Israel and Related Topics

Jerusalem

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City in Western Asia.

Close up of the Khirbet Beit Lei inscription, showing the earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem, dated to the seventh or sixth century BCE

Stepped Stone Structure in the City of David, the ancient core of Jerusalem during the Bronze Age and Iron Age

The Siloam Inscription, written in Biblical Hebrew, commemorates the construction of the Siloam tunnel (c. 700 BCE)

Modern-day reconstruction of Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon (10th century BCE). Solomon's Temple appears on top.

Holyland Model of Jerusalem, depicting the city during the late Second Temple period. First created in 1966, it is continuously updated according to advancing archaeological knowledge

A coin issued by the Jewish rebels in 68 CE. Obverse: "Shekel, Israel. Year 3". Reverse: "Jerusalem the Holy", in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet

Stones from the Western Wall of the Temple Mount thrown during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE

The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (David Roberts, 1850)

Jerusalem mural depicting the Cardo during the Byzantine period.

1455 painting of the Holy Land. Jerusalem is viewed from the west; the octagonal Dome of the Rock stands left of Al-Aqsa, shown as a church, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands on the left side of the picture.

Medieval illustration of capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, 1099.

Jerusalem, from 'Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam' by Bernhard von Breydenbach (1486)

1844 daguerreotype by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (the earliest photograph of the city).

William McLean's 1918 plan was the first urban planning scheme for Jerusalem. It laid the foundations for what became West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem.

The Knesset houses the legislature of Israel

Orient House in East Jerusalem that served as the headquarters of the PLO in the 1980s and 1990s. It was closed by Israel in 2001, two days after the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing.

Snow visible on roofs in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Rehavia and Kiryat Wolfson, two Jewish neighborhoods, as seen from Givat Ram

Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Arab neighborhood on the road to Mount Scopus.

Sign in Armenian in the Armenian Quarter.

The Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance for the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Mamilla Mall adorned with upscale shops stands just outside the Old City Walls.

Holyland Tower, Jerusalem's tallest building

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus campus

Hand in Hand, a bilingual Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem

Hebron Yeshiva in Givat Mordechai neighborhood

The Shrine of the Book, housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, at the Israel Museum

Tower of David citadel and the Ottoman walls

Ben-Zakai synagogue, photo taken in 1893

Guesthouse in Mishkenot Sha'ananim, the first Jewish neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem (1860), on a hill directly across from Mount Zion.

Israeli policemen meet a Jordanian Legionnaire near the Mandelbaum Gate ({{Circa|1950}}).

King Hussein of Jordan flying over the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem when it was under Jordanian control, 1965.

Sunset aerial photograph of the Mount of Olives.

The Temple Mount, the site of the two former Jewish Temples, is the holiest spot in Judaism

The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall and the Kotel, is a remnant of the Second Temple and the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus was crucified, and Jesus's empty tomb, where he is believed by Christians to have been buried and resurrected.

Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Sunni Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to this location during the Night Journey.

The Garden Tomb – a new holy site established by British Protestants in the 19th century

Demographic history of Jerusalem by religion based on available data

The city straddles the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank; both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Map of the military movements and territories occupied during the Six-Day War. The territory of Israel is colored royal blue on this map, while the territories captured by Israel during the war are depicted in various shades of green.

The Six-Day War (מִלְחֶמֶת שֵׁשֶׁת הַיָּמִים; النكسة or حرب 1967), also known as the June War, the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or the Third Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from 5 to 10 June 1967 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states primarily comprising Jordan, Syria and Egypt (then known as United Arab Republic).

Jordan

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Country in Western Asia.

The 'Ain Ghazal Statues (c. 7250 BC) of Amman are some of the oldest human statues ever found.

The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BC) records the glory of Mesha, King of Moab

Al-Khazneh in Petra (c. 1st century AD), is believed to be the mausoleum of the Arab Nabataean King Aretas IV.

The Oval Forum of Jerash (c. 1st century AD), then member of the ten-city Roman league, the Decapolis. Seven out of the ten Decapolis cities are present in modern-day Jordan.

The earliest detailed map of the land which became Jordan, showing the travels of Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (the first European to see Petra since the Crusades) in 1822

Soldiers of the Hashemite-led Arab Army holding the flag of the Great Arab Revolt in 1916

Al-Salt residents gather on 20 August 1920 during the British High Commissioner's visit to Transjordan.

King Abdullah I on 25 May 1946 reading the declaration of independence.

King Hussein on 21 March 1968 checking an abandoned Israeli tank in the aftermath of the Battle of Karameh.

Army Chief Habis Majali and Prime Minister Wasfi Tal during a military parade in 1970, two widely acclaimed national figures.

Wadi Rum's resemblance to the surface of Mars has made it a popular filming and tourist attraction.

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth.

The House of Representatives during a parliamentary session

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan at the White House, 2017.

An Amman City Centre Police patrol vehicle.

Change in per capita GDP of Jordan, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International Geary-Khamis dollars.

Queen Alia International Airport near Amman was chosen as the best airport in the Middle East for 2014 and 2015 by ASQ.

Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River, believed by many to have been the location of the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist

The Dana Biosphere Reserve in southern Jordan lies along the Jordan Trail, a hiking path that is gaining popularity

The Aqaba Flagpole in the southernmost city of Aqaba, Jordan's only coastal outlet

The 117 MW Tafila Wind Farm in southern Jordan is the first and largest onshore wind farm in the Middle East.

An aerial view of a portion of the Zaatari refugee camp which contains a population of 80,000 Syrian refugees, the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world.

Jordanian school girls pictured reading in a public school. Jordan's total youth female literacy rate (15 – 24 years) was 99.37% in 2015.

Jordanian folklore band playing bagpipes in Jerash.

Mansaf, the traditional dish of Jordan. Inspired from Bedouin culture, it is a symbol of Jordanian hospitality.

Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and east, Iraq to the northeast, Syria to the north, and the Palestinian West Bank, Israel, and the Dead Sea to the west.

West Bank

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Landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean in Western Asia.

The Cave of the Patriarchs is one of the most famous holy sites in the region.

King Hussein flying over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem when it was under Jordanian control, 1965

U.S. President George Bush and Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, 2008

View of the Judaean Mountains from Ramallah

Map of West Bank settlements and closures in January 2006: Yellow = Palestinian urban centers. Light pink = closed military areas or settlement boundary areas or areas isolated by the Israeli West Bank barrier; dark pink = settlements, outposts or military bases. The black line = route of the Barrier

Greater Jerusalem, May 2006. CIA remote sensing map showing areas considered settlements, plus refugee camps, fences, walls, etc.

Qalandiya Checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem

Checkpoint before entering Jericho, 2005

It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (see Green Line) to the south, west, and north.

Captain Avraham "Bren" Adan raising the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash (a site now in Eilat), marking the end of the war

1948 Arab–Israeli War

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The second and final stage of the 1947–1949 Palestine war.

Palmach M4 Sherman tank leading a convoy

King Abdullah outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 29 May 1948, the day after Jordanian forces took control of the Old City in the Battle for Jerusalem

Sherman tanks of the Israeli 8th Armoured Brigade, 1948

IDF soldiers of the Samson's Foxes unit advance in a captured Egyptian Bren Gun carrier.

A "Butterfly" improvised armoured car of the Haganah at Kibbutz Dorot in the Negev, Israel 1948. The armoured car is based on CMP-15 truck. The car has brought supply to the kibbutz. The Negev Kibbutz's children were later evacuated by those cars from their kibbutz, before an expected Egyptian Army attack.

Mathematics professor Michael Fekete, the Provost of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with his water quota, during the siege of Jerusalem

Syrian R-35 light tank destroyed at Degania Alef

Kaukji, the Arab Liberation Army commander

An Egyptian Spitfire shot down over Tel Aviv on 15 May 1948

Volunteers evacuating a wounded man during Egyptian bombardment of Tel Aviv.

Northland in Greenland circa 1944 which became the Israeli INS Eilat

Palestine Military Situation, 11 June 1948. Truman Papers

UN Palestine mediator, Folke Bernadotte, assassinated in September 1948 by the militant group Lehi

An Egyptian artillery piece captured by battalion 53 of the Givati Brigade.

Israeli soldiers in Lod (Lydda) or Ramle

Israeli armoured vehicles in Lydda airport after the town's capture by Israeli forces

Arab forces surrender to the victorious Israelis in Ramla.

Beit Horon Battalion soldiers in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, 1948

An Israeli mortar team outside Safsaf in October 1948

Israeli soldiers attack Sasa during Operation Hiram, October 1948.

Israeli troops occupying abandoned Egyptian trenches at Huleiqat, October 1948

IDF forces in Beersheba during Operation Yoav

IDF forces near Bayt Nattif (near Hebron) after it was captured. Oct 1948.

An Israeli convoy in the Negev during Operation Horev

The funeral of a Royal Air Force pilot killed during a clash with the Israeli Air Force

On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel and the 1948 Palestine war entered its second phase with the intervention of the Arab state armies and the beginning of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Theodor Herzl was the founder of the Modern Zionist movement. In his 1896 pamphlet Der Judenstaat, he envisioned the founding of a future independent Jewish state during the 20th century.

Zionism

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Nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel, the region of Palestine, Canaan, or the Holy Land, on the basis of a long Jewish connection and attachment to that land.

Flag of the State of Israel, established in 1948. A similar version was designed for the Zionist Movement in 1891.

"Hezekiah [..] king of Judah" - Royal seal written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, unearthed in Jerusalem

Coin of the Bar-Kokhba revolt (132-135 CE). Front shows trumpets surrounded by "To the freedom of Jerusalem". Back shows a lyre surrounded by "Year two to the freedom of Israel"

The 15th-century Abuhav synagogue, established by Sephardic Jews in Safed, Northern Israel.

"Memorandum to Protestant Monarchs of Europe for the restoration of the Jews to Palestine", published in the Colonial Times, in 1841

The Great Synagogue of Rishon LeZion was founded in 1885.

Front page of The Jewish Chronicle, January 17, 1896, showing an article by Theodor Herzl (the father of political Zionism) a month prior to the publication of his pamphlet Der Judenstaat

The delegates at the First Zionist Congress, held in Basel, Switzerland (1897)

The Jewish Zionist Youth Movement in Tallinn, Estonia in 1933

Palestine as claimed by the World Zionist Organization in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference

During the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, an Inter-Allied Commission was sent to Palestine to assess the views of the local population; the report summarized the arguments received from petitioners for and against Zionism.

David Ben-Gurion proclaiming Israel's independence beneath a large portrait of Theodor Herzl

Arab offensive at the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

Yemenite Jews on their way to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet

Israeli author Amos Oz, who today is described as the 'aristocrat' of Labor Zionism

Israeli Jewish youth from the Socialist Zionist youth movement No'al, meeting with Jewish resistance fighter Simcha Rotem. Founded in 1924, No'al is one of the largest Zionist Youth movements.

Kibbutznikiyot (female Kibbutz members) in Mishmar HaEmek, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Kibbutz is the historical heartland of Labor Zionism.

Ze'ev Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism

Israeli Jews praying at the Western Wall, a remnant of the Second Jewish Temple, expanded by Herod the Great

Martin Luther King Jr. was a notable Christian supporter of Israel and Zionism.

Israeli Druze Scouts march to Jethro's tomb. Today, thousands of Israeli Druze belong to 'Druze Zionist' movements.

The Palestinian Arab Christian-owned Falastin newspaper featuring a caricature on its June 18, 1936, edition showing Zionism as a crocodile under the protection of a British officer telling Palestinian Arabs: "Don't be afraid!!! I will swallow you peacefully...".

Two Neturei Karta members join in a large anti-Israel demonstration in Berlin, alongside Iranian and Hezbollah flags.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism has continued primarily to advocate on behalf of Israel and to address threats to its continued existence and security.

Gaza Strip

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Palestinian enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Beit Hanoun region of Gaza in August 2014, after Israeli bombardments.

British artillery battery in front of Gaza, 1917

The Al Deira Hotel on the Gaza coast, 2009

Buildings damaged during Operation "Cast Lead".

Monthly rocket and mortar hits in Israel, 2008.

Israelis killed by Palestinians in Israel ( blue ) and Palestinians killed by Israelis in Gaza ( red )

Sea-view from the Al Deira Hotel on the Gaza coast

A resort in the Gaza Strip built on the location of the former Israeli settlement of Netzarim

Damaged UN school and remmants of the Ministry of Interior in Gaza City, December 2012

Watchtower on the border between Rafah and Egypt.

University College of Applied Sciences, the largest college in Gaza

It borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 km and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km border.

Mandatory Palestine

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Geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 in the region of Palestine under the terms of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.

The formal transfer of Jerusalem to British rule, with a "native priest" reading the proclamation from the steps of the Tower of David

The arrival of Sir Herbert Samuel. From left to right: T. E. Lawrence, Emir Abdullah, Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond, Sir Wyndham Deedes and others

An Arab "protest gathering" in session, in the Rawdat el Maaref hall, 1929. From left to right : unknown – Amin al-Husayni – Musa al-Husayni – Raghib al-Nashashibi – unknown

Jewish demonstration against White Paper in Jerusalem in 1939

Jewish Brigade headquarters under the Union Flag and Jewish flag

Hoisting of the Yishuv flag in Tel Aviv, 1 January 1948

A 1930 protest in Jerusalem against the British Mandate by Arab women. The sign reads "No dialogue, no negotiations until termination of the Mandate."

The Palestinian Arab Christian-owned Falastin newspaper featuring a caricature on its 18 June 1936 edition showing Zionism as a crocodile under the protection of a British officer telling Palestinian Arabs: "don't be afraid!!! I will swallow you peacefully...."

Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine from 1920 to 1945

Map of Palestinian land ownership by sub-district (1945) originally published in the Village Statistics, 1945

Palestinian index of villages and settlements, showing land in Jewish possession as of 31 December 1944

Land classification as prescribed in 1940

Population distribution near the end of the Mandate

Christian Arab boys at the Jerusalem YMCA, 1938

General Allenby's final attacks of the Palestine Campaign gave Britain control of the area.

Field Marshal Allenby entering Jerusalem with British troops on 11 December 1917

General Watson meeting with the Mayor of Jerusalem in December 1917

The surrender of Jerusalem by the Ottomans to the British on 9 December 1917 following the Battle of Jerusalem

The Rockefeller Museum, built in Jerusalem during the British Mandate

Supreme Military Tribunal of the British Mandate, Kiryat Shmuel, Jerusalem

YMCA in Jerusalem, built during the British Mandate

"Bevingrad" in Jerusalem, Russian Compound behind barbed wire

Movement and curfew pass, issued under the authority of the British Military Commander, East Palestine, 1946

Map of the municipalities in Mandatory Palestine by population count (1945) 150,000 and more
100,000
50,000
20,000
10,000
5,000
2,000
1,000
500
less than 500
Nomadic regions in the Negev desert

After the failure of the Arab population to accept the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the 1947–1949 Palestine war ended with the territory of Mandatory Palestine divided among the State of Israel, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which annexed territory on the West Bank of the Jordan River, and the Kingdom of Egypt, which established the "All-Palestine Protectorate" in the Gaza Strip.

Tel Aviv

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Tel Aviv is named after Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel, Altneuland ("Old New Land"), for which the title of the Hebrew edition was "Tel Aviv"

Ancient port of Jaffa where, according to the Bible, Jonah set sail into the Mediterranean Sea before being swallowed by a fish

Tel Aviv bus station during the Mandate era

Crowd outside Dizengoff House (now Independence Hall) to witness the proclamation and signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948

Azrieli Sarona tower (238.5 metres high), finished in 2017

Arlozorov Young Towers 1, finished in 2020

Rabin Square and Tel Aviv City Hall looking northwest

The Vladimir Schreiber Institute of Mathematics at Tel Aviv University

Sarona, old Templer houses and modern highrises

Kerem HaTeimanim was founded as a predominantly Yemenite Jewish neighborhood in the center of Tel Aviv

1930s Bauhaus (left) and 1920s Eclectic (right) architectural styles

The well-known eclectic Levin House, by Yehuda Magidovitch, backed by skyscrapers

Bauhaus Museum displaying Bauhaus furnishings

The Azrieli Center complex contains some of the tallest skyscrapers in Tel Aviv

The "First International Bank Tower" in Tel Aviv's financial district

Tel Aviv Pride is the largest annual pride parade in the Middle East and Asia

Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Herta and Paul Amir Building

The Tel Aviv Marathon going through Hayarkon Park

IDF soldiers cleaning the beaches at Tel Aviv, which have scored highly in environmental tests

Ayalon Highway, which runs through Tel Aviv

Ichilov Hospital, part of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Israeli Air Force F-16I Sufas over Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv Dolphinarium, demolished in 2018, site of the 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing, in which 21 Israelis, mostly teenagers, were killed

The Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater

Heichal HaTarbut theatre, home to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Hayarkon Park is the largest city park in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is named after Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel, Altneuland ("Old New Land"), for which the title of the Hebrew translation by Nahum Sokolow was "Tel Aviv"

Tel Aviv-Yafo (תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel.