Welcome to Israel

• Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

• Government :Parliamentary

democracy• Population (2014 est.)

 7,821,850 • Capital and largest city

(2009 est.): Jerusalem, 791,000

• Monetary unit: Shekel• Other large cities: 

Tel Aviv-Yafo 3.381 million Haifa 1.054 million

Flags and symbols

The blue stripes are intended to symbolize the stripes on a tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl. The portrayal of a Star of David on the flag of the State of Israel is a widely-acknowledged symbol of the Jewish people and of Judaism.

•The Star of Davidthe Star of David was never a uniquely Jewish symbol. The standard name for the geometric shape is a hexagram or six-pointed star, composed of two interlocking equilateral triangles.

•The Blue Stripes-The blue stripes on the Zionist flag were inspired by the stripes on the tallit (prayer shawl).

-Rabbi Meir said that it recalls the color of the sky.

Language/s The official language of the State of

Israel are:

• Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and

• Arabic

Hebrew (and Arabic too) is written from right to left.

DEAD SEAThe lowest point on earth and one of the world's most wacky natural wonders, the Dead Sea is the mineral-rich and overly salty sea where no one can sink.

Religion(s)

Religion in Israel is a central feature of the country and plays a major role in shaping Israeli culture and lifestyle, and religion has played a central role in Israel's history.

THE DOME OF THE ROCK- JESRUSALEM

Bethlehem is home to the Church of the Nativity

English Phrases Hebrew Phrases

English Greetings Hebrew Greetings:

Hi! Shalom! שלום

Good morning! Yom tov! / boker tov! / טוב בוקר טוב יום

Good evening! Erev tov! טוב ערב

Welcome! (to greet someone)Barukh haba! (Barukh hanimtsa) הבא ברוך

) הנמצא) ברוך

How are you? Ma shelomkha שלומך מה

Do you speak (English/ Hebrew)?Ata medaber Anglit / ivrit? מדבר אתה

עברית/ ?אנגלית

Just a little. Meat מעט

What's your name? Ma shimkha? שימך ?מה

My name is ... Hashem sheli ….. שלי .... השם

One, Two, Three Ehad, shenayim, shelosha , שלושה, שניים אחד

Four, Five, Six Arbaa, hamisha, shisha , שישה, חמישה ארבעה

Seven, Eight, Nine, TenShivea,shemona, tishea, asara , שמונה, שבעה

עשרה, תשעה

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the population in 2011 was:

• 75.4% Jewish• 20.6% Arab, and • 4.1% minority groups.The religious affiliation of the Israeli population as of 2011 was • 75.4% Jewish, • 16.9% Muslim, • 2.1% Christian, and • 1.7% Druze, with the remaining • 4.0% not classified by religion, and a small Baha'i community.

BAHAIDRUZE

CHURCH OF ST. PETER

BETHLEHEMMUSLIMS

NAZARETH

Tradition(s)Holocaust Remembrance DayDay of AtonementMemorial Feast for the Triumph of Esther

MARRIAGEThere are nine officially recognized Christian communities, and Jewish, Muslim and Druze communities. Marriages in each community are under the jurisdiction of their own religious authorities.However, it is illegal under Penal Law Amendment (Bigamy) Law, 5719 (1959), to marry in Israel while already married. This applies to members of each confessional community, including the Jewish and Muslim. However, polygyny is still practiced in the Bedouin community, where about 25% of men are believed to have more than one wife.Muslim marriages are conducted in accordance with Islamic law and customs.

Foods

Israeli FoodIsrael, of course, is known in the Bible as the

"land of milk and honey." But for a long time, the country did not have a recognized culinary heritage. Thankfully, however, today Israel is widely credited with a rich and distinctive cuisine - one reflecting the diversity of Israeli society, but with roots deeply planted in Jewish and regional customs.

Israeli cuisine --- comprises local dishes by people native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.

Serves in Jerusalem restaurant including Falafel ,Hummus and Israeli salad

Israeli eggplant with mayonaise

costume

Tichel: The Tichel is a headscarf worn by some hebrew women in compliance with the code of "tzniut" (modest attire). The word "Tichel" is Yiddish for "kerchief." There are lots of styles for Tichels, from very plain to extremely elaborate designs and fabrics

TALLIT – PRAYING SHAWL

Government

Parliamentary democracy The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system 

EducationEducation in Israel refers to the comprehensive education system of Israel. Expenditure on education accounts for only approximately 10% of GDP, and most schools are subsidized by the state.

The education system consists of three tiers: 

• primary education (grades 1-6, approx. ages 6–12)

• middle school (grades 7-9, approx. ages 12–15) and 

• high school (grades 10-12, approx. ages 15–18). 

Most important authorsAmos Klausner (later Oz) was born in Jerusalem in 1939, where he grew up at No. 18 Amos Street in the Kerem Avraham neighborhood. Oz's work has been published in 42 languages, including Arabic, in 43 countries. He has received many honours and awards, among them the Legion of Honor of France, the Goethe Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, the Heinrich Heine Prize and the Israel Prize. In 2007, a selection from the Chinese translation of A Tale of Love and Darkness was the first work of modern Hebrew literature to appear in an official Chinese textbook.

(July 17, 1888 – February 17, 1970)was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon (ש"י עגנון). In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.In the Heart of the Seas (1933), a short novel about a group of ten men who travel from Eastern Europe to Jerusalem.

Yosef Haim Brenner (Hebrew:  יוסף חיים–also Yosef Chaim Brenner, 1881 ,ברנר1921) was a Russian-born Hebrew-language author and one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. He was born to a poor Jewish family in Novi Mlini, Russian Empire. He studied at a yeshiva in Pochep, and published his first story, Pat Lechem ("A Loaf of Bread") in HaMelitz, a Hebrew language newspaper, in 1900, followed by a collection of short stories in 1901. In Winter (novel), Hashiloah, 1904.

Moshe Smilansky was a pioneer of the First Aliyah, a Zionist leader who advocated peaceful coexistence with the Arabs in Mandatory Palestine, a farmer, and a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction literary works. Smilansky, who considered himself a disciple of Ahad Ha'am, was an active Zionist whose cultural output include many essays and articles, which he has contributed to Hebrew periodicals published in Russia and in Germany sometimes under the pen name "Ben Hava“. Toledot Ahavah Ahat (1911)

Lea Goldberg was born to a Jewish Lithuanian family from Kaunas, however her mother traveled to the nearby German city of Königsberg (today, Russian Kaliningrad in order to give birth in better medical conditions. When asked about her place of birth, Goldberg often stated Kaunas rather than Königsberg. was a prolific Hebrew-language poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature.In 1946, Goldberg published her first novel, והוא Hebrew: Vehu ha'or, literally: "And he is) האורthe light")

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes and money,

beat him, and left him half dead beside the road. Luckily, a priest happened to be going down the same road, but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. Next a Temple assistant saw him lying there, and he also passed by on the other side. Then a Samaritan came along, When he saw the man's

condition, his heart went out to him.

Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan cleaned his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him onto his donkey and took him to an inn, where

he took care of him.

"Take good care of him “ he said. "If it costs any more, put it on my bill -- I'll pay you on my way back .“In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper.

Which of these three do you think did what Jesus would have done?

The one who had mercy, of course.If you want to be like Jesus…

Then do what Jesus did!Luke 10:30-37