the metal industry and polished diamonds.

The Climate

The Land of Israel is located in a sub-tropical region which is characterized by two main seasons; a dry, hot summer and a cool, semi-rainy to rainy winter. Due to the influence of several general factors such as its location between the Mediterranean Sea and the small deserts in the East, and as a result of local factors such as altitude and the distance from the sea, the climate in Israel is diversified and in the winter, tourists can choose between skiing in the snowy Hermon and sunbathing in the Eilat Bay.

Israel contains three climate areas: Most of its central and northern area has a Mediterranean climate characterized by a hot summer and rainy winter. In the costal range the summer is humid and the winter is mild, while in the mountainous areas the summer is dry and winter is cold. Israel's southern and eastern areas have a desert-like climate which is typically hot and dry, with substantial differences in temperature between the day and night. Between the arid, desert-like area and the Mediterranean area is a prairie-like area which enjoys a transitional climate between the Mediterranean climate and the desert climate.

Israel is drenched with sunlight. The amount of light and radiation is among the highest in the world. This ensures a good sun tan but also necessitates the use of sun screening protection. Most of the precipitation comes in the form of winter rains, although it snows in the Hermon during the winter months and it can sometimes snow at other high altitude areas. In most of the Mediterranean area, over 400 mm. of rain fall annually. The desert-like area has less than 250 mm. of precipitation and the prairie-like region has 300-400 mm. of rainfall annually. The rainy season begins in October and lasts till the beginning of May, but most of the rain falls in the months between December and February. The dry season starts in the beginning of May and lasts till late October. The hottest months are July and August.

During the months of September to November and April to June the weather is generally mild. During those periods there is little rain, the sea is balmy and one can tour the desert regions in comfort.