1.
Israel
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Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. The country contains geographically diverse features within its small area. Israels economy and technology center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, in 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, next year, the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and it extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories is the worlds longest military occupation in modern times, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed, the population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2017 to be 8,671,100 people. It is the worlds only Jewish-majority state, with 74. 8% being designated as Jewish, the countrys second largest group of citizens are Arabs, at 20. 8%. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins, other minorities include Arameans, Armenians, Assyrians, Black Hebrew Israelites, Circassians, Maronites and Samaritans. Israel also hosts a significant population of foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia, including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish, Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member, with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2016. The country benefits from a skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the third highest in Asia, 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. The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The name Israel in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. The earliest known artifact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt. The area is known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam
2.
Jerusalem corridor
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The Jerusalem corridor is a geographical district of hundreds of thousands of dunams between Jerusalem and the Shephelah in Israel. Its northern border is the old road to Jerusalem, its border, the Elah Valley, and its western border, Shaar HaGai. The largest towns in the Jerusalem corridor are Beit Shemesh, Mevasseret Zion, Abu Ghosh, Tzur Hadassah, in 1949, when the area came under Israeli control, the region was mountainous, rocky and bare of trees and forests. Arab villagers who had practiced terraced farming in the narrow valleys, the Jerusalem corridor was the only route for bringing supplies to besieged Jerusalem. In the Battle of Latrun, Jewish forces attempted to capture Latrun, burma Road was built as an alternative. The JNF employed many of the newcomers in afforestation and land reclamation, since then it has become one of the largest afforested regions in the country. Today, in addition to the Jerusalem – Tel Aviv highway, route 395 leads from Ein Kerem to the coast, via Ramat Raziel and Bet Shemesh, and continues south. Route 386 leads to the Ella Valley, via Bar Giora, a railway line is active in the corridor, next to the Sorek Stream, which is part of the historical Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
3.
Highway 1 (Israel)
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Highway 1, is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel and continuing eastwards to the Jordan Valley. It then turns southeast, continuing past the 70 meter high Hiriya landfill, intersects Highway 4 and Route 412 and passes the Tel Aviv toll express lanes, Israel Railways maintains tracks along the median of the highway along this section. The road then makes an S-curve as it passes Ben Gurion International Airport, continuing south-southeast, the road intersects with Highway 40, the cutoff to Route 443 East and Highway 6 North where it narrows to four lanes and rises to an elevation of 93 meters at Ben Shemen. Passing Ben Shemen, the highway descends slightly as it turns south-by-west, leaving the Highway 6 concurrency, the road again turns south-southeast travelling through the Ayalon Valley where it intersects with Highway 431 just south of Modiin. At this point, Israels longest bridge, part of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem High Speed Railway, the road crosses the Ayalon Stream and ascends to 250 meters as it briefly crosses the Green Line for 1.5 km and back again at Latrun. The road then travels briefly alongside the Ilan Stream approaching Shaar HaGai at 300 meters above sea level, at the Shaar HaGai Interchange, an Ottoman caravanserai is visible on the south side of the highway. Past Shoresh, the road reaches an elevation of 715 meters along the ridge of the Kisalon Valley at Kiryat Yearim. At this point, the road curves sharply and begins a steep descent offering breathtaking views leading to the dangerous Motza curve at an elevation of 560 meters where it crosses the Sorek Stream. The Yellin House Visitors Center, is concealed among the trees on the side of the curve. Since 2013, the Shaar HaGai to Jerusalem section is being reconstructed and widened. These works also include eliminating the dangerous Motza curve, now within the municipal limits of Jerusalem, the road turns northeast and begins the final ascent to the city. On the northern slopes below Har HaMenuchot the road splits at Shaar Moriah Interchange, since that time, the road as numbered now descends from the interchange into the Valley of Cedars. In the Valley of Cedars, the also known as Jerusalem Road 9. At this point the road crosses the tracks of the Jerusalem Light Rail, passing Shaar Mizrah, the road is called Derech Maale Adumim. The greenery typical of the side of the watershed is replaced by the eastern sides stark mountain-desert shades of beige. The road turns southward and begins descending, passing the Shuafat refugee camp, at this point, a new road alongside and separated from Highway 1 has been built which will become a connecting route between Ramallah and Bethlehem. Passing the At-Tur neighborhood, the highway leaves Jerusalem at the Zeitim Security Checkpoint, after this point, the road is open to green license plates. The road turns east by northeast, continuing its descent passing E1, Mishor Adumim, descending again the road briefly turns due south as it passes Mitzpe Yeriho
4.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
5.
Latrun
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Latrun is located at a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem,25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla and it was the site of fierce fighting during the 1948 war. During the 1948–1967 period, it was occupied by Jordan at the edge of a no mans land between the lines known as the Latrun salient. In the 1967 war, it was captured by Israel along with the salient and the West Bank. Neve Shalom is a joint Jewish-Arab community on a hilltop south of Latrun, Canada Park is nearby to the east. The name Latrun is ultimately derived from the ruins of a medieval castle, there are two theories regarding the origin of the name. One is that it is a corruption of the French, Le toron des chevaliers, the other is that it is from the Latin, Domus boni Latronis, a name given by 14th century Christian pilgrims after the penitent thief who was crucified by the Romans alongside Jesus. In the Hebrew Bible, the Ayalon Valley was the site of a battle in which the Israelites, led by Joshua, according to the Book of Maccabees, Judah Maccabee learned that the Greeks were planning to march on his position, and successfully ambushed the invaders. The Jewish victory in what was called the Battle of Emmaus led to greater Jewish autonomy under Hasmonean rule over the next century. Little remains of the castle, which was held by the Templars by 1187, the main tower was later surrounded with a rectangular enclosure with vaulted chambers. This in turn was enclosed by a court, of which one tower survives. In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Funds Survey of Western Palestine described Latrun as a few adobe huts among the ruins of a medieval fortress, the monastery is dedicated to Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. In 1909 it was given the status of a Priory and that of an Abbey in 1937, the monks established a vineyard using knowledge gained in France and advice from an expert in the employ of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild from the Carmel-Mizrahi Winery. Today they produce a variety of wines that are sold in the Abbey shop. The community was expelled by the Ottoman Turks between 1914–1918 and the buildings pillaged, walid Khalidi in his book All That Remains describes al-Latrun as a small village established in the late 19th century by villagers from nearby Emmaus. In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Latrun had a population of 59, in addition, Dair Latrun had a population of 37 Christian males. In the 1931 census they were counted together, and Latrun had a population 120,76 Muslims and 44 Christians, the Latrun monastery was rebuilt in 1926. The crypt was completed in 1933 and the church in 1954, the monastery was designed by the communitys first abbot, Dom Paul Couvreur, and is an example of Cistercian architecture
6.
Beit Shemesh
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Beit Shemesh is a city located approximately 30 kilometres west of Jerusalem in Israels Jerusalem District, with a population of 103,922 in 2015. The history of Beit Shemesh goes back to pre-biblical times, the modern city of Beit Shemesh was founded in 1950. The ancient city of Beit Shemesh was originally named after the Canaanite sun-goddess Shemesh, the ruins of the ancient biblical city can still be seen at Tel Beth-Shemesh, a tell located near the modern city. In the Amarna letters Shamash is mentioned several times, along with Addu, as one of the greatest gods, the name Beth-Shemesh was shared by two other places in Palestine and one more in Egypt. Beit Shemesh is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Joshua, in Joshua 21,16, this city was set aside as one of the 13 Kohanic cities for the priests of the tribe of Levi, the Kohanim. Another city by the name, Beit Shemesh, is later mentioned in Joshua 19,38. In the book of 2 Kings, Beit Shemesh is again mentioned as being the site of the battle between Amaziah king of Judea and Jehoash king of Israel, consequently, the small Arab towns of Dayr Raban and Dayr Rafat used rocks for building from this very ancient source. A monastery and other remains from the Byzantine period have been found on the tell, in the late 19th century, the site was used as a temporary harvest-time residence by local Arabs. The small mosque of Abu Mizar stood there, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Egyptian army invaded the area and set up a fortified post, called Mishlat in Hebrew, on a hill overlooking Beit Shemesh, within the Arab-village Dayr Aban. The post changed hands several times during fighting, the Harel Brigade occupied part of the post for several months giving rise to the name the joint post or the Mishlat HaMeshutaf with 60 meters dividing them and the enemy forces. The Mishlat was finally taken by the Harel force in the Ha-Har offensive during the night of 19–20 October 1948, Beit Shemesh is the point from which the so-called Convoy of 35 set out to bring provisions to besieged Gush Etzion. On 15 January 1948 a group of 38 Palmach volunteers left Hartuv near Beit Shemesh, after one member of the group sprained his ankle, the group, now numbering 35, continued on its way. Their presence was discovered by two Arab women who encountered two scouts of the group near Surif, on 6 December 1950, the Hartuv displaced persons camp Maabarat Har-Tuv was established on the site of the current-day Moshav Naham. The first inhabitants were Jewish Bulgarian immigrants and they were joined by more Jewish immigrants from Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq, Romania, Morocco and Kurdistan. In 1952 the first permanent houses were built in Beit Shemesh, prior to 1948 the Ramat Beit Shemesh neighborhood area was the site belonging to the Arab village Bayt Nattif. This area is currently under dispute about preservation, having been the subject of a grassroots campaign, in its early years, Beit Shemesh came to typify the Development Town with a largely North African immigrant population. In 1977, following a writeup in Haaretz newspaper, Beit Shemesh was perceived as the main outpost for Menachem Begins Likud party and he promised to rehabilitate neighborhoods and when Likud came to power that year, investment in the city increased. The Israel Police maintains a bomb disposal specialist unit and training center in Beit Shemesh, when the city was built in the 1950s, it was initially settled by new immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Romania, Bulgaria, Morocco and Iraqi Kurdistan
7.
Aliyah
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Aliyah is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel. Also defined as the act of going up—that is, towards Jerusalem—making Aliyah by moving to the Land of Israel is one of the most basic tenets of Zionism, the opposite action, emigration from the Land of Israel, is referred to in Hebrew as yerida. The State of Israels Law of Return gives Jews and their descendants automatic rights regarding residency, the large-scale immigration of Jews to Palestine began in 1882. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, more than 3 million Jews have moved to Israel, as of 2014, Israel and the Palestinian territories together contain 42. 9% of the worlds Jewish population. Successive waves of Jewish settlement are an important aspect of the history of Jewish life in Israel, Eretz Yisrael is the Hebrew name for the region known in English as Israel. This traditional Hebrew toponym, in turn, has lent its name to the modern State of Israel, pre-Zionist Aliyah refers to small-scale return migration of Diaspora Jews to the Land of Israel. Since the birth of Zionism, its advocates have striven to facilitate the settlement of Jewish refugees in Ottoman Palestine, Mandatory Palestine, Aliyah in Hebrew means ascent or going up. Jewish tradition views traveling to the land of Israel as an ascent, anyone traveling to Eretz Israel from Egypt, Babylonia or the Mediterranean basin, where many Jews lived in early rabbinic times, climbed to a higher altitude. Visiting Jerusalem, situated 2,700 feet above sea level, Aliyah is an important Jewish cultural concept and a fundamental component of Zionism. It is enshrined in Israels Law of Return, which accords any Jew and eligible non-Jews, someone who makes aliyah is called an oleh or olah. Many religious Jews espouse aliyah as a return to the Promised land, and regard it as the fulfillment of Gods biblical promise to the descendants of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, nachmanides includes making aliyah in his enumeration of the 613 commandments. In the Talmud, at the end of tractate Ketubot, the Mishnah says, A man may compel his entire household to go up with him to the land of Israel, but may not compel one to leave. Sifre says that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael is as important as all the other mitzvot put together, there are many mitzvot such as shmita, the sabbatical year for farming, which can only be performed in Israel. In Zionist discourse, the term includes both voluntary immigration for ideological, emotional, or practical reasons and, on the other hand. The vast majority of Israeli Jews today trace their familys recent roots to outside the country, while many have actively chosen to settle in Israel rather than some other country, many had little or no choice about leaving their previous home countries. While Israel is commonly recognized as a country of immigrants, it is also, in large measure, a country of refugees. 2 Chronicles 36,23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me, and he hath charged me to him an house in Jerusalem. Who among you of all his people, the LORD his God with him, and let him go up
8.
Yemenite Jews
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Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen. The term may refer to the descendants of the Yemenite Jewish community. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the majority of Yemens Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet. After several waves of persecution throughout Yemen, most Yemenite Jews now live in Israel, while small communities are found in the United States, only a handful remain in Yemen. The few remaining Jews experience intense, and at times violent, Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that marks them out as separate from Ashkenazi, Sephardi and other Jewish groups. Some Jewish families have preserved traditions relating to their tribal affiliation, in Yemen, for example, some Jews trace their lineage to Judah, others to Benjamin, while yet others to Levi and Reuben. Of particular interest is one distinguished Jewish family of Yemen who traced their lineage to Bani, one of the sons of Peretz, there are numerous accounts and traditions concerning the arrival of Jews in various regions in Southern Arabia. One tradition suggests that King Solomon sent Jewish merchant marines to Yemen to prospect for gold, another legend says that Yemeni tribes converted to Judaism after the Queen of Shebas visit to king Solomon. The Sanaite Jews have a tradition that their ancestors settled in Yemen forty-two years before the destruction of the First Temple and it is said that under the prophet Jeremiah some 75,000 Jews, including priests and Levites, traveled to Yemen. Another legend states that when Ezra commanded the Jews to return to Jerusalem they disobeyed, according to this legend, as a punishment for this hasty action Ezra was denied burial in Israel. As a result of local tradition, which can not be validated historically, it is said that no Jew of Yemen gives the name of Ezra to a child. The Yemenite Jews claim that Ezra cursed them to be a people for not heeding his call. This seems to have come true in the eyes of some Yemenites, however, some Yemenite sages in Israel today emphatically reject this story as myth, if not outright blasphemy. Archaeological records referring to Judaism in Yemen started to appear during the rule of the Himyarite Kingdom, various inscription in Musnad script in the second century CE refer to constructions of synagogues approved by Himyarite Kings. According to local legends, the kingdoms aristocracy converted to Judaism in the 6th century CE, the Christian missionary, Theophilos, who came to Yemen in the mid-fourth century, complained that he had found great numbers of Jews. By 380 A. D, Himyarites religious practices have undergone fundamental changes, the inscriptions were no longer addressed to El Maqah or Athtar, but to a single deity called Rahman. Debate among scholars continues as to whether the Himyarite monotheism was influenced by Judaism or Christianity. Jews became especially numerous and powerful in the part of Arabia, a rich and fertile land of incense and spices and a way station on the routes to Africa, India
9.
Harel, Israel
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Harel is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Latrun with an area of 12,000 dunams, in 2015 it had a population of 247. The village was established in 1948 in the Judean Hills on the land of the depopulated Arab village of Bayt Jiz and it was named for the Harel Brigade of the Palmach. The founders were demobilised Palmach soldiers and immigrants from Poland and Hungary, the building where Yitzhak Rabin commanded the Harel Brigade in 1948 is located on the grounds of the kibbutz. A pre-Roman wine press was discovered in the kibbutz vineyards, clos de Gat winery, established in 1998, produces around 90,000 bottles annually. The grapes come from 130 dunams of vineyards on the outskirts of the kibbutz
10.
Kiryat Anavim
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Kiryat Anavim is a kibbutz in the Judean Hills of Israel. It was the first kibbutz established in the Judean Hills and it is located west of Jerusalem, and falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 466, the land on which the kibbutz stands was purchased from the neighboring village of Abu Ghosh. In 1912 the Abu Ghosh family sold thousands of dunams to Arthur Ruppin, in 1919 a group of 6 pioneers from the Ukrainian town of Kaminiz Podolsk and Preluki settled on the land, near a small spring called Dilb so-called for the surrounding plane trees. The other 20 arrived there in spring of 1920 while five of the came in December 1920 after liquidation of the farm in Odessa where they learned to become farmers. In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qiriath Anavim had a population of 73, increasing in the 1931 census to 109, in 29 houses. By the end of 1920, there were 200 pioneers on the kibbutz, during Hanukkah 1925, a group of Hebrew writers convened at Kiryat Anavim to discuss creative ways of promoting the land reclamation and settlement work of the Jewish National Fund. The conference expressed the hope that Jewish authors and intellectuals in the Diaspora would help to further this cause, the Gordonia group arrived from Galicia, Poland in 1936. On 9 November 1937, five members of the Gordonia group working on a Jewish National Fund afforestation project near Kiryat Anavim were ambushed and murdered by Arabs, Kibbutz Maale HaHamisha, established a year later, was named for them. During the Hunting Season, Kiryat Anavim served as a base for the Haganah. In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 4th Battalion of the Palmach, with Uzi Narkiss, mounted their fight for Shaar HaGai, the road to Jerusalem, and the city itself, from Kiryat Anavim. Kiryat Anavim and the adjacent Maale HaHamisha were the site of a battle for Mount Hagana between the Palmach and the Transjordanian Arab Legion, on 6 September 1996, a fire in the Jerusalem corridor caused extensive damage in Kiryat Anavim and surroundings. Fifteen homes and 10 other buildings were damaged in the blaze, in the early days, the pioneers operated a dairy and a poultry farm. In 1968, the kibbutz produced cherries, peaches, grapes, and plums, anavid Insulation Products, founded in 1981, is wholly owned by Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim. The plant produces thermal insulation and sealing materials. In June 2013, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, many who fell in battle to secure the road to Jerusalem were buried at the kibbutz cemetery. A memorial monument was designed for the cemetery by Israeli sculptor Menahem Shemi, soldiers of the Harel Brigade are among those interred here
Jerusalem
Vantaa, Finland
Würzburg district, Bavaria, Germany
Dorohoi, Romania
