Israel /ˈɪzreɪəl/, officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel] ; , IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), was a country in Western Asia, on the south-eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The natives were named Israelis.
It shared land borders with Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, thePalestinian territories (or State of Palestine) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the east and southwest respectively, Egypt and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and Democratic State; it is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
On 29 November 1947 CE, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the adoption and implementation of the partition plan of Mandatory Palestine. On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel," a state independent upon the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine, 15 May 1948. Neighboring Arab armies invaded Palestine on the next day and fought the Israeli forces. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula (between 1967 and 1982), part of South Lebanon (between 1982 and 2000), Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. It annexed portions of these territories, including East Jerusalem, but the border with the West Bank was disputed long ago.
Israel's financial center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is the country's most populous city and its designated capital, though internationally Jerusalem is not considered to be a part of Israel.
Ethnic groups in Israel included Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Palestinians, Sephardi Jews,Yemenite Jews,Ethiopian Jews,Bahrani Jews, Bedouin, Druze, and many other groups. The population of Israel, as defined by the last United Earth Census, was 1,146,300 people, of whom 1,110,600 are Jewish, a large proportion of whom come from mixed ethnic heritage. The country's second largest group are designated as Arabs, with 86,000 people (including the Druze and most East Jerusalem Arabs. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are settled Muslims, with smaller but significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins; the rest are Christians and Druze. Other minorities include Maronites, Samaritans, Black Hebrew Israelites, other Sub-Saharan Africans,Armenians, Circassians, Roma and others.
Today Israel is still one of the most visited tourist destinations on Terra. It is home to to one of the few Mega Corporations that are still headquartered on Earth (IMI Corp ) which is part of the Terra Weapon Industry Complex.
It also has still produces agricultural products such as Oranges,Honey and Dates (relatively small quantities.)
The planet colonies: Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion, Red Desert andNew Home have been colonized during theSecond Exodus [1 ] by Israeli Settlers.The planets New Israel, Zion, Gaza, Golan,Promissed Land and Jaffa have not been colonized by Israelis alone but by by Jewish Colonists from all over Earth.
The planets Druze Home, Samarit, Maronite, Armenia, Circassia and thirty-four other planets were colonized by ethnic groups residing within Israel. They are not considered Israel founded Colonies[2]. (The distinction has mostly been forgotten)
The former country is still considered a religious center to several of old Pre-Astro religions.
[1] It should be noted that Israel and the region were the origin of the Pre-Astro legend/historic event called Exodus, or the First Exodus
[2] Of the thirty-nine planets colonized by various ethnic groups, five possibly would have been considered Israel founded colonies had they requested that support prior the first ships leaving to found those colonies.