Portal:Israel

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Welcome to the Israel Portal
מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It's bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the southwest, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights in the northeast. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaching the Red Sea, and the east includes the Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital, while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.

The Land of Israel, also called Palestine or the Holy Land, was home to the ancient Canaanites and later the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Located near continental crossroads, its demographics shifted under various empires. 19th-century European antisemitism fuelled the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland, supported by Britain in the 1917 Balfour Declaration. British rule and Jewish immigration intensified Arab-Jewish tensions, and the 1947 United Nations (UN) Partition Plan led to a civil war. (Full article...)

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Israeli commandos with a Mercedes-Benz 600 resembling the one owned by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, used by Sayeret Matkal to deceive Ugandan troops during the raid

The Entebbe raid, also known as the Operation Entebbe and officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt (also retroactively codenamed Operation Yonatan), was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight (an Airbus A300) operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris. During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda, the group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France Airbus A300 jet airliner with 248 passengers had been hijacked by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO) under orders of Wadie Haddad (who had earlier broken away from the PFLP of George Habash), and two members of the German Revolutionary Cells. The hijackers took hostages with the stated objective of compelling the release of 40 Palestinian and affiliated militants imprisoned in Israel as well as the release of 13 prisoners in four other countries. Over 100 Ugandan soldiers were deployed to support the hijackers after the flight landed, and Amin, who had been informed of the hijacking from the beginning, had personally welcomed the terrorists at Entebbe. After moving all of the hostages to a defunct airport, the hijackers separated all Israelis and several non-Israeli Jews from the larger group of passengers, subsequently moving them into a separate room. Over the next two days, 148 non-Israeli hostages were released and flown out to Paris. The 94 remaining passengers, most of whom were Israelis, and the 12-member Air France crew continued to be held as hostages. (Full article...)

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This is a Featured picture that the Wikimedia Commons community has chosen as one of the highest quality on the site.

Image 1A more recent section of the Israel-Egypt barrier fence, north of Eilat, June 2012. It is a border barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. It was originally an attempt to curb illegal migrants from African countries.^[1] Construction was approved on 12 January 2010^[2] and began on 22 November 2010.^[3]
Image 2Ceramic tile on the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
Image 3Paratroopers at the Western Wall, an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by David Rubinger.
Image 4Diving tourism site on the southern coast of Eilat, around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including dolphins.
Image 5Northeast exposure of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem. Considered to be the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.
Image 6Reading Power Station, built in Tel Aviv in 1938, was named for Rufus Isaacs, the 1st Marquess of Reading. Reading Light is pictured on the left.
Image 7A view of Jerusalem from southeast, showing the Walls of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This image was taken sometime between 1900 and 1940.
Image 8Southern aerial view of the Temple Mount, a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem that for thousands of years has been venerated as a holy site, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Image 9An aerial view of Masada in the Judaean Desert, with the Dead Sea and Jordan in the distance
Image 10The Jerusalem Railway Station c. 1900. The locomotive on the turntable is "Ramleh" (J&J No. 3), a Baldwin 2-6-0. The station was the terminus of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway until its closure in 1998. Today, the station is abandoned and suffering from neglect and vandalism, although it is one of 110 buildings selected for preservation in Jerusalem.
Image 11An aerial view of Makhtesh Ramon, a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is not an impact crater from a meteor nor a volcanic crater formed by a volcanic eruption, but rather is the world's largest "erosion cirque" (steephead valley or box canyon).
Image 12Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb
Image 13"The Nile and the Sinai, to Israel and beyond. One sweeping glance of human history." Caption by astronaut Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
Image 14Young Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) on a stone wall by the edge of Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
Image 15A view of Jaffa, from the beachfront of Tel Aviv
Image 16David Ben-Gurion's room at Ben-Gurion's Hut, the retirement home of Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his wife Paula (Pola) from the years 1953 until Ben-Gurion's death in 1973.
Image 17Dead Tree in Sea of Life is an installation artwork from 2017 by Amiram Dora, a travel guide from the nearby city Arad. The work consists of a tree planted on a salt pile in the Dead Sea. The purpose of the work is to show that as opposed to its common name, the Dead Sea is actually a place of rich tourist activity, healing and relaxation.

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...that the Jaffa Road (pictured) is one of the oldest and longest streets in Jerusalem?
...that the symbol of Fatima's hands, while widespread in Middle Eastern Islamic societies, is not officially condoned by Islam?
...that religious identity in Israel for Jews differs strikingly from that recognized in the Jewish diaspora?

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WikiProject Israel – WikiProject Jewish history – WikiProject Judaism – WikiProject Jewish culture – WikiProject Hebrew

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Joshua Prawer (Hebrew: יהושע פרַאוֶור; November 22, 1917 – April 30, 1990) was a notable Israeli historian and a scholar of the Crusades and Kingdom of Jerusalem.

His work often attempted to portray Crusader society as a forerunner to later European colonialist expansion. He was also an important figure in Israeli higher education, was one of the founders of the University of Haifa and Ben-Gurion University, and was a major reformer of the Israeli education system. (Full article...)

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An Israeli breakfast is a style of breakfast that originated on Israeli collective farms called kibbutzim, and is now served at most hotels in Israel and many restaurants. It is usually served buffet style, and consists of fruits, vegetables, salads, breads, pastries, dairy foods, eggs and fish. Meat is almost never included. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Israel-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 2Supply convoy on its way to besieged Jerusalem, April 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 3Hiking near Lake Kinneret (from Culture of Israel)
Image 4Tiles in the Bezalel style, 1920s (from Culture of Israel)
Image 5The opening ceremony of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by Arthur Balfour, 1 April 1925 (from History of Israel)
Image 6Breads in Mahane Yehuda market (from Culture of Israel)
Image 7Jewish Settlement Police members watching the settlement Nesher during 1936–1939 Arab revolt (from History of Israel)
Image 8Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 9Aerial view of the Temple Mount showing the Dome of the Rock in the center and the al-Aqsa mosque to the south (from History of Israel)
Image 10Hebrew ulpan in Dimona, 1955 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 11First modern art exhibition in Israel at the Ohel Theatre 1926, organized primarily by the Histadrut art studio (from Culture of Israel)
Image 12A Bookplate done for Martin Buber; The plate is adorned with the walls of Jerusalem in the shape of a Shield of David, viewed from above (from Culture of Israel)
Image 13Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa. (from Culture of Israel)
Image 14Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from History of Israel)
Image 15Silver coin (gerah) minted in the Persian province of Yehud, dated c. 375–332 BCE. Obv: Bearded head wearing crown, possibly representing the Persian Great King. Rev: Falcon facing, head right, with wings spread; Paleo-Hebrew YHD to right. (from History of Israel)
Image 16David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 17Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from History of Israel)
Image 18Menahem Zion synagoge, Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 19Illustration for the Song of Songs. Along with the Book of Esther, the ancient poem is an example of an ancient Israeli literature with no mention of God, and is traditionally read as an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel (from Culture of Israel)
Image 20Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent (from History of Israel)
Image 21Painting of the siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade (1099) (from History of Israel)
Image 22The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts the Roman triumph celebrating the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE (from History of Israel)
Image 23Habimah Theatre in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 24Gal Fridman, winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from Culture of Israel)
Image 25Sermon on the Mount. The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during Roman-ruled Judea (from Culture of Israel)
Image 26David dictating the Psalms. The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 27Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from Culture of Israel)
Image 28The Merneptah Stele, dated c. 1209 BCE, is the earliest textual reference to Israel (from History of Israel)
Image 29Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 30Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 31Israeli breakfast (from Culture of Israel)
Image 32A portion of the Isaiah Scroll. One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from Culture of Israel)
Image 33Simulated view of a black hole. Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered black hole entropy (from Culture of Israel)
Image 34Jewish youth dancing the Horah in the kibboutz Ein Harod in 1936 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 35Remains of the Roman theatre in Caesarea Maritima (from Culture of Israel)
Image 36Detail of the Siloam inscription (from History of Israel)
Image 37Obverse of Yehud silver coin (from History of Israel)
Image 38Ofek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicle (from Culture of Israel)
Image 39United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947 (from History of Israel)
Image 40Skhul Cave (from History of Israel)
Image 41Occupied Enemy Territory Administration, 1918 (from History of Israel)
Image 42The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from History of Israel)
Image 43Jewish workers in Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from History of Israel)
Image 44Tel Aviv Cinematheque (from Culture of Israel)
Image 45"Hezekiah ... king of Judah" – Royal seal written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, unearthed in Jerusalem (from History of Israel)
Image 46Jewish Brigade headquarters under both Union Flag and Jewish flag (from History of Israel)
Image 47The route of the exiles to Babylon (from History of Israel)
Image 48Buchenwald survivors arrive in Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from History of Israel)
Image 49Cultural map of the world according to the World Values Survey, describing Israel as a whole at parity in "Rational-Secular Values" and also at parity in "Self-expression values". (from Culture of Israel)
Image 50Ecclesiastes is known for its incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of Vanitas (from Culture of Israel)

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6 January 2026 –: One person is killed and three others are injured after a bus collides with protesters in Jerusalem, Israel. (The Times of Israel)
6 January 2026 – Communications in Palestine: Israel authorizes Palestinian mobile operators Jawwal and Ooredoo to begin upgrading to 4G services in the West Bank after they sign management contracts with the Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson. (Reuters)
5 January 2026 – Gaza war: Four Palestinians are killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced refugees in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza. Israel claims it was targeting a Hamas target. (The National)
5 January 2026 – Israel–Syria relations: Israeli invasion of Syria

Israel category at Wikinews

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Israel}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.