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{{Short description|Citizens and nationals of Israel}} | |||
{| class="infobox" cellspacing="5" style="width: 22em; text-align: center; font-size: 88%; line-height: 1.5em" | |||
{{About|the pan-ethnic populace of the modern State of Israel|the ancient people|Israelites|a demographical overview|Demographics of Israel}} | |||
|+ '''Israelis <br> ישראלים (''Yisra'elim'')''' | |||
{{pp-extended|small=yes}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} | |||
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=November 2021}} | |||
{{Infobox ethnic group | |||
| group = Israelis | |||
| native_name = {{Script/Hebrew|ישראלים}}<br />{{Script/Arabic|إسرائيليون}} | |||
| native_name_lang = <!-- he, ar --> | |||
| flag = Flag of Israel.svg | |||
| flag_caption = ] | |||
| image = File:Map of the Israeli Diaspora in the World.svg | |||
| image_caption = Map of the Israeli diaspora | |||
| population = | |||
| region1 = Israel | |||
| pop1 = {{circa|9.8 million}} (including ])<ref>{{cite web |title=Population of Israel on the Eve of 2024 |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2023/424/11_23_424b.pdf |publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics, State of Israel |access-date=31 December 2023 |language=he |date=28 December 2023}}</ref> | |||
| region2 = United States | |||
| pop2 = 106,839 | |||
| ref2 = <ref> {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041204015245/http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf |date= 4 December 2004 }}</ref> – 500,000<ref name=jj-pop/><ref name="Lahav 2005 89"/> | |||
| region3 = Russia | |||
| pop3 = 100,000 (80,000 in ]) | |||
| ref3 = <ref></ref><ref name="lubavitch.com"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815031657/http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2030745/Israelis-Find-A-Lively-Jewish-Niche-in-Moscow.html |date=15 August 2014 }} by Rena Greenberg – Moscow, Russia, 19 March 2014</ref> | |||
| region4 = India | |||
| pop4 = 40–70,000 | |||
| ref4 = <ref name=bloomberg-article>{{cite news|author=A. Craig Copetas|title=Karma Kosher Conscripts in New-Age Diaspora Seek Refuge in Goa|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a12JnKt1Pwlc|access-date=3 October 2013|newspaper=]|date=19 December 2007|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133007/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a12JnKt1Pwlc|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| region5 = United Kingdom | |||
| pop5 = 11,892<ref name=ISLON>{{cite web|url=http://jta.org/news/article/2008/03/30/107719/israelisinlondon|title=Israelis in London prefer their own|access-date=23 December 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608160158/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2008/03/30/107719/israelisinlondon|archive-date=8 June 2011}}</ref> – 50,000<ref name="ISLON"/><ref>{{cite news|last=HAVIV RETTIG GUR|title=Officials to US to bring Israelis home|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Officials-to-US-to-bring-Israelis-home|access-date=19 October 2013|newspaper=]|date=6 April 2008|archive-date=30 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430090117/https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Officials-to-US-to-bring-Israelis-home|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| ref5 = <ref name=OECD>{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |title=Country-of-birth database |publisher=] |access-date=23 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617032129/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |archive-date=17 June 2009 }}</ref> | |||
| region6 = Canada | |||
| pop6 = 21,320 | |||
| ref6 = <ref name="www40.statcan.gc.ca"/> | |||
| region7 = Australia | |||
| pop7 = 15,000<ref name=israelis-in-australia>{{cite news|last=Dan Goldberg|title=Jews Down Under are on the rise, but for how long?|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/jews-down-under-are-on-the-rise-but-for-how-long-1.448465|access-date=24 October 2013|newspaper=Haaretz|date=3 July 2012|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924162911/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/jews-down-under-are-on-the-rise-but-for-how-long-1.448465|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| region8 = Netherlands | |||
| pop8 = 10,371 | |||
| ref8 = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/37325/table?ts=1584306247468 |title=CBS |access-date=26 March 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803035505/https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/37325/table?ts=1584306247468 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| region9 = Germany | |||
| pop9 = 10,000 | |||
| ref9 = <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/why-are-israelis-moving-to-germany-1.384831 | title=Why are Israelis moving to Germany? | publisher=Haaretz | date=16 September 2011 | access-date=18 March 2013 | author=Hagin, Adi | archive-date=17 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017065631/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/why-are-israelis-moving-to-germany-1.384831 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-in-berlin-buying-their-strudel-with-welfare/ | title=Israelis in Berlin buying their strudel with welfare | publisher=Times of Israel | date=3 September 2012 | access-date=18 March 2013 | author=Assaf Uni | archive-date=19 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719102035/https://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-in-berlin-buying-their-strudel-with-welfare/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/unkosher-nightlife-and-holocaust-humor-israelis-learn-to-love-the-new-berlin-a-740410.html | title=Unkosher Nightlife and Holocaust Humor: Israelis Learn to Love the New Berlin | newspaper=Spiegel Online | date=21 January 2011 | access-date=18 March 2013 | author=Doron Halutz | archive-date=30 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630011114/https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/unkosher-nightlife-and-holocaust-humor-israelis-learn-to-love-the-new-berlin-a-740410.html | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| languages = ] (official)<br />] (recognized)<br />English, Russian, French, ], ], various others (see ]) | |||
| religions = '''Majority''':<br />]<br />'''Minority:'''<br />], ], ], ], ] | |||
| footnotes = | |||
}} | |||
'''Israelis''' ({{langx|he|יִשְׂרְאֵלִים|translit=Yīśreʾēlīm}}; {{langx|ar|إسرائيليون|translit=Isrāʾīliyyūn }}) are the ] of the ]. The country's populace is composed primarily of ] and ], who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by ], who account for 5 percent.<ref name="2014-data">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/shnatone_new.htm|title=Statistical Abstract of Israel 2015|access-date=7 February 2016|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210329/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/shnatone_new.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Early ] was largely defined by communities of the ] who had made '']'' to ] from ], ], and ] in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Later Jewish immigration from ], the ], and the ] introduced new cultural elements to Israeli society and have had a profound impact on modern Israeli culture. | |||
Since Israel's independence in 1948, Israelis and people of Israeli descent have had a ], which ] but also with that of other ethnic and religious groups; it is estimated that almost 10 percent of the general Israeli population lives abroad, particularly in ] (with ] housing the single largest Israeli community outside of Israel), ], ], the ], the ], and throughout Europe.<ref>{{Citation| first1 = Gold| last1 = Eric| first2 = Omer| last2 = Moav| language = he| title = Brain Drain From Israel (Brichat Mochot M'Yisrael)| year = 2006| pages = 26| place = Jerusalem| publisher = Mercaz Shalem – The Shalem Center, The Social-Economic Institute| url = https://www.knesset.gov.il/committees/heb/material/data/mada2006-06-28.doc| access-date = 1 March 2016| archive-date = 10 May 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170510111342/https://www.knesset.gov.il/committees/heb/material/data/mada2006-06-28.doc| url-status = live}}.</ref> | |||
==Population== | |||
{{Main|Demographics of Israel}} | |||
As of 2013, Israel's population is 8 million, of which the Israeli civil government records 75.3% as ], 20.7% as non-Jewish ], and 4.0% other.<ref name="CBS_month_pop">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/hodaot2013n/11_13_097e.pdf|title=65th Independence Day - More than 8 Million Residents in the State of Israel|website=www.cbs.gov.il|access-date=30 October 2013|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004055837/http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/hodaot2013n/11_13_097e.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Israel's official census includes Israeli settlers in the ]<ref name=BBCPT>{{cite news|title=Palestinians shun Israeli settlement restriction plan|newspaper=BBC|date=25 November 2009|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8379868.stm|access-date=23 December 2010|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210800/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8379868.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> (referred to as "]" by Israel). 280,000 Israeli settlers live in ] in the ],<ref name=BBCPT/> 190,000 in ],<ref name=BBCPT/> and 20,000 in the ].<ref name=UNGolanHeights>{{cite book|author=United Nations|title=Yearbook of the United Nations 2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o2Va21wfwvIC&pg=PA524|date=1 October 2007|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=978-92-1-100967-5|page=524}}</ref> | |||
Among Jews, 70.3% were ] (''sabras''), mostly from the second or third generation of their family in the country, and the rest are ]. Of the Jewish immigrants, 20.5% were from Europe and the Americas, and 9.2% were from Asia, Africa, and ].<ref name="CBS_month_pop"/> Nearly half of all Israeli Jews are descended from immigrants from the European Jewish diaspora. Approximately the same number are descended from immigrants from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. Over 200,000 are of Ethiopian and Indian-Jewish descent.<ref name="cbs.gov.il">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton.html?num_tab=st02_23x&CYear=2005|title=שנתון סטטיסטי לישראל 2005 - מספר 56 פרק 2 - מספר לוח 23|website=www.cbs.gov.il|access-date=5 November 2008|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210836/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton.html?num_tab=st02_23x&CYear=2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
The official ] estimate of the Israeli Jewish population does not include those Israeli citizens, mostly descended from ], who are registered as "others", or their immediate family members. Defined as non-Jews and non-Arabs, they make up about 3.5% of Israelis (350,000),<ref>{{cite news|author=Yoram Ettinger|title=Defying demographic projections|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3913|access-date=29 October 2013|newspaper=]|date=5 April 2013|archive-date=19 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719102032/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3913|url-status=live}}</ref> and were eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://jppi.org.il/uploads/Jewish_Demographic_Policies.pdf | title=Jewish Demographic Policies | publisher=The Jewish People Policy Institute | year=2011 | access-date=29 October 2013 | archive-date=8 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408145557/http://jppi.org.il/uploads/Jewish_Demographic_Policies.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Israel_(people).aspx | title=Israel (people) | publisher=Encyclopedia.com | year=2007 | access-date=29 October 2013 | archive-date=2 February 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202082928/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Israel_(people).aspx | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Israel's official language is ], which serves as the language of government and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the ] Jewish community. English is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, ], Spanish, ], ], Armenian, Romanian, and French.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309030401/http://www.frommers.com/destinations/israel/253129 |date=9 March 2016 }} ''Frommer's''. 8 March 2016.</ref> | |||
In recent decades, between 650,000 and 1,300,000 Israelis have emigrated,<ref>Andrew I. Killgore. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041124222836/http://www.washington-report.org/archives/March_2004/0403018.html |date=24 November 2004 }} Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2004, pp.18–20</ref> a phenomenon known in Hebrew as '']'' ("descent", in contrast to ''aliyah'', which means "ascent"). Emigrants have various reasons for leaving, but there is generally a combination of economic and political concerns. | |||
==Ethnic and religious groups== | |||
{{See also|Doms in Israel}} | |||
The main Israeli ] and ] are as follows: | |||
===Jews=== | |||
{{Main|Israeli Jews|Jewish ethnic divisions|Gerim}} | |||
{{Contains special characters|Hebrew}} | |||
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar}} | |||
]''—] traditionally eaten by Jews during ]]] | |||
Among the ] population, most are descended from ], ], ], ], and other ]. Due to the historically large Mizrahi population and decades of ethnic intermixing, over 50% of Israel's current Jewish population is of at least partial Mizrahi descent.<ref name="Promised Land 2014">''My Promised Land'', by ], (London 2014)</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021}} | |||
The CBS traces the paternal country of origin of Israeli Jews as of 2010 is as follows.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_24x&CYear=2011 |title=Jews, by Country of Origin and Age |date=26 September 2011 |work=Statistical Abstract of Israel |publisher=] |language=en, he |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105202349/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_24x&CYear=2011%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right" | |||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:center;"| Country of origin | |||
| {{24 Israelis}} | |||
! style="text-align:center;"| Born<br />abroad | |||
! style="text-align:center;"| Israeli<br />born | |||
! style="text-align:center;"| Total | |||
! style="text-align:center;"| % | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:center;"| '''Total''' | |||
| <span style="font-size:80%;">Row 1: ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ]<br /> | |||
| '''1,610,900''' | |||
Row 2: ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ]<br /> | |||
| '''4,124,400''' | |||
Row 3: ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ]<br /> | |||
| '''5,753,300''' | |||
Row 4: ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ] {{•}} ]</span> | |||
| '''100.0%''' | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:center;"| ''Asia'' | |||
! style="background-color: #b0c4de" {{!}} Regions with significant populations | |||
| ''201,000'' | |||
| ''494,200'' | |||
| ''695,200'' | |||
| ''12.0%'' | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
{{!}} <!-- table begins --> | |||
| 25,700 | |||
{{{!}} align="center" style="width: 100%; background: transparent; line-height: 12pt; text-align: left; font-size: 95%;" | |||
| 52,500 | |||
| 78,100 | |||
{{!}} {{flagcountry|Israel}} | |||
| 1.4% | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}}7,746,000 | |||
{{!}} <small>(2011)</small><ref name=cbs92011>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4066153,00.html |title=63 to Israel: Population of Israel |publisher=Ynet! |date=8 May 2011 |accessdate=8 May 2011}}</ref>{{dubious|Location of Israelis|date=March 2011}} | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
| 62,600 | |||
{{!}} ] | |||
| 173,300 | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}} 280,000 | |||
| 235,800 | |||
{{!}} <ref name=BBCPT>{{cite news|title=Palestinians shun Israeli settlement restriction plan|author=|newspaper=BBC|date=25 November 2009|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8379868.stm|accessdate=23 December 2010}}</ref> | |||
| 4.1% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
{{!}} ] | |||
| 28,400 | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}} 190,000 | |||
| 111,100 | |||
{{!}} <ref name=BBCPT/> | |||
| 139,500 | |||
| 2.4% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/] | |||
{{!}} {{flagcountry|United States}} | |||
| 49,300 | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}}106,839 | |||
| 92,300 | |||
{{!}} <ref>http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf</ref> | |||
| 141,600 | |||
| 2.5% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/] | |||
{{!}} {{flagcountry|Canada}} | |||
| 17,600 | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}} 21,320 | |||
| 29,000 | |||
{{!}} <ref name="www40.statcan.gc.ca">http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo24a-eng.htm</ref> | |||
| 46,600 | |||
| 0.8% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/] | |||
{{!}} ] | |||
| 10,700 | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}} 20,000 | |||
| 25,000 | |||
{{!}} <ref name=UNGolanHeights>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=o2Va21wfwvIC&pg=PA524&dq=%22Israeli+settlements+in+the+occupied+Syrian+Golan+Heights,+housing+an+estimated+20000+Israeli+settlers%22&hl=en&ei=iKYSTf-OFYOs8gOTs-iBBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan%20Heights%2C%20housing%20an%20estimated%2020000%20Israeli%20settlers%22&f=false|title=Yearbook of the United Nations 2005: Sixtieth Anniversary Edition - Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All|author=United Nations|edition=Hardcover|publisher=United Nations|year=2008|isbn=9211009677|page=524}}</ref> | |||
| 35,700 | |||
| 0.6% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| Other | |||
{{!}}{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} | |||
| 6,700 | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}}11,892 | |||
| 11,300 | |||
{{!}} <ref name=OECD>{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls|title=Country-of-birth database|publisher=]|accessdate=2008-12-23}}</ref> | |||
| 18,000 | |||
| 0.3% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:center;"| '']'' | |||
{{!}}{{flagcountry|Australia}} | |||
| ''315,800'' | |||
{{!}} style="text-align: right" {{!}}7,340 | |||
| ''572,100'' | |||
{{!}} {{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} | |||
| ''887,900'' | |||
|} | |||
| ''15.4%'' | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
| 153,600 | |||
| 339,600 | |||
| 493,200 | |||
| 8.6% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/] | |||
| '''''Predominant spoken languages'''''<br/>], ], ], ], ] | |||
| 43,200 | |||
| 91,700 | |||
| 134,900 | |||
| 2.3% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
! style="background-color: #b0c4de" {{!}} Religion | |||
| 15,800 | |||
| 53,500 | |||
| 69,400 | |||
| 1.2% | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
| Predominantly ] (minorities practicing ], ], ]) | |||
| 18,500 | |||
|} | |||
| 39,000 | |||
'''Israelis''' ({{lang-he|ישראלים}}, ''Yisra'elim''), are citizens or nationals of the modern state of ]. Although Israel is a ] state, it has a ], home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. The largest ethnic group is that of ], followed by ], mostly ], with smaller numbers of ] in addition to ], ], and others. As a result, some Israelis don't take their ] as an ], but identify themselves with both their nationality and their ancestral origins. | |||
| 57,500 | |||
| 1.0% | |||
Due to the multi-ethnic composition, Israel is a ] nation, home to a wide variety of traditions and values. Large-scale immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from ] and ] and more recent Large-scale immigration from ], ], ], ] and ] introduced many new cultural elements and has had broad impact. The resulting cultural mix may be described as a ]. | |||
Israelis and people of Israeli descent can be found internationally such as in the ], ], the ] and throughout ]. As many as 750,000 Israelis are estimated to be living abroad, primarily in the ] and ] - about 10 percent of the general population of Israel.<ref>{{Citation| first = Gold| last = Eric| first2 = Omer| last2 = Moav| editor-last = | editor-first = | editor2-last = | editor2-first = | language = Hebrew| contribution-url = | title = Brain Drain From Israel (Brichat Mochot M'Yisrael)| year = 2006| pages = 26| place = Jerusalem | |||
| publisher = Mercaz Shalem - The Shalem Center, The Social-Economic Institute| url = http://www.knesset.gov.il/committees/heb/material/data/mada2006-06-28.doc| doi = | id = }}.</ref> | |||
==Population== | |||
{{Main|Demographics of Israel}} | |||
According to ], as of May 2006, of Israel's 7 million people, 77% were ]s of any background, 18.5% non-Jewish ]s, and 4.3% "others".<ref name="pdf2">{{cite web| url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_01.pdf| title=Population, by religion and population group| accessdate=2006-04-08| first =Government of Israel| last =Central Bureau of Statistics |format=PDF}}</ref> Israels official census includes Israeli settlers in the ].<ref>http://cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_06x&CYear=2010</ref> 280,000 Israeli settlers live in ] in the ],<ref name=BBCPT/> 190,000 in ],<ref name=BBCPT/> and 20 000 in the ].<ref name=UNGolanHeights/> | |||
Among Jews, 68% were ] (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are ] (Jewish immigrants to Israel) — 22% from ] and the ], and 10% from ] and ], including the ].<ref name="pdf3">{{cite web| url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_24.pdf| title=Jews and others, by origin, continent of birth and period of immigration| accessdate=2006-04-08| first =Government of Israel| last =Central Bureau of Statistics |format=PDF}}</ref> Nearly half of all Israeli Jews are descended from Jews who immigrated from Europe, while around the same number are descended from Jews who immigrated from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. Over two hundred thousand are, or are descended from, Ethiopian and Indian Jews.<ref name="cbs.gov.il">http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton.html?num_tab=st02_23x&CYear=2005</ref> | |||
Israel has two official languages; ] and ]. Hebrew is the major and primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the ] Jewish community. ] is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. American and European popular television shows are commonly presented. Newspapers can be found in all languages listed above as well as others, such as ]. | |||
In recent decades, considerable numbers of Israelis, estimated broadly from 653,000<ref>http://cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=200801157</ref> to twice that figure, have moved abroad.<ref>Andrew I. Killgore. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2004, pp.18-20</ref> (see also ]). Reasons for emigration vary, but generally relate to a combination of economic and political concerns. ] is home to the largest community of Israelis out of Israel. | |||
== Ethnic and religious groups == | |||
The most prominent ] and ], who live in Israel at present and who are Israeli citizens or nationals, are as follows: | |||
=== Jews === | |||
{{Main|Israeli Jews}} | |||
{{See also|Ashkenazi Jews|Mizrahi Jews|Sephardi Jews|Beta Israel|Jewish ethnic divisions|}} | |||
According to ], in 2008, of Israel's 7.3 million people, 75.6% were Jews of any background.<ref name="CBS_month_pop">, Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, ]</ref> Among them, 70.3% were ] (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are ] (Jewish immigrants to Israel) – 20.5% from Europe and the Americas, and 9.2% from Asia and Africa, including the ].<ref name="CBS_2008_jews_origin">{{cite web| url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_24x&CYear=2009| title=Table 2.24 – Jews, by country of origin and age| accessdate=22 March 2010| first =CBS| last = Statistical Abstract of Israel, 2009| authorlink=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|format=PDF}}</ref> | |||
The ethnic division of the Jewish population of Israel (including non Halackic Russians) as of 2008 is as follows. | |||
{| class = "wikitable" | |||
|+ '''Ethnic Makeup of Jewish Population of Israel'''{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} | |||
|- | |- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|'''TOTAL''' | |||
| 81,600 | |||
|'''5,818,000''' | |||
| 38,600 | |||
|'''100%''' | |||
| 110,100 | |||
|---- | |||
| 1.9% | |||
| '''] and ]''' | |||
|- | |||
|'''2,921,000''' | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| Other | |||
|'''50.2%''' | |||
| 13,100 | |||
|---- | |||
| 9,700 | |||
|Morocco | |||
| |
| 22,800 | ||
| |
| 0.4% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:center;"| '']/]/]'' | |||
|Iraq | |||
| ''1,094,100'' | |||
|404,000 | |||
| ''829,700'' | |||
|7.7% | |||
| ''1,923,800'' | |||
|---- | |||
| ''33.4%'' | |||
|Yemen | |||
|- | |||
|295,000 | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|4.9% | |||
| 651,400 | |||
|---- | |||
| 241,000 | |||
|Iran | |||
| |
| 892,400 | ||
| |
| 15.5% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|Algeria/Tunisia | |||
| |
| 51,300 | ||
| 151,000 | |||
|3.8% | |||
| 202,300 | |||
|---- | |||
| 3.5% | |||
|Other Asia | |||
|- | |||
|150,000 | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|2.5% | |||
| 88,600 | |||
|---- | |||
| 125,900 | |||
|Turkey | |||
| |
| 214,400 | ||
| |
| 3.7% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/] | |||
|Libya | |||
| |
| 16,400 | ||
| 32,600 | |||
|2.3% | |||
| 49,000 | |||
|---- | |||
| 0.9% | |||
|Egypt | |||
|- | |||
|112,000 | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/] | |||
|1.9% | |||
| 24,500 | |||
|---- | |||
| 50,600 | |||
|Other Asia | |||
| |
| 75,200 | ||
|1. |
| 1.3% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ]/]/] | |||
|India/Pakistan | |||
| |
| 20,000 | ||
| 45,000 | |||
|1.3% | |||
| 64,900 | |||
|---- | |||
| 1.1% | |||
|Latin America | |||
|- | |||
|25,000 | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|0.04% | |||
| 41,100 | |||
|---- | |||
| 26,900 | |||
|Other Africa (Not South Africa) | |||
| |
| 68,000 | ||
| |
| 1.2% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|---- | |||
| 21,000 | |||
|''']''' (Ethiopia) | |||
| 19,900 | |||
|'''130,000''' | |||
| 40,800 | |||
|'''2.2%''' | |||
| 0.7% | |||
|---- | |||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| Europe, other | |||
|''']''' | |||
| |
| 27,000 | ||
| 29,900 | |||
|'''47.5%''' | |||
| 56,900 | |||
|---- | |||
| 1.0% | |||
|Russia | |||
|- | |||
|1,018,000 | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| North America/Oceania | |||
|20.9% | |||
| 90,500 | |||
|---- | |||
| 63,900 | |||
|Poland | |||
| |
| 154,400 | ||
| |
| 2.7% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:left;"| ] | |||
|Romania | |||
| |
| 35,500 | ||
| 26,100 | |||
|7.6% | |||
| 61,600 | |||
|---- | |||
| 1.1% | |||
|Other Europe | |||
|- | |||
|168,000 | |||
| style="text-align:left;"| ], other | |||
|3.7% | |||
| 26,900 | |||
|---- | |||
| 17,000 | |||
|North America (Including 4,000 African American Black Hebrews) | |||
| |
| 43,900 | ||
| |
| 0.8% | ||
| |
|- | ||
| style="text-align:center;"| '']'' | |||
|Germany/Austria | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| — | |||
|160,000 | |||
| ''2,246,300'' | |||
|2.7% | |||
| ''2,246,300'' | |||
|---- | |||
| ''39.0%'' | |||
|Bulgaria/Greece | |||
|97,000 | |||
|1.9% | |||
|---- | |||
|Latin America | |||
|82,000 | |||
|1.4% | |||
|---- | |||
|Hungary | |||
|63,000 | |||
|1.3% | |||
|---- | |||
|Czechoslovakia | |||
|60,000 | |||
|1.2% | |||
|---- | |||
|South Africa | |||
|20,000 | |||
|0.4% | |||
|---- | |||
|} | |} | ||
===Arabic-speaking minorities=== | |||
The errors occurring due to these calculations{{which?|date=November 2011}} were: | |||
* There was no distinction made between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. (If the Sephardim, Mountain Jews and other non-Ashkenazi groups are included in Mizrachim, then Mizrachim will outnumber Ashkenazim by a margin of 52 to 48). | |||
* Many Sephardim from Turkey were counted as Mizrachim. | |||
* Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews and Bukharan Jews who together constitute ~15% of FSU Jews counted as Ashkenazim until 1996 (until 1996, Central Asia and the Caucasian Republics were counted as part of Europe. After 1996, from 1997 onwards they were counted as part of Asia). | |||
* The Harbin Jews (~1,000) from China counted as Mizrachim, although they were Russian speaking Ashkenazim. | |||
* After 1996, Russian speaking Ashkenazim from Kazakhstan, Kyrghizia and Armenia counted as Mizrachim. | |||
* Close to 20,000 South African Jews were classified as Mizrachim, although almost all of them are Ashkenazim (Lithuanian, English and ] speaking). | |||
* A few hundred Black Hebrews from the United States were classified as ]. | |||
* All Jews from Latin America were classified as Ashkenazim, although significant numbers are Sephardim (15–20% in Argentina and Mexico, 20%+ in Brazil, similar percentages in other countries). Close to three-fifths of the Latin American Jews in Israel are Argentine, with one-tenth each from Uruguay and Brazil. | |||
* 86,000 Bulgarian/Greek Jews are classified as Ashkenazim, although the majority are Sephardim/Romaniotes. | |||
* Jews whose Jewishness was not recognized were not counted; almost all of them were Ashkenazim (~275,000 in 2007). | |||
===Arabs=== | |||
] | |||
{{Main|Arab citizens of Israel}} | {{Main|Arab citizens of Israel}} | ||
====Arab Palestinians==== | |||
Arab citizens of Israel are those Arabs who remained within Israel's borders following the ], and the establishment of the state of Israel, including those born within the state borders subsequent to this time, as well as those who had left during the exodus (or their descendants) who have since re-entered by means accepted as lawful residence by the Israeli state (primarily family reunifications). | |||
A large part of ]-period ] remained within Israel's borders following the ] and are the largest group of Arabic-speaking and culturally Arab citizens of Israel. The vast majority of the Arab citizens of Israel are ] Muslim, while 9% of them are ],<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/statistical/arab_pop03e.pdf | title=The Arab Population of Israel 2003 | access-date=7 February 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201024709/http://www.cbs.gov.il/statistical/arab_pop03e.pdf | archive-date=1 December 2007 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and 7.1% of them are ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/122/11_19_122b.pdf|title=The Druze population in Israel|date=24 April 2020|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel)|access-date=17 March 2022|archive-date=16 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216205902/https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/122/11_19_122b.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In 2006, the official number of Arab residents in Israel was 1,413,500 people, about 20% of Israel’s population. This figure include 209,000 Arabs (14% of the Israeli-Arab population) in east Jerusalem, also counted in the Palestinian statistics, although 98% of East Jerusalem Palestinians have either Israeli residency or Israeli citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/hodaot2007n/11_07_084b.doc |title=Selected Statistics on Jerusalem Day 2007 (Hebrew) |date=14 May 2007 |publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
As of 2013, the Arab population of Israel amounts to 1,658,000, about 20.7% of the population.<ref name="CBS_month_pop"/> This figure include 209,000 Arabs (14% of the Israeli Arab population) in East Jerusalem, also counted in the Palestinian statistics, although 98 percent of East Jerusalem Palestinians have either Israeli residency or Israeli citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/hodaot2007n/11_07_084b.doc |title=Selected Statistics on Jerusalem Day 2007 (Hebrew) |date=14 May 2007 |publisher=] |access-date=15 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128143317/http://www.cbs.gov.il/hodaot2007n/11_07_084b.doc |archive-date=28 November 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
Most Arab citizens of Israel are Muslim, particularly of the ] branch of Islam, and there is a significant ] minority from various ], as well as Arab ], among other religious communities. | |||
According to the Israeli ] census in 2010, the Arab population in Israel lives in ]; around 44% of them live in towns, while 48% of them in villages with the status of ], and around 4% live in small villages that are part of ].<ref name="Research"/> The Arab population in Israel is located in five main areas: ] (54.6% of total Israeli Arabs), ] (23.5% of total Israeli Arabs), ], ], and Northern ] (13.5% of total Israeli Arabs).<ref name="Research">{{cite web|url=http://raphael.geography.ad.bgu.ac.il/ojs/index.php/GRF/article/view/413|title=Housing Transformation within Urbanized Communities: The Arab Palestinians in Israel|date=27 February 2016|publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003124409/http://raphael.geography.ad.bgu.ac.il/ojs/index.php/GRF/article/view/413|archive-date=3 October 2019}}</ref> Around 8.4% of Israeli Arabs live in officially mixed Jewish-Arab cities (excluding Arab residents in East Jerusalem), in ], ], ], ]-], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iataskforce.org/sites/default/files/resource/resource-262.pdf|title=opic: Mixed Cities in Israel|date=20 June 2014|publisher=Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues|access-date=26 March 2022|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912142625/http://iataskforce.org/sites/default/files/resource/resource-262.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
As of 2008, Arab citizens of Israel comprise just over 20% of the country's total population. About 82.6% of the Arab population in Israel is Sunni Muslim (with a very small minority of Shia), another 9% is Druze, and around 9% is Christian (mostly Eastern Orthodox and Catholic denominations). | |||
==== |
====Negev Bedouin==== | ||
{{ |
{{Main|Negev Bedouin}} | ||
{{See also|Galilee Bedouin}} | |||
The Arab citizens of Israel include also the Bedouins who are divided into two main groups: the Bedouin in the north of Israel, who live in villages and towns for the most part, and the Bedouin in the ], who include half-nomadic and inhabitants of towns and ]. According to the ], currently, 110,000 ]s live in the Negev, 50,000 in the Galilee and 10,000 in the central region of Israel.<ref name = "Bedouin Demographics"> ] 1 July 1999</ref> | |||
The Arab citizens of Israel also include the ]. Israeli Bedouin include those who live in the north of the country, for the most part in villages and towns, and the Bedouin in the ], who are semi-nomadic or live in towns or ]. In 1999, 110,000 Bedouin lived in the Negev, 50,000 in the Galilee and 10,000 in the central region of Israel.<ref name="Bedouin Demographics"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026125647/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfaarchive/1990_1999/1999/7/the%20bedouin%20in%20israel |date=26 October 2007 }} ] 1 July 1999</ref> As of 2013, the ] number 200,000–210,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/11/arrests-at-protest-over-israel-bedouin-plan-20131130173443568410.html |title=Arrests at protest over Israel's Bedouin plan |work=] |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=9 February 2014 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210803/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/11/arrests-at-protest-over-israel-bedouin-plan-20131130173443568410.html?xif= |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="newint.org">{{Cite web|url = http://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2013/07/23/bedouins-face-mass-eviction/|title = Israel's Bedouin population faces mass eviction|date = 23 July 2013|access-date = 9 February 2014|archive-date = 5 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011236/http://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2013/07/23/bedouins-face-mass-eviction/|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Issues/Pages/The-Bedouin-in-the-Negev-and-the-Begin-Plan-4-Nov-2013.aspx |title=Behind the Headlines: The Bedouin in the Negev and the Begin Plan |work=] |date=4 November 2013 |access-date=9 February 2014 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210759/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Issues/Pages/The-Bedouin-in-the-Negev-and-the-Begin-Plan-4-Nov-2013.aspx%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
====Druze==== | ====Druze==== | ||
{{ |
{{Main|Israeli Druze}} | ||
There is also a significant population of Israeli ], estimated at 117,500 at the end of 2006.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128014905/http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton58/download/st02_02.xls |date=28 January 2012 }}, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2007, No. 58.</ref> All Druze in ] became Israeli citizens upon the foundation of the State of Israel.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
The Arab citizens of Israel include also the ] who were numbered at an estimated 117,500 at the end of 2006.<ref>, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2007, No. 58.</ref> All of the ] living in what was then ] became Israeli citizens after the declaration of the State of Israel. Though some individuals identify themselves as "Palestinian Druze",<ref>{{cite web|title=Balad's MK-to-be: 'Anti-Israelization' Conscientious Objector|author=Yoav Stern & Jack Khoury|publisher=]|date=2 May 2007|accessdate=29 July 2007|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854636.html}}For example, Said Nafa, a self-identified "Palestinian Druze" serves as the head of the ] party's national council and founded the "Pact of Free Druze" in 2001, an organization that aims ";to stop the conscription of the Druze and claims the community is an inalienable part of the Arabs in Israel and the Palestinian nation at large."</ref> most Druze do not consider themselves to be Palestinian, and consider their Israeli identity stronger than their Arab identity; indeed, Druze serve prominently in the ], and are represented in mainstream Israeli politics and business as well, unlike Muslim Arabs who are not required to and choose not to serve in the Israeli army. | |||
====Maronites==== | ====Maronites==== | ||
{{Main|Maronites in Israel}} | |||
The ] community in Israel of several thousands resides mostly in Galilee. It is largely composed of former pro-Israeli Lebanese militia members and their families, who fled Lebanon after ], though some originate from local Galilee communities, like one in ]. | |||
There are about 7,000 ] Israelis, living mostly in the ] but also in ], ], and ]. They are mostly pro-Israeli ] former militia members and their families who fled Lebanon after the ]. Some, however, are from local Galilean communities such as ].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
====Copts==== | |||
There are about 1,000 ] Israeli citizens.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
====Arameans==== | |||
{{Main|Arameans in Israel}} | |||
In September 2014, Israel recognized the "Aramean" ethnic identity of hundreds of the Christian citizens of Israel. This recognition comes after about seven years of activity by the Aramean Christian Foundation in Israel – Aram, led by IDF Major ] and the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, headed by ] of the Greek-Orthodox Church and Major Ihab Shlayan. The Aramean ethnic identity encompasses all the Christian Eastern Syriac churches in Israel, including the ], ] Church, ] Church, ] Church and ] Church. Many Israelis who advocated for and identify as Aramean today are Maronites, with Assyrians identifying as well.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24936/Default.aspx | title=Israel Today - Stay Informed, Pray Informed | access-date=21 September 2014 | archive-date=7 March 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307132630/https://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24936/Default.aspx/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.616299| title=Israel Recognizes Aramean Minority in Israel as Separate Nationality| newspaper=Haaretz| first=Jonathan| last=Lis| date=17 September 2014| access-date=21 September 2014| archive-date=17 September 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917165653/http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.616299| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20169 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214122744/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20169 |date=14 December 2018 }}</ref> | |||
====Assyrians==== | |||
{{Main|Assyrians in Israel}} | |||
There are around 1,000 ] living in Israel, mostly in ] and ]. Assyrians are an ]-speaking, ] Christian minority who are descended from the ancient ]. The old ] monastery of Saint Mark lies in Jerusalem. Other than followers of the Syriac Orthodox Church, there are also followers of the ] and the ] living in Israel.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
===Other citizens=== | |||
===Non-Arab and Non-Jew citizens=== | |||
====African Hebrew Israelites==== | ====African Hebrew Israelites==== | ||
{{Main|African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem}} | {{Main|African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem}} | ||
The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem is a small |
The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem is a small religious community whose members believe they are descended from the ] of Israel. Most of the over 5,000 members live in ] although there are additional, smaller, groups in ], ], and the ] area. At least some of them consider themselves to be Jewish, but Israeli authorities do not accept them as such, nor are their religious practices consistent with "mainstream Jewish tradition."<ref>{{cite book|author=Martina Könighofer|title=The New Ship of Zion: Dynamic Diaspora Dimensions of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M-YEcgmaAdAC|year=2008|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=978-3-8258-1055-9|page=12|quote=The African Hebrew Israelites do not practice Judaism according to mainstream Jewish tradition and have not been accepted as Jews by the Israeli authorities.|access-date=1 March 2016|archive-date=28 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928154904/https://books.google.com/books?id=M-YEcgmaAdAC|url-status=live}}</ref> The group, which consists of ] and their descendants, originated in ] in the early 1960s, moved to ] for a few years, and then immigrated to Israel.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | ||
====African Refugees==== | |||
The number and status of African refugees in Israel is disputed and controversial but it is estimated that at least 16,000 refugees mainly from ], ], ] and the ] reside and work in Israel. | |||
====Armenians==== | ====Armenians==== | ||
{{Main|Armenians in Israel}} | {{Main|Armenians in Israel}} | ||
There are about 4,000–10,000 ] citizens of Israel (not including Armenian Jews). They live mostly in Jerusalem, including the ], but also in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jaffa. Their religious activities center around the ] as well as churches in Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa. Although Armenians of ] have Israeli identity cards, they are officially holders of ]ian passports.<ref>Joyce M. Davis. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729081526/http://www.cnewa.org/default.aspx?ID=548&pagetypeID=4&sitecode=HQ&pageno=3 |date=29 July 2013 }}. Catholic Near East Welfare Association.</ref> | |||
==== |
====Caucasians==== | ||
A number of immigrants also belong to various non-Slavic ethnic groups from the Former Soviet Union such as ], ], and ]. | |||
{{Main|Assyrians in Israel}} | |||
There are around 1,000 ethnic ] living in Israel, mostly in ] and ]. Assyrians are an ] speaking, ] Christian minority who are descended from the ancient ]. The old ] monastery of Saint Mark lies in Jerusalem. Other than followers of the Syriac Orthodox Church, there are also followers of the ] and the ] living in Israel. | |||
====Circassians==== | ====Circassians==== | ||
{{Main|Circassians in Israel}} | {{Main|Circassians in Israel}} | ||
] | |||
In ], there are also a few thousand ], living mostly in ] (2,000) and ] (1,000).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.circassianworld.com/Israel.html |title=Circassians in Israel |work=Circassian World}}</ref> These two villages were a part of a greater group of Circassian villages around the ]. The Circassians in Israel enjoy, like ]s, a '']''. Male Circassians (at their leader's request) are mandated for military service, while females are not. | |||
In Israel, there are also a few thousand ], living mostly in ] (2,000) and ] (1,000).{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} These two villages were a part of a greater group of Circassian villages around the ]. The Circassians in Israel enjoy, like ]s, a ''status aparte''. Male Circassians (at their leader's request) are mandated for military service, while females are not.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
====Gypsies==== | |||
Some Eastern European Roma are known to have arrived in Israel in the late 1940s and early 1950s, being from Bulgaria or having intermarried with Jews in the post-WWII ]s camps or, in some cases, having pretended to be Jews when ] representatives arrived in those camps. The exact numbers of these Romanies living in Israel are unknown, since such individuals tended to assimilate into the Israeli Jewish environment. According to several recent accounts in the Israeli press, some families preserve traditional Romani lullabies and a small number of Romani expressions and curse words, and pass them on to generations born in Israel who, for the most part, are Jews and speak ].{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} The Romani community in Israel has grown since the 1990s, as some Roma immigrated there from the ]. | |||
====East Europeans==== | |||
A community related to the Romanies and living in ] and the ] and in neighboring countries are known as ]. | |||
Non-Jewish immigrants from the ] most of whom are ] (descendants of Jews) who are ], ], ] and ], who were eligible to immigrate due to having, or being married to somebody who has, at least one Jewish grandparent. In addition, a certain number of former Soviet citizens, primarily women of Russian and Ukrainian ethnicity, immigrated to Israel after marrying Arab citizens of Israel who went to study in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s. The total number of those primarily of Slavic ancestry among Israeli citizens is around 300,000.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
====Finns==== | |||
Although most Finns in Israel are either Finnish Jews or their descendants, a small number of Finnish Christians moved to Israel in the 1940s before the independence of the state and have since gained citizenship. For the most part the original Finnish settlers intermarried with other Israeli communities, and therefore remain very small in number. A ''moshav'' near Jerusalem named "]", meaning the Memorial for the eight, was established in 1971 by a group of Finnish Christian Israelis, though today most members are Israeli, and predominantly Hebrew-speaking.<ref>{{cite web|title=Front page Current Affairs Embassy Honorary Consulates Services Team Finland Finland in Israel History Finnish associations About Finland Links Feedback Contact Front page > Finland in Israel > Finnish associations Finnish Associations|url=http://www.finland.org.il/public/default.aspx?nodeid=39222&contentlan=2&culture=en-US|publisher=Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland|access-date=25 January 2014|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210756/http://www.finland.org.il/public/default.aspx?nodeid=39222&contentlan=2&culture=en-US|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Landers|first=Ann|title=Readers Recall Heroic War Efforts|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/02/07/readers-recall-heroic-war-efforts/|access-date=25 January 2014|newspaper=NYT|date=7 February 1997|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210754/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-02-07-9702070085-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
====Samaritans==== | ====Samaritans==== | ||
{{Main| |
{{Main|Samaritans}} | ||
The ] are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Ancestrally, they |
The ] are an ] of the ]. Ancestrally, they are descended from a group of ] inhabitants who have connections to ancient ] from the beginning of the ] up to the beginning of the ].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} Population estimates made in 2007 show that of the 712 Samaritans, half live in ] in Israel and half at ] in the West Bank. The Holon community holds Israeli citizenship, while the Gerizim community resides at an Israeli-controlled enclave (]), holding dual Israeli-Palestinian citizenship.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | ||
====Vietnamese==== | ====Vietnamese==== | ||
], 1979]] | |||
{{Main|Overseas Vietnamese}} | |||
The number of Vietnamese people in ] |
The number of ] in Israel is estimated at 200–400.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=35 years on, where are Israel's Vietnamese refugees? |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/35-years-on-where-are-israels-vietnamese-refugees/ |website=] |access-date=31 July 2022 |archive-date=31 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731171524/https://www.timesofisrael.com/35-years-on-where-are-israels-vietnamese-refugees/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of them came to Israel between 1976 and 1979, after the Israeli Prime Minister ] granted them political asylum.<ref name="auto"/> The Vietnamese people living in Israel are Israeli citizens who also serve in the ].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} Today, the majority of the community lives in the ] area in the center of Israel but also a few dozen Vietnamese-Israelis or Israelis of Vietnamese origin live in ], ] and ].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | ||
===Non-citizens=== | |||
====African refugees==== | |||
{{Further|Sudanese refugees in Israel}} | |||
] | |||
The number and status of African refugees in Israel is disputed and controversial, but it is estimated that at least 16,000 refugees, mainly from ], ], ], ] and the ], reside and work in Israel. A check in late 2011, published in Ynet reported that the number just in Tel Aviv is 40,000, which represents 10 percent of the city's population. The vast majority lives in the southern parts of the city. There is also a significant African population in the southern Israeli cities of Eilat, Arad and Beer Sheva.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
=== |
====Other refugees==== | ||
Approximately 100–200 refugees from ], ], and ] live in Israel as refugees, most of them with Israeli resident status.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eichner|first=Itamar|title=North Korean couple gets refugee status in Israel|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024363,00.html|access-date=25 January 2014|newspaper=Ynet|archive-date=6 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706230401/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024363,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Smaller prominent ] and ], who currently live in the Israel and whom are Israeli citizens or nationals, include: | |||
* Non-Jewish immigrants from the ] many of whom are ethnic ] and ] who were eligible to immigrate due to having, or being married to somebody who has, at least one Jewish grandparent. A very small number of these immigrants also belong to various ethnic groups from the Former Soviet Union such as ], ] and ] among others which can also be found in different towns in Israel | |||
*Some naturalized foreign workers and their Israeli born children: predominantly from ], ], ], ], ], ], ] ], ], and ]. | |||
*Some former British Mandate soldiers who married Israeli women prior to or after the declaration of the state and their descendants | |||
*Ethiopian Christians | |||
*Copts | |||
*Haitians | |||
*Approximately 100-200 Refugees from ], ] and ] who were absorbed in Israel as refugees, most of them were also given Israeli citizenship and currently reside in Israel | |||
===Israeli diaspora=== | ===Israeli diaspora=== | ||
{{See also|Yerida}} | {{See also|Yerida}} | ||
Through the years, the majority of Israelis who emigrated from Israel went to the |
Through the years, the majority of Israelis who emigrated from Israel went to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. | ||
It is currently estimated that there are 330,000 native-born Israelis, including 230,000 Jews, living abroad, or even more.<ref>{{cite web|title=4. MIGRATION FROM ISRAEL|url=http://jppi.org.il/uploads/Migration_from_Israel.pdf|work=]|access-date=25 January 2014|archive-date=28 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628135810/http://jppi.org.il/uploads/Migration_from_Israel.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of immigrants to Israel who later returned to their home countries or moved elsewhere is more difficult to calculate. | |||
For many years definitive data on Israeli emigration was unavailable.<ref>Henry Kamm. "Israeli emigration inspires anger and fear;" ''New York Times'' January 4, 1981</ref> In ''The Israeli Diaspora'' sociologist Stephen J. Gold maintains that calculation of Jewish emigration has been a contentious issue, explaining, "Since Zionism, the philosophy that underlies the existence of the Jewish state, calls for return home of the world's Jews, the opposite movement - Israelis leaving the Jewish state to reside elsewhere - clearly presents an ideological and demographic problem."<ref>Stephen J. Gold. ''The Israeli Diaspora''; Routledge 2002, p.8</ref> | |||
For many years definitive data on Israeli emigration was unavailable.<ref>Henry Kamm. "Israeli emigration inspires anger and fear;" ''New York Times'' 4 January 1981</ref> In ''The Israeli Diaspora'' sociologist Stephen J. Gold maintains that calculation of Jewish emigration has been a contentious issue, explaining, "Since Zionism, the philosophy that underlies the existence of the Jewish state, calls for return home of the world's Jews, the opposite movement – Israelis leaving the Jewish state to reside elsewhere – clearly presents an ideological and demographic problem."<ref>Stephen J. Gold. ''The Israeli Diaspora''; Routledge 2002, p.8</ref> | |||
Among the most common reasons for emigration of Israelis from Israel are most often due to economic constraints, economic characteristics (U.S. and Canada have always been richer nations than Israel), disappointment of the Israeli government, Israel's ongoing security Issues, as well as the excessive role of religion in the lives of Israelis. | |||
Among the most common reasons for emigration of Israelis from Israel are most often due to Israel's ongoing security issues, economic constraints, economic characteristics, disappointment in the Israeli government, as well as the excessive role of religion in the lives of Israelis.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
====United States of America==== | |||
====United States==== | |||
{{See also|Israeli American}} | {{See also|Israeli American}} | ||
Many Israelis immigrated to the United States throughout the period of the ] and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Americans.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} According to the ], 106,839 Americans also hold Israeli citizenship, but the number of Americans of Israeli descent is around half a million.<ref name=jj-pop>{{cite news|last=PINI HERMAN|title=Rumors of mass Israeli emigration are much exaggerated|url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/rumors_of_mass_israeli_emigration_are_much_exaggerated_20120425|access-date=3 October 2013|newspaper=]|date=25 April 2012|archive-date=28 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828112316/http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/rumors_of_mass_israeli_emigration_are_much_exaggerated_20120425|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lahav 2005 89">{{Cite book | author = Gallya Lahav | author2 = Asher Arian | title = 'Israelis in a Jewish diaspora: The multiple dilemmas of a globalized group' in International Migration and the Globalization of Domestic Politics ed. Rey Koslowski | place = London | publisher = Routledge | year = 2005 | pages = 89 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SG3ZXGZ_VvUC&q=Gallya+Lahav+and+Asher+Arian+Diaspora&pg=RA1-PA83 | isbn = 0-415-25815-4 | access-date = 1 November 2020 | archive-date = 28 September 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230928154826/https://books.google.com/books?id=SG3ZXGZ_VvUC&q=Gallya+Lahav+and+Asher+Arian+Diaspora&pg=RA1-PA83 | url-status = live }}</ref> | |||
==== Russia ==== | |||
Many Israelis emigrated to the ] throughout the period of the ] and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Americans. According to the ] as many as 106,839 Israelis lived in the United States in 2000.<ref name="www1.cbs.gov.il">http://www1.cbs.gov.il/www/hodaot2009n/11_09_208b.doc</ref> | |||
Moscow has the largest single Israeli ] community in the world, with 80,000 Israeli citizens living in the city as of 2014, almost all of them native Russian-speakers.<ref name="lubavitch.com"/><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212091930/http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/.premium-1.575660 |date=12 February 2015 }} By Ofer Matan, 21 February 2014, Haaretz</ref> Many Israeli cultural events are hosted for the community, and many live part of the year in Israel. (To cater to the Israeli community, ] are located in ], ], ] and ].)<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722095000/http://il4u.org.il/icc |date=22 July 2019 }} http://il4u.org.il/icc</ref> | |||
====Canada==== | ====Canada==== | ||
{{See also|Israeli Canadian}} | |||
Many Israelis emigrated to the ] throughout the period of the ] and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Canadians. According to the ] as many as 21,320 Israelis lived in the Canada in 2006.<ref name="www40.statcan.gc.ca"/> | |||
Many Israelis immigrated to Canada throughout the period of the ] and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Canadians.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} According to the ] as many as 21,320 Israelis lived in Canada in 2006.<ref name="www40.statcan.gc.ca"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309165723/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo24a-eng.htm |date=9 March 2012 }}, Statistics Canada</ref> | |||
====United Kingdom==== | ====United Kingdom==== | ||
{{See also|Israelis in the United Kingdom}} | {{See also|Israelis in the United Kingdom}} | ||
Many Israelis immigrated to the United Kingdom throughout and since the period of the ]. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-British.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} According to the ], as many as 11,892 Israelis lived in the United Kingdom in 2001. The majority live in ].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
===2013 Supreme Court ruling on nationality=== | |||
Many Israelis emigrated to the ] throughout and since the period of the ]. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-British. According to the ] as many as 11,892 Israelis lived in the United Kingdom in 2001. The majority of Israelis in the UK live in ].<ref>http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls</ref> | |||
In 2013 a three-judge panel of the ]'s headed by Court President ] rejected an appeal requesting that state-issued identification cards state the nationality of citizens as "Israeli" rather than their religion of origin. In his opinion, Grunis stated that it was not within the court's purview to determine new categories of ethnicity or nationhood. The court's decision responded to a petition by Uzzi Ornan, who refused to be identified as Jewish in 1948 at the foundation of the state of Israel, claiming instead that he was "Hebrew." This was permitted by Israeli authorities at the time. However, by 2000, Ornan wanted to register his nationality as "Israeli". The Interior Ministry refused to allow this, prompting Ornan to file a suit. In 2007, Ornan's suit was joined by former minister ] and other activists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Supreme Court rules against 'Israeli' ethnicity on ID|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-rules-israeli-ethnicity-doesnt-exist/|work=]|first=Aaron|last=Kalman|access-date=25 January 2014|archive-date=27 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127030050/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/debate/7707-court-denial-of-israeli-nationality-reinforces-discrimination|url-status=live}}</ref> In the ruling, Justice Hanan Melcer noted Israel currently considers "citizenship and nationality separate."<ref>{{cite news|title=High court rules: It is impossible to be Israeli|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/10/high-court-rules-it-impossible-be-israeli-201310201360824801.html|work=Al Jazeera|first=Neve|last=Gordon|date=21 October 2013|access-date=25 January 2014|archive-date=2 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002064847/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/10/high-court-rules-it-impossible-be-israeli-201310201360824801.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
{{Expand section|date=October 2009}} | {{Expand section|date=October 2009}} | ||
] proclaiming the ] in 1948]] | |||
{{Main|History of Israeli nationality}} | |||
] at its greatest extension]] | |||
The term "Israelite" refers to members of the Jewish tribes and polities of the Iron Age known from the ] and extra-biblical historical and archaeological sources. The term "Israeli", by contrast, refers to the citizens of the modern State of Israel, regardless of them being Jewish, Arabs, or of any other ethnicity. | |||
] publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of ], May 14, 1948]] | |||
The first account of an Israeli nation is a state which dominated the modern land of Israel, the ]; its latest capital was known as the Davidian city (Jerusalem). According to the biblical account, the United Monarchy was formed when there was a large popular expression in favour of introducing a monarchy to rule over the previously decentralised Israelite tribal confederacy. Increasing pressure from the Philistines (originally from Greece){{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} and other neighboring tribes is said by the Bible to have forced the Israelites to unite as a more singular state. | |||
The modern State of Israel revived an old name known from the Hebrew Bible and from historical sources, that of the Iron Age Kingdom of Israel. The Bible differentiates between a period of tribal rule among the "children of Israel"; a ] uniting all twelve biblical Israelite tribes, with the common capital known as the ] (Jerusalem); and a period in which the northern tribes split away to form an independent ], while the southern tribes became part of the ]. Archaeological research only partially agrees with the biblical narrative.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} | |||
According to the biblical account, the United Monarchy was formed when there was a large popular expression in favour of introducing a monarchy to rule over the previously decentralised Israelite tribal confederacy.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} Increasing pressure from the ]{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} and other neighboring tribes is said by the Bible to have forced the ] to unite as a more singular state.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
The northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed in {{circa|720 BCE}} by the Neo-Assyrian Empire and its population was forcibly restructured through imperial policy. The southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (586 BCE), inherited by the ], conquered by ] (332 BCE), ruled by the resulting Hellenistic empires, from which it regained authonomy and eventually independence under the ], conquered by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE, ruled by the client kings of the ], and finally transformed into a Roman province during the first century CE. Two Jewish revolts, the second one ending in 135 CE, led to the large-scale decimation of the Jewish population in Judea and the end of any type of Jewish territorial self-rule in the ] for many centuries to come. | |||
Palestine was part of the ] from 1516 until it was ] in 1918. The British establishment of colonial political boundaries allowed the Jews to develop autonomous institutions such as the ] and the Knesset.<ref>Migdal, p. 135</ref> The resulting influx of Jewish immigrants, as well as the creation of many new settlements, was crucial for the functioning of these new institutions in what would, on 14 May 1948, become the ].<ref>Migdal, p. 136</ref> By 1960, 25% of Israelis were Holocaust survivors.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Patt |first= Avinoam J. |year= 2024 |title= Israel and the Holocaust |location= London |publisher= Bloomsbury Academic |isbn= 978-1-350-18834-1}} See p. 44. Caution is needed, however, on the definition used here of ''survivor''; see the relevant endnote, n.17 on p. 188.</ref> | |||
==Culture== | ==Culture== | ||
{{Main|Culture of Israel|List of Israelis}} | {{Main|Culture of Israel|List of Israelis}} | ||
{{See also|Archaeology of Israel|Music of Israel|Science and technology in Israel}} | {{See also|Archaeology of Israel|Music of Israel|Science and technology in Israel}} | ||
The largest cities in the country ], ], and ] are also the major cultural centers, known for art museums, and many towns and kibbutzim have smaller high-quality museums. Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern, religious and secular music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from the ] and more modern cultural importation: ] songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially by Yemenite singers, and Israeli ] or ]. Folk dancing, which draws upon the cultural heritage of many immigrant groups, is popular. There is also flourishing modern dance. | The largest cities in the country ], ], and ] are also the major cultural centers, known for art museums, and many towns and kibbutzim have smaller high-quality museums. Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern, religious and secular music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from the ] and more modern cultural importation: ] songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially by Yemenite singers, and Israeli ] or ]. Folk dancing, which draws upon the cultural heritage of many immigrant groups, is popular. There is also flourishing modern dance.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | ||
===Religion |
===Religion=== | ||
{{Main|Religion in Israel}} | {{Main|Religion in Israel}} | ||
{{See also|Holidays and events in Israel}} | |||
] and ], ]]] | |||
] and ], ]]] | |||
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2004, 76.2% of Israelis were ] by religion (]), 16.1% were ]s, 2.1% ], 1.6% ] and the remaining 3.9% (including ]n immigrants and some ]) were not classified by religion.<ref name="pdf2"/> | |||
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2014, 75% of Israelis were ] by religion (adherents of ]), 17.5% were ]s, 2% ], 1.6% ] and the remaining 3.9% (including immigrants) were not classified by religion.<ref>{{cite news|title=Population by Religion |url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_02&CYear=2015 |access-date=31 December 2015 |publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics |date=9 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113175654/http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_02&CYear=2015 |archive-date=13 November 2015 }}</ref> | |||
Roughly 12% of Israeli Jews defined as '']'' (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 9% are "religious"; 35% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to |
Roughly 12% of Israeli Jews defined as '']'' (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 9% are "religious"; 35% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to ]); and 43% are "secular" (termed "]"). Among the seculars, 53% believe in God. However, 78% of all Israelis (and virtually all Israeli Jews) participate in a Passover seder.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806091726/http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/relinisr-consensus.htm |date=6 August 2011 }} by Daniel J. Elazar (JCPA)</ref> | ||
Unlike North American Jews, Israelis tend not to align themselves with a movement of ] (such as ] or ]) but instead tend to define their religious affiliation by degree of their religious practice. | Unlike North American Jews, Israelis tend not to align themselves with a movement of ] (such as ] or ]) but instead tend to define their religious affiliation by degree of their religious practice. Israeli religious life, unlike much of North American Jewish life, does not solely revolve around synagogues or religious community centers.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | ||
Among ], 82.6% were Muslim, 8.8% were ] and 8.4% were ].<ref name="pdf2" |
Among ], 82.6% were Muslim (including ]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7Ao8dYsCskC&pg=PA45 | title=The Arabs in Israel | access-date=4 March 2014 | author=Ori Stendel | page=45 | publisher=Sussex Academic Press | isbn=1898723249 | year=1996 | archive-date=28 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928154827/https://books.google.com/books?id=t7Ao8dYsCskC&pg=PA45 | url-status=live }}</ref>), 8.8% were ] and 8.4% were ].<ref name="pdf2">{{cite web|url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_01.pdf |title=Population, by religion and population group |access-date=8 April 2006 |first=Government of Israel |last=Central Bureau of Statistics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060410121622/http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_01.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2006 }}</ref> | ||
The ], which includes the ], in Haifa attracts ] from all over the world.<ref>{{cite web |
The ], which includes the ], in Haifa attracts Baháʼí ] from all over the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html |title=The Baháʼí World Centre: Focal Point for a Global Community |publisher=The Baháʼí International Community |access-date=2 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629171538/http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html |archive-date=29 June 2007 }}</ref> | ||
{{See also|Holidays and events in Israel}} | |||
==Languages== | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;font-size:100%;" | |||
| |
{{main|Languages of Israel}} | ||
] | |||
|- | |||
Due to its immigrant nature, Israel is one of the most multicultural and multilingual societies in the world. ] and ] are the official languages in the country, while English and Russian are the two most widely spoken non-official languages. Yiddish (2%) and French (2%) are also spoken.<ref>{{cite news|last=Druckman|first=Yaron|title=CBS: 27% of Israelis struggle with Hebrew|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4335235,00.html|access-date=24 January 2014|newspaper=Ynet|archive-date=15 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415064200/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4335235,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A certain degree of English is spoken widely, and is the language of choice for many Israeli businesses.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} Courses of Hebrew and English are mandatory in the ] (''bagrut''), and most schools also offer one or more out of Arabic, Spanish, German or French.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} The Israeli government also offers free intensive Hebrew-language courses, known as '']im'' (singular ''ulpan''), for new Jewish immigrants, to try to help them integrate into Israeli society.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} | |||
!] | |||
!] | |||
!% of total | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|{{commas|5,435,900}} | |||
|76.0% | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|{{commas|1,142,000}} | |||
|15.9% | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|{{commas|120,000}} | |||
|1.8% | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|{{commas|115,200}} | |||
|1.7% | |||
|- | |||
|Unclassified by choice | |||
|{{commas|302,400}} | |||
|4.6% | |||
|} | |||
==See also== | |||
Official figures do not exist as to the number of atheists or otherwise non-affiliated individuals, who may comprise up to a quarter of the population referred to as Jewish. According to a 2004 ] Study on Israelis aged over 8% of Israeli Jews define themselves as '']m'' (or Ultra-Orthodox); an additional 9% are "religious" (predominantly orthodox, also known in Israel as: Zionist-religious, national-religious and kippot srugot); 12% consider themselves "religious-traditionalists" (mostly adhering to Jewish ]); 27% are "non-religious traditionalists" (only partly respecting the Jewish Halakha), and 43% are "secular". Among the seculars, 53% say they believe in God. Due to the higher natality rate of religious and traditionalists over seculars, the share of religious and traditionalists among the overall population is even higher. | |||
== Languages == | |||
{{main|Languages in Israel}} | |||
] | |||
Due to its immigrant nature, Israel is one of the most multicultural and multilingual societies in the world. ] and ] are the official languages in the country, while English and Russian are the two most widely spoken non official languages. ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] are the most commonly used foreign languages.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} A certain degree of English is spoken widely, and is the language of choice for many Israeli businesses. Courses of Hebrew and English language are mandatory in the Israeli school system, and most schools offer either Arabic, Spanish, German or French. | |||
== See also == | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] (Israeli Hebrew) | ||
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==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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{{Demographics of Israel}} | |||
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{{Israelis abroad and their descendants}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 22:53, 6 January 2025
Citizens and nationals of Israel This article is about the pan-ethnic populace of the modern State of Israel. For the ancient people, see Israelites. For a demographical overview, see Demographics of Israel.Ethnic group
ישראלים إسرائيليون | |
---|---|
Flag of Israel | |
Map of the Israeli diaspora | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Israel | c. 9.8 million (including occupied territories) |
United States | 106,839 – 500,000 |
Russia | 100,000 (80,000 in Moscow) |
India | 40–70,000 |
United Kingdom | 11,892 – 50,000 |
Canada | 21,320 |
Australia | 15,000 |
Netherlands | 10,371 |
Germany | 10,000 |
Languages | |
Hebrew (official) Arabic (recognized) English, Russian, French, Amharic, Tigrinya, various others (see languages of Israel) | |
Religion | |
Majority: Judaism Minority: Islam, Christianity, Druzism, Samaritanism, Baháʼí Faith |
Israelis (Hebrew: יִשְׂרְאֵלִים, romanized: Yīśreʾēlīm; Arabic: إسرائيليون, romanized: Isrāʾīliyyūn) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by other ethnic and religious minorities, who account for 5 percent.
Early Israeli culture was largely defined by communities of the Jewish diaspora who had made aliyah to British Palestine from Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Later Jewish immigration from Ethiopia, the post-Soviet states, and the Americas introduced new cultural elements to Israeli society and have had a profound impact on modern Israeli culture.
Since Israel's independence in 1948, Israelis and people of Israeli descent have had a considerable diaspora, which largely overlaps with the Jewish diaspora but also with that of other ethnic and religious groups; it is estimated that almost 10 percent of the general Israeli population lives abroad, particularly in Russia (with Moscow housing the single largest Israeli community outside of Israel), India, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and throughout Europe.
Population
Main article: Demographics of IsraelAs of 2013, Israel's population is 8 million, of which the Israeli civil government records 75.3% as Jews, 20.7% as non-Jewish Arabs, and 4.0% other. Israel's official census includes Israeli settlers in the occupied territories (referred to as "disputed" by Israel). 280,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 190,000 in East Jerusalem, and 20,000 in the Golan Heights.
Among Jews, 70.3% were born in Israel (sabras), mostly from the second or third generation of their family in the country, and the rest are Jewish immigrants. Of the Jewish immigrants, 20.5% were from Europe and the Americas, and 9.2% were from Asia, Africa, and Middle Eastern countries. Nearly half of all Israeli Jews are descended from immigrants from the European Jewish diaspora. Approximately the same number are descended from immigrants from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. Over 200,000 are of Ethiopian and Indian-Jewish descent.
The official Israel Central Bureau of Statistics estimate of the Israeli Jewish population does not include those Israeli citizens, mostly descended from immigrants from the Soviet Union, who are registered as "others", or their immediate family members. Defined as non-Jews and non-Arabs, they make up about 3.5% of Israelis (350,000), and were eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
Israel's official language is Hebrew, which serves as the language of government and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the Mizrahi Jewish community. English is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, Yiddish, Spanish, Ladino, Amharic, Armenian, Romanian, and French.
In recent decades, between 650,000 and 1,300,000 Israelis have emigrated, a phenomenon known in Hebrew as yerida ("descent", in contrast to aliyah, which means "ascent"). Emigrants have various reasons for leaving, but there is generally a combination of economic and political concerns.
Ethnic and religious groups
See also: Doms in IsraelThe main Israeli ethnic and religious groups are as follows:
Jews
Main articles: Israeli Jews, Jewish ethnic divisions, and Gerim This article contains Hebrew text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hebrew letters.Among the Israeli-born Jewish population, most are descended from Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Ethiopian Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions. Due to the historically large Mizrahi population and decades of ethnic intermixing, over 50% of Israel's current Jewish population is of at least partial Mizrahi descent.
The CBS traces the paternal country of origin of Israeli Jews as of 2010 is as follows.
Country of origin | Born abroad |
Israeli born |
Total | % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 1,610,900 | 4,124,400 | 5,753,300 | 100.0% |
Asia | 201,000 | 494,200 | 695,200 | 12.0% |
Turkey | 25,700 | 52,500 | 78,100 | 1.4% |
Iraq | 62,600 | 173,300 | 235,800 | 4.1% |
Yemen | 28,400 | 111,100 | 139,500 | 2.4% |
Iran/Afghanistan | 49,300 | 92,300 | 141,600 | 2.5% |
India/Pakistan | 17,600 | 29,000 | 46,600 | 0.8% |
Syria/Lebanon | 10,700 | 25,000 | 35,700 | 0.6% |
Other | 6,700 | 11,300 | 18,000 | 0.3% |
Africa | 315,800 | 572,100 | 887,900 | 15.4% |
Morocco | 153,600 | 339,600 | 493,200 | 8.6% |
Algeria/Tunisia | 43,200 | 91,700 | 134,900 | 2.3% |
Libya | 15,800 | 53,500 | 69,400 | 1.2% |
Egypt | 18,500 | 39,000 | 57,500 | 1.0% |
Ethiopia | 81,600 | 38,600 | 110,100 | 1.9% |
Other | 13,100 | 9,700 | 22,800 | 0.4% |
Europe/Americas/Oceania | 1,094,100 | 829,700 | 1,923,800 | 33.4% |
Soviet Union | 651,400 | 241,000 | 892,400 | 15.5% |
Poland | 51,300 | 151,000 | 202,300 | 3.5% |
Romania | 88,600 | 125,900 | 214,400 | 3.7% |
Bulgaria/Greece | 16,400 | 32,600 | 49,000 | 0.9% |
Germany/Austria | 24,500 | 50,600 | 75,200 | 1.3% |
Czech Republic/Slovakia/Hungary | 20,000 | 45,000 | 64,900 | 1.1% |
France | 41,100 | 26,900 | 68,000 | 1.2% |
United Kingdom | 21,000 | 19,900 | 40,800 | 0.7% |
Europe, other | 27,000 | 29,900 | 56,900 | 1.0% |
North America/Oceania | 90,500 | 63,900 | 154,400 | 2.7% |
Argentina | 35,500 | 26,100 | 61,600 | 1.1% |
Latin America, other | 26,900 | 17,000 | 43,900 | 0.8% |
Israel | — | 2,246,300 | 2,246,300 | 39.0% |
Arabic-speaking minorities
Main article: Arab citizens of IsraelArab Palestinians
A large part of Mandate-period Arab Palestinians remained within Israel's borders following the 1948 exodus and are the largest group of Arabic-speaking and culturally Arab citizens of Israel. The vast majority of the Arab citizens of Israel are Sunni Muslim, while 9% of them are Christian, and 7.1% of them are Druze.
As of 2013, the Arab population of Israel amounts to 1,658,000, about 20.7% of the population. This figure include 209,000 Arabs (14% of the Israeli Arab population) in East Jerusalem, also counted in the Palestinian statistics, although 98 percent of East Jerusalem Palestinians have either Israeli residency or Israeli citizenship.
According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics census in 2010, the Arab population in Israel lives in 134 Arabic towns and villages; around 44% of them live in towns, while 48% of them in villages with the status of Local council, and around 4% live in small villages that are part of Regional council. The Arab population in Israel is located in five main areas: Galilee (54.6% of total Israeli Arabs), Triangle (23.5% of total Israeli Arabs), Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and Northern Negev (13.5% of total Israeli Arabs). Around 8.4% of Israeli Arabs live in officially mixed Jewish-Arab cities (excluding Arab residents in East Jerusalem), in Haifa, Lod, Ramle, Jaffa-Tel Aviv, Acre, Nof HaGalil, and Ma'alot Tarshiha.
Negev Bedouin
Main article: Negev Bedouin See also: Galilee BedouinThe Arab citizens of Israel also include the Bedouin. Israeli Bedouin include those who live in the north of the country, for the most part in villages and towns, and the Bedouin in the Negev, who are semi-nomadic or live in towns or unrecognized Bedouin villages. In 1999, 110,000 Bedouin lived in the Negev, 50,000 in the Galilee and 10,000 in the central region of Israel. As of 2013, the Negev Bedouin number 200,000–210,000.
Druze
Main article: Israeli DruzeThere is also a significant population of Israeli Druze, estimated at 117,500 at the end of 2006. All Druze in British Mandate Palestine became Israeli citizens upon the foundation of the State of Israel.
Maronites
Main article: Maronites in IsraelThere are about 7,000 Maronite Christian Israelis, living mostly in the Galilee but also in Haifa, Nazareth, and Jerusalem. They are mostly pro-Israeli Lebanese former militia members and their families who fled Lebanon after the 2000 withdrawal of IDF from South Lebanon. Some, however, are from local Galilean communities such as Jish.
Copts
There are about 1,000 Coptic Israeli citizens.
Arameans
Main article: Arameans in IsraelIn September 2014, Israel recognized the "Aramean" ethnic identity of hundreds of the Christian citizens of Israel. This recognition comes after about seven years of activity by the Aramean Christian Foundation in Israel – Aram, led by IDF Major Shadi Khalloul Risho and the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, headed by Father Gabriel Naddaf of the Greek-Orthodox Church and Major Ihab Shlayan. The Aramean ethnic identity encompasses all the Christian Eastern Syriac churches in Israel, including the Maronite Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Greek Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church. Many Israelis who advocated for and identify as Aramean today are Maronites, with Assyrians identifying as well.
Assyrians
Main article: Assyrians in IsraelThere are around 1,000 Assyrians living in Israel, mostly in Jerusalem and Nazareth. Assyrians are an Aramaic-speaking, Eastern Rite Christian minority who are descended from the ancient Mesopotamians. The old Syriac Orthodox monastery of Saint Mark lies in Jerusalem. Other than followers of the Syriac Orthodox Church, there are also followers of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church living in Israel.
Other citizens
African Hebrew Israelites
Main article: African Hebrew Israelites of JerusalemThe African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem is a small religious community whose members believe they are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Most of the over 5,000 members live in Dimona, Israel although there are additional, smaller, groups in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon, and the Tiberias area. At least some of them consider themselves to be Jewish, but Israeli authorities do not accept them as such, nor are their religious practices consistent with "mainstream Jewish tradition." The group, which consists of African Americans and their descendants, originated in Chicago in the early 1960s, moved to Liberia for a few years, and then immigrated to Israel.
Armenians
Main article: Armenians in IsraelThere are about 4,000–10,000 Armenian citizens of Israel (not including Armenian Jews). They live mostly in Jerusalem, including the Armenian Quarter, but also in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jaffa. Their religious activities center around the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem as well as churches in Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa. Although Armenians of Old Jerusalem have Israeli identity cards, they are officially holders of Jordanian passports.
Caucasians
A number of immigrants also belong to various non-Slavic ethnic groups from the Former Soviet Union such as Tatars, Armenians, and Georgians.
Circassians
Main article: Circassians in IsraelIn Israel, there are also a few thousand Circassians, living mostly in Kfar Kama (2,000) and Reyhaniye (1,000). These two villages were a part of a greater group of Circassian villages around the Golan Heights. The Circassians in Israel enjoy, like Druzes, a status aparte. Male Circassians (at their leader's request) are mandated for military service, while females are not.
East Europeans
Non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union most of whom are Zera Yisrael (descendants of Jews) who are Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans and Belarusians, who were eligible to immigrate due to having, or being married to somebody who has, at least one Jewish grandparent. In addition, a certain number of former Soviet citizens, primarily women of Russian and Ukrainian ethnicity, immigrated to Israel after marrying Arab citizens of Israel who went to study in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s. The total number of those primarily of Slavic ancestry among Israeli citizens is around 300,000.
Finns
Although most Finns in Israel are either Finnish Jews or their descendants, a small number of Finnish Christians moved to Israel in the 1940s before the independence of the state and have since gained citizenship. For the most part the original Finnish settlers intermarried with other Israeli communities, and therefore remain very small in number. A moshav near Jerusalem named "Yad HaShmona", meaning the Memorial for the eight, was established in 1971 by a group of Finnish Christian Israelis, though today most members are Israeli, and predominantly Hebrew-speaking.
Samaritans
Main article: SamaritansThe Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Ancestrally, they are descended from a group of Israelite inhabitants who have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian captivity up to the beginning of the Common Era. Population estimates made in 2007 show that of the 712 Samaritans, half live in Holon in Israel and half at Mount Gerizim in the West Bank. The Holon community holds Israeli citizenship, while the Gerizim community resides at an Israeli-controlled enclave (Kiryat Luza), holding dual Israeli-Palestinian citizenship.
Vietnamese
The number of Vietnamese people in Israel is estimated at 200–400. Most of them came to Israel between 1976 and 1979, after the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin granted them political asylum. The Vietnamese people living in Israel are Israeli citizens who also serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Today, the majority of the community lives in the Gush Dan area in the center of Israel but also a few dozen Vietnamese-Israelis or Israelis of Vietnamese origin live in Haifa, Jerusalem and Ofakim.
Non-citizens
African refugees
Further information: Sudanese refugees in IsraelThe number and status of African refugees in Israel is disputed and controversial, but it is estimated that at least 16,000 refugees, mainly from Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast, reside and work in Israel. A check in late 2011, published in Ynet reported that the number just in Tel Aviv is 40,000, which represents 10 percent of the city's population. The vast majority lives in the southern parts of the city. There is also a significant African population in the southern Israeli cities of Eilat, Arad and Beer Sheva.
Other refugees
Approximately 100–200 refugees from Bosnia, Kosovo, and North Korea live in Israel as refugees, most of them with Israeli resident status.
Israeli diaspora
See also: YeridaThrough the years, the majority of Israelis who emigrated from Israel went to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
It is currently estimated that there are 330,000 native-born Israelis, including 230,000 Jews, living abroad, or even more. The number of immigrants to Israel who later returned to their home countries or moved elsewhere is more difficult to calculate.
For many years definitive data on Israeli emigration was unavailable. In The Israeli Diaspora sociologist Stephen J. Gold maintains that calculation of Jewish emigration has been a contentious issue, explaining, "Since Zionism, the philosophy that underlies the existence of the Jewish state, calls for return home of the world's Jews, the opposite movement – Israelis leaving the Jewish state to reside elsewhere – clearly presents an ideological and demographic problem."
Among the most common reasons for emigration of Israelis from Israel are most often due to Israel's ongoing security issues, economic constraints, economic characteristics, disappointment in the Israeli government, as well as the excessive role of religion in the lives of Israelis.
United States
See also: Israeli AmericanMany Israelis immigrated to the United States throughout the period of the declaration of the state of Israel and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Americans. According to the 2000 United States Census, 106,839 Americans also hold Israeli citizenship, but the number of Americans of Israeli descent is around half a million.
Russia
Moscow has the largest single Israeli expatriate community in the world, with 80,000 Israeli citizens living in the city as of 2014, almost all of them native Russian-speakers. Many Israeli cultural events are hosted for the community, and many live part of the year in Israel. (To cater to the Israeli community, Israeli cultural centres are located in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.)
Canada
See also: Israeli CanadianMany Israelis immigrated to Canada throughout the period of the declaration of the state of Israel and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Canadians. According to the Canada 2006 Census as many as 21,320 Israelis lived in Canada in 2006.
United Kingdom
See also: Israelis in the United KingdomMany Israelis immigrated to the United Kingdom throughout and since the period of the declaration of the state of Israel. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-British. According to the United Kingdom 2001 Census, as many as 11,892 Israelis lived in the United Kingdom in 2001. The majority live in London.
2013 Supreme Court ruling on nationality
In 2013 a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court of Israel's headed by Court President Asher Grunis rejected an appeal requesting that state-issued identification cards state the nationality of citizens as "Israeli" rather than their religion of origin. In his opinion, Grunis stated that it was not within the court's purview to determine new categories of ethnicity or nationhood. The court's decision responded to a petition by Uzzi Ornan, who refused to be identified as Jewish in 1948 at the foundation of the state of Israel, claiming instead that he was "Hebrew." This was permitted by Israeli authorities at the time. However, by 2000, Ornan wanted to register his nationality as "Israeli". The Interior Ministry refused to allow this, prompting Ornan to file a suit. In 2007, Ornan's suit was joined by former minister Shulamit Aloni and other activists. In the ruling, Justice Hanan Melcer noted Israel currently considers "citizenship and nationality separate."
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to itadding to it or making an edit request. (October 2009) |
The term "Israelite" refers to members of the Jewish tribes and polities of the Iron Age known from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical historical and archaeological sources. The term "Israeli", by contrast, refers to the citizens of the modern State of Israel, regardless of them being Jewish, Arabs, or of any other ethnicity.
The modern State of Israel revived an old name known from the Hebrew Bible and from historical sources, that of the Iron Age Kingdom of Israel. The Bible differentiates between a period of tribal rule among the "children of Israel"; a Kingdom of Israel uniting all twelve biblical Israelite tribes, with the common capital known as the City of David (Jerusalem); and a period in which the northern tribes split away to form an independent Kingdom of Israel, while the southern tribes became part of the Kingdom of Judah. Archaeological research only partially agrees with the biblical narrative.
According to the biblical account, the United Monarchy was formed when there was a large popular expression in favour of introducing a monarchy to rule over the previously decentralised Israelite tribal confederacy. Increasing pressure from the Philistines and other neighboring tribes is said by the Bible to have forced the Israelites to unite as a more singular state.
The northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed in c. 720 BCE by the Neo-Assyrian Empire and its population was forcibly restructured through imperial policy. The southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (586 BCE), inherited by the Achaemenid Empire, conquered by Alexander the Great (332 BCE), ruled by the resulting Hellenistic empires, from which it regained authonomy and eventually independence under the Hasmoneans, conquered by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE, ruled by the client kings of the Herodian dynasty, and finally transformed into a Roman province during the first century CE. Two Jewish revolts, the second one ending in 135 CE, led to the large-scale decimation of the Jewish population in Judea and the end of any type of Jewish territorial self-rule in the southern Levant for many centuries to come.
Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 until it was taken by British forces in 1918. The British establishment of colonial political boundaries allowed the Jews to develop autonomous institutions such as the Histadrut and the Knesset. The resulting influx of Jewish immigrants, as well as the creation of many new settlements, was crucial for the functioning of these new institutions in what would, on 14 May 1948, become the State of Israel. By 1960, 25% of Israelis were Holocaust survivors.
Culture
Main articles: Culture of Israel and List of Israelis See also: Archaeology of Israel, Music of Israel, and Science and technology in IsraelThe largest cities in the country Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem are also the major cultural centers, known for art museums, and many towns and kibbutzim have smaller high-quality museums. Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern, religious and secular music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from the Diaspora and more modern cultural importation: Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially by Yemenite singers, and Israeli hip hop or heavy metal. Folk dancing, which draws upon the cultural heritage of many immigrant groups, is popular. There is also flourishing modern dance.
Religion
Main article: Religion in Israel See also: Holidays and events in IsraelAccording to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2014, 75% of Israelis were Jewish by religion (adherents of Judaism), 17.5% were Muslims, 2% Christian, 1.6% Druze and the remaining 3.9% (including immigrants) were not classified by religion.
Roughly 12% of Israeli Jews defined as haredim (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 9% are "religious"; 35% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to Jewish religious law); and 43% are "secular" (termed "hiloni"). Among the seculars, 53% believe in God. However, 78% of all Israelis (and virtually all Israeli Jews) participate in a Passover seder.
Unlike North American Jews, Israelis tend not to align themselves with a movement of Judaism (such as Reform Judaism or Conservative Judaism) but instead tend to define their religious affiliation by degree of their religious practice. Israeli religious life, unlike much of North American Jewish life, does not solely revolve around synagogues or religious community centers.
Among Arab Israelis, 82.6% were Muslim (including Ahmadis), 8.8% were Christian and 8.4% were Druze.
The Baháʼí World Centre, which includes the Universal House of Justice, in Haifa attracts Baháʼí pilgrims from all over the world.
Languages
Main article: Languages of IsraelDue to its immigrant nature, Israel is one of the most multicultural and multilingual societies in the world. Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages in the country, while English and Russian are the two most widely spoken non-official languages. Yiddish (2%) and French (2%) are also spoken. A certain degree of English is spoken widely, and is the language of choice for many Israeli businesses. Courses of Hebrew and English are mandatory in the Israeli matriculation exams (bagrut), and most schools also offer one or more out of Arabic, Spanish, German or French. The Israeli government also offers free intensive Hebrew-language courses, known as ulpanim (singular ulpan), for new Jewish immigrants, to try to help them integrate into Israeli society.
See also
- Demographics of Israel
- Culture of Israel
- Modern Hebrew (Israeli Hebrew)
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- Russian-born Israelis chase capitalist dreams to Moscow Archived 12 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine By Ofer Matan, 21 February 2014, Haaretz
- Israeli cultural centers (News) Archived 22 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine http://il4u.org.il/icc
- Kalman, Aaron. "Supreme Court rules against 'Israeli' ethnicity on ID". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- Gordon, Neve (21 October 2013). "High court rules: It is impossible to be Israeli". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- Migdal, p. 135
- Migdal, p. 136
- Patt, Avinoam J. (2024). Israel and the Holocaust. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-18834-1. See p. 44. Caution is needed, however, on the definition used here of survivor; see the relevant endnote, n.17 on p. 188.
- "Population by Religion". Central Bureau of Statistics. 9 October 2015. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- Religion in Israel: A Consensus for Jewish Tradition Archived 6 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine by Daniel J. Elazar (JCPA)
- Ori Stendel (1996). The Arabs in Israel. Sussex Academic Press. p. 45. ISBN 1898723249. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, Government of Israel. "Population, by religion and population group" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2006.
- "The Baháʼí World Centre: Focal Point for a Global Community". The Baháʼí International Community. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
- Druckman, Yaron. "CBS: 27% of Israelis struggle with Hebrew". Ynet. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
External links
- People of Israel at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Official website of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
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