MEPC provides free, highly acclaimed, non-partisan workshops on the Middle East and Islam across the U.S. Our education director Barbara Petzen will come to your school, organization or conference with innovative strategies for teaching these complex topics. We tailor workshops to your specific needs
Arab Culture & Civilization
Explore this exemplary library of articles and resources on Arab societies and culture. This site was originally created by the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE).
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been engaged with ongoing conflicts with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbors that have largely defined its image in much of the world. Its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the 1967 war created for Israel the further problem of how to control and administer these territories. While no final resolution to the issue of Palestinian statehood has yet been reached, Israel has reached peace agreements with important Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan and built a thriving economy and democracy at the same time.
A country of just over 7 million, slightly larger than New Jersey, Israel is about three-quarters Jewish and one quarter non-Jewish (mostly Arab). Most of its Jewish population has immigrated to Israel from countries including the United States, Russia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Poland, France, Germany, and many others. Israel has perhaps the most technologically advanced economy in the Middle East. While there has always been sizeable government involvement in the economy, that is changing as more government entities are being privatized. Israel tends to post large deficits each year, however, and it is only through the use of large loans or transfer payments, most of which come from the United States government, that it is able to balance its budget. While Israel's economy is robust, it is also dramatically affected by the ongoing Palestinian conflict. Many economic experts believe that resolving the conflict will greatly aid the Israeli economy and improve trade opportunities with its neighbors.
Population: Estimated to total 5.85 million in July 2000. This number includes about 171,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank; about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; about 6,500 in the Gaza Strip; and about 172,000 in East Jerusalem.
Education: Education is compulsory for 11 years and free for all children between 5 and 15 years of age. Primary education is for six years followed by three years of lower secondary and three more years of upper secondary education. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Israel-EDUCATION.html
Health: The Ministry of Health supervises all health matters and functions directly in the field of medical care. Life expectancy is 78 years for both men and women. The largest medical organization in the country, the Workers' Sick Fund administers hospitals, clinics, convalescent homes, and mother- and-child welfare stations. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Israel-HEALTH.html
Religion: Present-day Israel is the only country where Judaism is the majority religion, professed by 80% of the population; over one-fourth of all the world's Jews live there. Most Arabs are Sunni Muslims (14.6%). Christians (2.1%) are largely Greek Catholic or Greek Orthodox, but there are also Roman Catholics, Armenians, and Protestants. Other religions are claimed by the remaining 3.2% of the population. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Israel-RELIGIONS.html
Population Israel's population was estimated to total 5.85 million in July 2000. This number includes about 171,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank; about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; about 6,500 in the Gaza Strip; and about 172,000 in East Jerusalem. The country's population is heavily concentrated along the coastal strip, with about 75 percent of the Jewish inhabitants and around 60 percent of the non-Jewish population located between Ashkelon and Nahariya. In 1997, the Tel Aviv district had almost 1.2 million inhabitants, accounting for some 20 percent of total population. Jerusalem (Yerushalayim in Hebrew and al-Quds in Arabic) counted 633,700 inhabitants, in 1998. Haifa (Hefa) is the largest city in the north with some 265,000 inhabitants. Of the total population, 91 percent are defined as urban, that is resident in localities with more than 2,000 inhabitants. Around 80 percent of Israel's population is Jewish of which 40 percent were born abroad, mostly European or American-born (1.2 million citizens), and 60 percent (2.8 million citizens) were Israeli-born Jews. The 20 percent of non-Jewish Israeli citizens are mostly of Arab origin.
There are 2 main Jewish communities, the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim. The former are the Jews from Eastern, Central, and Northern Europe, while the latter originate from the Balkan countries, North Africa, and the Middle East. There are around 15 percent Muslims and some 2 percent Christians and 2 percent Druze. Israel is also home to the Bahai community's principal sanctuary in Haifa.
Hebrew is the official language and Arabic is officially used for the Arab minority. English is the most commonly used foreign language. Ultra-orthodox Jews, who refuse to converse in the holy language of Hebrew, and elder Eastern European immigrants speak Yiddish. Due to the diversity of the immigrant population, most Israelis are multilingual.
After the Diaspora (the dispersion of Jews from their homeland) for nearly 2000 years, aliyas or waves of immigration started bringing Jews to what had once been Israel in the last decades of the 19th century, driven by the idea of establishing a Jewish national homestead in their biblical land. From the early 1920s, the Jewish population in Palestine increased more than sevenfold, from only 80,000 to 600,000 in 1948, when the State of Israel was declared. In the first 20 years of the state's existence, between 1948 and 1972, the country's population quadrupled. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Israel.html
This website provides information on the Israeli culture. Topics include history, urbanism, food, economy, social structure, gender roles, government, marriage, arts, medicine, and religion.
This website from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information on Sports in Israel. Topics discussed include soccer, basketball, tennis, the Olympics, youth sports, and baseball.
This lesson presents the various cultural, religious and ethnic identities of the population of Israel, including Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Israeli Arabs and Druze. Discusses the history of Zionism, the creation of Israel and the ongoing political struggle between religious and secular Jews. (Outreach World)
This website from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information on Israeli Theatre and Entertainment. Included is a list of several theaters and their basic information.
This website from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information on the history of music in Israel and several musical organizations including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
This website from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information on the history of dance, several dance companies in Israel, and popular types of dance.
This website from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information on Israeli literature topics such as the revival of the Hebrew language, Israeli writers, prose, poetry, and children’s literature.
This website from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information on Israeli Visual Arts. Topics include art history, art schools, painting, sculpture, and photography.
Arabic