Israel
The state of Israel is a small democratic country in the Middle East just beside the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The majority of the population is Jewish but there is a large Muslim minority as well as many other minorities. The official language is Hebrew and Arabic is the seconds language recognized by the government.

Israel shares its border with 4 Arab countries:

• Lebanon on Israel's northern border
• Syria on Israel's north-eastern border
• Jordan on Israel's eastern border
• Egypt on Israel's southern border

Major cities in Israel
The capital of Israel is Jerusalem, and the city is also Israel's biggest in both population size and land size. The entire city of Jerusalem was occupied by Israel in the six days war of 1967. Tel-Aviv is the seconds largest city in the country other major cities include Haifa in the north and Be'er Sheva in the south.

Brief history
The following text is a brief review of the history of Israel and the Jewish people.

Israel in biblical times
Israel is one of the oldest existing nations in the world, with archeological (as well as biblical) evidence of early settlements dating back to 1,300 BC. Further archeological evidence of both Israel and Judea kingdoms exist from the 9th century BC onwards, some supporting biblical stories and other Hebrew bible folklore. Based upon these findings, there are now accurate biblical maps available depicting landscapes in what is known today as Israel. These ancient maps also show ancient Canaan – an ancient Egyptian territory that was a part of the old Israeli state.

Modern Israel
Modern Israel was founded in 1948 after a controversial UN resolution to divide British territory of Israel into two separate countries: the Israeli country and a Palestinian state (UN resolution 181 of November 29, 1947 - Partition Plan for Palestine).

On May 14th 1948, just one day before the British mandate on the territory expired, The Israeli war of independence begun with a coordinated attack of massive Arab invasion from most surrounding Arab nations. The actual fights began months before, just after the UN accepted resolution 181, but they were limited in numbers.

When the war was over with Israel's victory, one of the most widely known territorial disputes began and is still lasting. Over the course of the years, Israel had signed peace agreements with both Egypt (March 26, 1979) and Jordan (October 26, 1994) and returned many of the territories it had occupied during the seven wars it battled (mostly in the Six Day War of 1967, fought between June 5 and June 10 of 1967). Israel still holds territories it occupied from Syria and some Palestinian territories are also at the heart of another conflict between Israel and the Palestinian authority.

A of 2010 Israel enjoys relative peace and the economy is stable and even growing more rapidly then most western European countries, despite two wars the country had fought in the last decade alone. Israel is also known for its booming high-tech industry and is also a cultural center for the Jewish people worldwide.

Short Summary - Geography of Israel
Despite its small size (22,000 squared km, approx) Israel's geography is diverse and rich in flora and fauna, though many of them are under threat as the country's population of nearly 7.5 million makes it one of the most densely populated places on earth, leaving little room for nature. The south of Israel is a desert area (The Negev desert covering more than half of the country's size), while the center of Israel has slightly milder temperatures. The north and especially the area of Ramat Hagolan in considerably cooler and can even see snow in the winter. The Eastern side of Israel, which is long and narrow, is varying depending on position and so is the west side of the country which runs across the Mediterranean Sea.

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