ISRAEL

CAPILITAN R BERNARD JR.

FLAG
• The flag of Israel (Hebrew: ‫ דגל ישראל‬Degel Yisra'el; Arabic: ‫ علم إسرائيل‬ʿ
Alam Israʼīl) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the e
stablishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a wh
ite background, between two horizontal blue stripes. The Israeli flag l
egislation states that the official measurements are 160 × 220 cm. T
herefore, the official proportions are 8:11. Variants can be found at a
wide range of proportions, with 2:3 being common.
 ORIGIN
The blue stripes are intended to symbolize the stripes on a tallit, the traditi
onal Jewish prayer shawl. The Star of David is a widely acknowledged symb
ol of the Jewish people and of Judaism.

The Israelites used a blue coloured dye called tekhelet; this dye may have b
een made from the marine snail Murex trunculus.[5] This dye was very imp
ortant in both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures of this time, and was used by
royalty and the upper class in dyeing their clothing, sheets, curtains, etc. (T
he dye from a related snail can be processed to form Tyrian purple called ar
gaman.)
 Israel's Famous Landmarks: 7 Must-See Religi
ous Sites
• The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Located in the Old City of Jerusale
m, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered by many to be the
holiest Christian site in the world. ...
• The Temple Mount. ...
• The Western Wall. ...
• Mount Zion. ...
• Via Dolorosa. ...
• Mount of Olives.
 1 ETHNOGRAPH
Y
2 LANGUAGE

CONTENTS 3 AGE

4 RELIGION
ETHNOGRAPHY

• Israel is home to more than 8 million people from a diverse array of e

thnic groups. Accounting for 75.5% of the population, Jews are the lar
gest Israeli ethnic group. In Israel, the Jewish population is comprised
of two main segments: Ashkenazi and Sephardi / Mizrahi.
• The majority of the world’s Jewish population are Ashkenazim, tracin
g their ancestry to Europe, In Israel, Sephardic Jews, who descend fro
m communities in the Middle East and North Africa, account for just
over half (52%) of the Jewish population. There is also a small populat
ion (approximately 125,000) of Ethiopian Jews who account for 1% of
the Israeli Jewish population
LANGUAGE
• Arabic and Hebrew are the two official languages of Israel; however,
English is also widely spoken, taught in school and used on street sign
s. Although 75% of the population is Jewish, only 49% of Israelis consi
der Hebrew as their mother tongue. Reflective of the population, 18
% of Israelis speak Arabic in their homes. 15% of Israelis speak Russia
n as their first language because of the large influx of Russian Jews fol
lowing the fall of the Soviet Union. Because Israel has attracted peopl
e from all over the world, 18% of Israelis speak a variety of languages
in their homes, among them: French, English, Yiddish, and Spanish.
AGE
• The average age of the Israeli population is 29.5 years. 28%, well abov
e the OECD average of 18.5%, of the Israeli population is between the
ages of zero and 14. By Western standards, Israel is considered a you
ng country. One contributing factor to the relative youth of the count
ry is the low infant mortality rate. Similar to Canada, Israel has an ave
rage life expectancy at birth of 82 years
RELIGION
• The Jewish people practice Judaism, which includes a diversity of relig
ious observance. In Israel, 7% of Jews are ultra-Orthodox (known in H
ebrew as Haredi). The Orthodox account for 15% of Israeli Jews, while
‘traditional’ Jews make up 32%. By far the largest segment of Jews in I
srael are those identifying as secular.
• Israel’s Declaration of Independence is explicit about what it means f
or Israel to be a Jewish state: a democracy for Jews from around the
world seeking to escape historic persecution and looking to achieve n
ational self-determination
FUN FACTS
• Israel has two official languages:
Hebrew and Arabic
• Israel’s population has reached 8
• Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the lan million as of Independence Day
dmass of the Middle East (Israel 2013!
is roughly half the size of Lake M
• Israel has won five bronze Olym
ichigan).
pic medals, one silver and one g
• Golda Meir was the 3rd woman i old.
n history to serve as a country’s
• Developed by Major Uzi Gaf, mo
prime minister.
re than 10 million Uzi machine g
uns have been build since 1948.
FUN FACTS #2
• 34 political parties participated i
n Israel’s 2013 elections. • There are also kosher McDonald’
• Israel has more museums per ca s.
pita than any other country in th • In many Israeli bus stops, you ca
e world. n find a box for tzedakah (charit
• The Dead Sea in Israel is the low able giving).
est point on earth, at 1,315 feet • With more than 3,000 high-tech
below sea level at its lowest poin companies and start-ups, Israel
t. has the highest concentration of
• Israel is the only liberal democra hi-tech companies in the world (
cy in the middle east. apart from the Silicon Valley).
THANK YOU
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