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Nation of Israel

Nation of Israel Background: History and general facts about Israel Along the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, at the junction of three continents, lies a much disputed piece of land, now known as the country of Israel. Although this land is now controlled by its original inhabitants, the Jewish people have only had political power for the past half-century. After the Jewish people lost authority, the control of this piece of land changed hands numerous times. This land has been plagued for centuries by disputes between its neighboring countries and peoples over its rule. Located in the Middle East, Israel’s neighboring countries include Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The majority of its western side and the Gaza Strip are along the Mediterranean Sea. The highly disputed West Bank is between Israel’s eastern border and Jordan’s western border. The total area of this small country is 20,770 km, making its size comparable to that of the state of New Jersey. The official languages of the country are Hebrew and Arabic, yet due to ethnic diversity, many other languages are also spoken. Jerusalem is the capital and the largest city in Israel. This is the metropolitan location of the Israeli government. The next largest city is Tel Aviv with about half the population of Jerusalem. The industrial, commercial, financial and cultural life of Israel is based in Tel Aviv. Considering how small the area is that composes Israel, there is a wide range of environmental attributes found within its borders. There is the semitropical Jordan Rift Valley that has hot, dry summers and pleasant winters. In the south the semi-arid Negev desert is found, where there are hot days and cool nights. The forested highlands have dry, warm summers and winters with rain and occasional snow. Finally, the hot, humid summers and the mild wet winters are found in the coastal plain. The vast climactic differences are reflected in the rich variety of flora and fauna. Despite the wide environmental range, fresh water scarcity has been a lasting problem. The National Water Carrier aids in bringing water from the north to the south, and additional methods of using other sources are underway. Desertification and pollution are two other environmental issues that Israel faces. Sandstorms are a natural hazard, which most often occur in the spring and the summer. The natural resources are copper, phosphates, sulfur, manganese, bromide, asphalt, potash, clay, and sand. The highest point in Israel is 1,208m at Har Meron, and the lowest point in Israel is the lowest point on earth – 408m below sea level in the Dead Sea. Israel’s current population nears six million, as compared to its population of fewer than one million at the time of its inception. The vast majority, 90%, of the population resides in urban centers, and most of the remainder of the population inhabits rural cooperative settlements named the moshav and the kibbutz. The age structure is as follows: 0-14 years – 28%, 15-64 years – 62%, over 65 years – 10%. The population growth rate is 1.8%. The sex ratio for the total population is 0.99 male/female. Children begin school at age 5 and can continue through age 18. Pre-school is common for 3 and 4 year olds. 12 years is the median amount of schooling for the population. Institutions of higher education include many colleges and universities, research institutions, and vocational schools. Scientific research and development is a strong point in Israel’s higher education options. The health care system in Israel basically consists of four health funds, similar to HMOs. On average, households cover one-fourth of their national health care expenditure directly. The problem encountered in the health care system was that when health care providers rendered services, the insurance legislation was not regulating their payment from the HMOs. Thus, hospitals and such were financially struggling. There have been many cuts from the ‘basket’ of services provided by the HMOs, and there has been work to get more funding, yet it has been a struggle. Although there has been recent difficulty with the system, health indicators for Israel are favorable – relative to the past and by global standards. Life expectancy is 77 years for males and 80 years for females, which exceeds that of many industrialized nations. The infant mortality rate is 7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, and there is an average of 2.7 children born per woman. The piece of land, which is now Israel, has only officially been Israel for half of a century. The State of Israel was proclaimed and there was the end of British Mandate on May 14, 1948, yet Israel’s history extends much further into the past. The roots of the Jewish people in this land reach back over 35 centuries. The Jewish monarchy was established in 1020 BC. when the Israelites settled the Land of Israel. In 63 bc., Jerusalem was captured by Pompey, Romans came into power, and the Jewish people lost the Land of Israel for what ends up to be the following 2000 years. Rule of this land changed many times in the next 1500 years. Ottoman rule spanned 400 years, beginning in 1517, and ending by British conquest in 1917. In 1922 Britain was granted Mandate for Palestine by the League of Nations, and gave the Jewish people approximately one fourth of the Land of Israel. Tension built throughout the twenties and thirties. In 1939 World War II began, and so did the Holocaust in Europe. This marked a disconsolate period for the Jewish people. However, with the end of WWII in 1945, new hope was attained and the situation was improving for the Jews. On May 14, 1948 the Jewish people regained control of the land they lost over 2000 years before. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were founded, and the War of Independence was waged with surrounding countries from May 1948 – July 1949. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon signed agreements of armistice to end the war in 1949, and Jerusalem was divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule. Also in 1949 the first Knesset was elected. The Six-Day War was in 1967, and following that, Jerusalem was reunited. In the late 1970’s an attempt to create a structure in which would allow peace by separation was made by the Camp David Accords. In 1979 the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty was signed. Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists were successfully removed from Lebanon in 1982. In 1985 Israel signed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The early 1990’s brought on the Gulf War. Iraqi missiles struck Israel in 1991. Also in this year Madrid hosted the Middle East Peace Conference. Based on the agreement worked out in Oslo, an arrangement for self-government of the Palestinians was established in the Declaration of Principles, signed in Washington by Foreign Minister Peres and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat in 1993. Negotiations began for the implementation of the Interim Agreement, which took three steps (two of which were in 1994): Gaza-Jericho Agreement, and the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities, both in 1994. Following with the movement of peace and toleration, the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty was signed in 1994. Protocol and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for the Interim Agreement were signed in 1995. Also in 1995 Prime Minister Rabin is assassinated at a peace rally, and thus Prime Minister Peres takes over. Terrorist attacks on Israel spawn retaliation in 1996 by Operation Grapes of Wrath. Also in this year there are Knesset elections and Netanyahu becomes Prime Minister. Israel and the PA sign the Hebron Protocol in 1997. The 50th anniversary of Israeli independence was celebrated in 1998, and in order to facilitate the Interim Agreement, the Wye River Memorandum is signed at the White House by Israel and the PLO. The Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum was signed in 1999 by Israel and the PLO to cover any outstanding issues from the Wye River Memorandum. The recent past has hosted many consequential events for Israeli peace and independence. The simple fact that such a persecuted group could come so far in only fifty years and endure all of the events which have taken place and remain unified shows the strength of their group in many ways. One strength is in the system of government, or the political system that was set down in 1948 when Israel reclaimed its independence. The government in Israel is a parliamentary democracy, and is run very similar to that of the United States. Citizens of Israel share many of the same rights that citizens of the United States have, including the freedom of the press. At the head of the government is the president, currently it is Ezer Weizman. Under the president the government is divided into three groups, the executive branch, the legislative branch (referred to as the Knesset), and the judicial branch. Every aspect of the government is included under those three branches. Elections held every four years at the national level and once every five years on the municipal level. Every citizen over 18 years of age and on a voter’s list may vote. Instead of a constitution the government has a set of nine basic laws that the Knesset enacted. Many of the government official’s job descriptions and the laws for the state are included in the nine basic laws. The president is elected to a four-year term through a secret vote done by the Knesset. His purpose in office is to pass laws, open new sessions of the Knesset, receive the credentials of ambassadors from foreign states, approving appointments to other positions in government, pardoning prisoners, and attending functions and activities in accordance with Israel’s customs. The executive branch of the government is lead by Israel’s prime minister and other cabinet ministers who mostly represent dominant political blocks in the Knesset. For the first time in the next elections the prime minister will be directly elected into office. The purpose of the cabinet ministers in the executive branch is to control government ministries, such as foreign affairs, finance, education, etc . . .. The executive branch is responsible for developing a work plan for the government, which will dictate what the government does over the next four years. The legislative branch is called the Knesset, it resides in Jerusalem and is comprised of 120 parliamentary members. The individuals in the Knesset are elected at every five years, and are referred to as ministers. Average voter turn out for these elections is between 73 and 83 percent. Ministers are elected to the Knesset every four years, and representative party lists, instead of individuals, are voted on, and thus a whole group from the same party can be voted into the Knesset simultaneously. Every registered voter is able to vote in these elections. At the opening session the oldest person in the Knesset becomes the person who runs it. The Knesset policy can be overthrown if members of a party not in it protest against it and bring it down with a no-confidence vote. The only time a government was brought down in Israel was on March 15, 1990. At the head of the Knesset is the speaker, and the rest of the Knesset is divided into two parts, the plenary and the Knesset committees. All members of the Knesset sit on the plenary, and debates and votes are held in the plenary. The ministers are broken down into 13 different committees in order to deal with government issues. Issues to be voted on go through a list of people, but motions that deal with issues on the national agenda are represented directly to the speaker of the Knesset. The judiciary system in Israel deals with cases of persons charged with breach of law. Rulings on cases are made by judges, and there is no trial by jury. There are three regular courts in Israel: the Supreme Court, the district court, and the magistrate court. The lowest division, the magistrate, resides over cases dealing with minor offenses and cases under a million shekels. The next branch is the district courts, which resides over more serious cases and cases over one million shekels. The highest division is the Supreme Court, which resides in Jerusalem. The national labor courts and regional labor courts are smaller divisions of the court system. The military and religious courts are the most important of the smaller courts. The legal system in Israel in regards to civil/common law, property rights, and the record of protecting these rights can be somewhat ambiguous. Where legally the nation as a whole practices Civil Law, there are some exceptions to that in agricultural areas. The Israeli Kibbutz is "a type of agricultural collective found in Israel. Its typical features include the collective ownership of property, communal living, and the rearing of children by the community as a whole rather than by their parents alone." (eb.com) In these communities, everything is shared with everyone. Even one’s own children are "property" of the community. Although the Kibbutzim (plural of Kibbutz) do not agree with the Civil Law in Israel, they are not discouraged. Civil law in Israel, is not enforced heavily due to the fact that religious laws play such a large role in the Israeli society. In regards to divorce, the Civil Law states that one must obtain a legal document to be considered legally divorced. However, some religions (i.e.: Rabbinical Judaism) will not accept the legal document until a religious document has been issued by a Rabbi. Israel recognizes the conflicting laws and is very tolerable of differing religious beliefs. Although there has been a long dispute over property rights with the Palestinians, personal property rights are very clear and similar to those of Western law and culture. There are, of course, many exceptions to the laws when religion comes in to play and Kibbutzim. The laws regarding property rights will usually not be forced on a specific culture (like in a Kibbutz) where the beliefs state that all will be shared with all in the community. It has been difficult to enforce Common Law and property rights in Israel due to the fact that there are many conflicting religious beliefs and the nation has been in a continuous state of near warfare for many years. Now that there is more of an element of peace throughout the country, the laws are becoming more heavily enforced, but are still very tolerant of opposing religious beliefs. The type of currency that Israel uses is called the shekel. The current exchange rate to the United States dollar is 4.028 to 1 (Pacific 1). The shekel continued to strengthen against the dollar, in the continuation of a trend that started at the end of the last quarter. But as of recently there has not been much of change, the most recent change is only about plus .0042 (Pacific 1). Israel’s economy seems to be strengthening, even thought there has been little change in the strength of the shekel. The economic growth of Israel has slowed greatly since 1996 as the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR has slowed. The Gross Domestic Product real growth rate is now estimated at 1.9% (Odci 7). That is a change of 2% over the previous year (CBS 1). Private consumption has begun to rise once again in recent months following a long period of declining domestic demand (Bank 1). Retail rates are growing strongly as of late and are now growing at an even higher rate. The purchasing power parity (PPP) is estimated at $101.9 billion (Odci 7). The inflation rate on consumer prices is 5.4% (Odci 7). Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation (Odci 6). Israel has developed its agricultural and industrial sectors greatly over the past 20 years (Odci 7). Most of the people of Israel work in manufacturing and construction. The leading exports are high-technology equipment, diamonds, and agricultural products. Israel’s diamond exports have begun to grow greatly, to a total of 5.7 billion dollars (Bank 1). That is a 31% increase over 1998. The United States is one of Israel’s major export partners. 32% of Israel’s good are exported to the United States (Odci 7). The major imports are crude oil, grains, raw materials and military equipment. The United States is also one of Israel’s major import partners, they compose 19% of Israel’s total imports (Odci 7). Israel exports a total of 22.1 billion dollars and imports a total of 26.1 billion dollars (Odci 7). The debt of Israel is mainly owned by the United States, roughly more then half of it (Odci 7). The total debt owed by Israel is 18.7 billion dollars (Odci 7). The United States is the major source of economic and military aid to Israel. That is why the amount that is owes to the United States is so great. The United States gave more then 1.2 billion dollars in aid in 1997 (Odci 7). Israel has begun to open up to many nations. They joined the country General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Israel established a free trade area for industrial products with the European Union, and free trade for all products with the United States. This has all led to a much larger more profitable market for Israel. Israel now has the ability to make much more profits and better their economy. Israel is also involved in Joint projects with the United States in electronics, software and medical equipment. The name of this venture is the Israel-US Binational Industrial and Development Research Foundation. It is supported by both countries and acts as a capital foundation for American-Israel ventures. Israel’s economy seems to be getting much better and a lot more stable. The Moody’s credit ranking organization has upgraded its rating of Israel from stable to positive, and has confirmed Israel’s credit grade to an A (Bank 1). There is cause for optimism in the near future. Israel’s economy seems to be getting much stronger with the opening of the economy to free competition and the significant improvement in the security situation in light of the progress in the peace process (Bank 2). Considering the fact that Israel is a recently founded nation, it still has a very strong cultural foundation. What makes this country so interesting is the fact that it has a broad mix of ethnicity but is based on the Jewish religion. Many of the Israeli customs stem from the integration of immigrant culture. In order to understand the Israeli culture many factors must be analyzed. These include religion, ethnic background, customs, social structure, and etiquette. Religion and ethnicity are very closely tied in Israel. By looking at percentage of population it is clear the Jews are the major ethnicity and therefore Judaism is the major religion. Here is ethnic breakdown of the population as of 1996: European/American-born Jewish 32.1% Non-Jewish (mostly Arab) 19.9% (CIA-WFB) According to this about 80 % of the Israeli population follows the Judaic religion. Other religious groups include Islam, 15% of the population, Christian, 2%, and the Druze, Baha’is, and Circassians make up the majority of the other 3%. The official language of Israel is Hebrew, but Arabic is used officially for the Arab minority. English is the most commonly spoken foreign language and most international business is conducted in English. The language and the customs are very obviously the effect of the majority of Jews that inhabit the nation. What makes Israel so diverse though is the solidarity of all these religions and ethnicity’s. The customs of Israel are greatly based on those of the Judaic religion. For example, holidays such as Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av are nationally recognized. Typical Jewish holiday customs are very elaborate and have biblical significance. On Tisha B’Av there is the Seuda Mafseket, the meal before the fast. This is followed by as 25 hour fast from sunset to sunset. During this time no eating or drinking is permitted. Individuals cannot shower or use cleansers, deodorant, or perfumes. Men are not suppose to shave at all during the three weeks prior to Tisha B’Av because it is considered a period of mourning. There are no sexual relations allowed during the 25-hour period. All places of dining and entertainment are closed. Sitting is only permitted on the floor or a low stool. Usually the book of Eucha is read and many travel to the Western Wall to pray at the only remaining wall of the Holy Temple. Many of these customs apply to other Jewish holidays as well. Israel is a very individualistic society. In 1948 the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel guaranteed the freedom of each religion to practice freely and acknowledged the rules of each community. It also allowed the establishment of religious councils and courts that would be recognized by law and have jurisdiction over all religious affairs within the community. Israeli’s business community is also moving towards a greater market economy. This supports the ability of each individual to pursue economic prosperity on his/her own. I also found it interesting that many of the business ideals are very similar to those of the United States. Like the US, women can compete in business but will eventually reach the "glass ceiling" at middle-level management. Israel is a very relaxed society but is also very hectic. It is common etiquette in Israel to be late for social gatherings or encounters. If at a gathering one may see women and men sitting separately. This is not demanded, but it is not unusual. One will find that hand gestures are an important part of expression and communication. Israel is a very close knit society where family and friends are very intimate. It is not uncommon to see emotional encounters in public. When speaking to individuals other than professionals (i.e.: Dr, Professor, etc…) it is polite to use first names. This is especially true in business situations. In the workplace dress is very informal. Neckties, neck pins, and cufflinks are never seen. Although a visitor to a business should not be late, time is not of main importance to Israeli businessmen. If a presentation is given it is expected to be short and concise and the presenter will probably have to answer many questions and debates. If going into a meeting excessive gifts or favors should be avoided. These can be taken as a form of bribery, which is heavily looked down upon. Although Israel may be struggling as a fairly new nation, it has a deeply rooted culture brought by its immigrants. Each religion and ethnicity has its own customs, but they all unite to form that of Israel’s. It is an individualistic society where many of the members are like family to one another. Bibliography:

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