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Itzhak Perlman

Itzhak Perlman

Itzhak Perlman (born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli violinist and teacher. He is regarded as one of the greatest violinists of the late 20th century, and is certainly one of the most famous. In addition to performing, he has a substantial teaching career, and gives private lessons and master classes on violin and chamber music worldwide. He is currently the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair of Violin Studies at the Juilliard School, the position formerly held by his teacher, Dorothy Delay. Perlman was born in Jaffa. He contracted polio at the age of four, leaving him on crutches, and confining him to play the violin seated even today. He studied at the Academy of Music in Jaffa before moving to the United States to study at the Juilliard School. Perlman made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963. Soon, Perlman began to tour extensively. He has made a large number of records, and from the 1970s began to appear on shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street, as well as playing at a number of functions at the White House. For many years, in the 1980s and early 1990s, his week-long appearances, typically including Tuesday and Thursday evening concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and a Wednesday evening "Virtuoso Series" recital, and sometimes even a "pops" program Friday and Saturday evenings, were a highlight of the Hollywood Bowl summer season. He was also the soloist for the score of Schindler's List by John Williams, which subsequently won an Academy Award for Best Score. As well as playing and recording the classical music for which he is best known, Perlman has also played jazz and klezmer. Recently, he has also begun to conduct, taking the post of Principal Guest Conductor at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Perlman has received many honors, including Kennedy Center Honors in 2003. His version of Paganini's 24 Caprices is among his best known recordings. Perlman plays on the famous Soil Strad violin.

Awards and recognitions

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
- Daniel Barenboim & Itzhak Perlman for Brahms: The Three Violin Sonatas (1991)
- Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak Perlman for Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios (1988)
- Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak Perlman for Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor (1982)
- Itzhak Perlman & Pinchas Zukerman for Music for Two Violins (Moszkowski: Suite For Two Violins/Shostakovich: Duets/Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins) (1981)
- Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy for Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano (
- 1979) Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) Grammy Award for Best Classical Album Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical Perlman, Itzhak Perlman, Itzhak Perlman, Itzhak Perlman, Itzhak Perlman, Itzhak ja:イツァーク・パールマン

1945

1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January


- January 5 - The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland.
- January 7 - British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference at Zonhoven describing his contribution to the Battle of the Bulge.
- January 12 - World War II: The Soviet Union begin a very large offensive in Eastern Europe against the Nazis.
- January 13 - A Soviet patrol arrests Raoul Wallenberg in Hungary.
- January 16 - Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker
- January 17 - World War II: Soviets occupy Warsaw
- January 17 - Holocaust: Nazis begin to evacuate from Auschwitz concentration camp
- January 20 - Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated to an unprecedented fourth term as President of the United States.
- January 20 - Hungary drops out of the Second World War, agreeing to an armistice with the Allies.
- January 24 - First successful launch of the German A4b-Rocket
- January 27 - The Red Army arrives at Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland and find the Nazi concentration camp where 1.3 million people were murdered.
- January 28 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
- January 30 - The Wilhelm Gustloff with about 10,000 Nazi troops and refugees from Gotenhafen in the Gdansk Bay sunk with three torpedoes from the Soviet submarine S-13. More 9,300 drowned in the Baltic Sea.
- January 31 - Eddie Slovik is executed by firing squad for desertion, the first American soldier since the American Civil War and last to date to be executed for this offence.

February


- February 2 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leave to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference.
- February 3 - World War II: Russia agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan.
- February 4 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin begin the Yalta Conference (ends February 11)
- February 6 - Reggae musician Bob Marley (Robert Nesta) is born at Nine Miles, St. Ann, Jamaica.
- February 6 - French writer Robert Brasillach executed for collaboration with the Germans
- February 7 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila
- February 9 - Walter Ulbricht becomes the leader of German communists in Moscow
- February 10 - World War II: The SS General von Steuben sunk by the Soviet submarine S-13.
- February 13 - World War II: Soviet Union forces capture Budapest, Hungary from the Nazis.
- February 13 - World War II: The British Air Force bombs Dresden, Germany.
- February 14 - Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru join the United Nations.
- February 16 - World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
- February 16 - American forces recapture the Bataan Peninsula
- February 19 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima - about 30,000 United States Marines landed on Iwo Jima starting the battle.
- February 21 - Last launch of an A4-rocket at Peenemünde
- February 23 - World War II: Following the American victory at the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Surabachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo will later win a Pulitzer Prize.
- February 23 - World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.
- February 23 - World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań, city is liberated by Red Army and Polish forces.
- February 24 - Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.

March


- March 1 - Jesse Holman Jones starts his term of office as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, serving under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
- March 2 - Launch of the Natter from Stetten am kalten Markt. The Natter was the first manned rocket and developed as anti-aircraft weapon. The launch failed and the pilot died.
- March 3 - World War II: Previously neutral Finland declares war on the Axis powers.
- March 3 - A possible experimental atomic test blast occurs at the Nazis' Ohrdruf military testing area [http://www.recorder.ca/cp/World/050314/w031435A.html].
- March 6 - Communist-led government formed in Romania
- March 7 - World War II: American troops seize the bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany and begin to cross.
- March 8 - Josip Broz Tito forms a government in Yugoslavia
- March 9-March 10 - World War II: American B-29 bombers attack Japan with incendiary bombs. Tokyo is fire-bombed killing 100,000 citizens.
- March 16 - World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.
- March 17 - World War II: Japanese city of Kobe is fire-bombed by 331 B-29 bombers, killing over 8,000.
- March 18 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin.
- March 19 - World War II: Adolf Hitler orders that all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany be destroyed.
- March 19 - Off the coast of Japan, bombers hit the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 800 of her crew and crippling the ship.
- March 21 - World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma
- March 22 - The Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt.
- March 30 - World War II: Soviet Union forces invade Austria and take Vienna. Alger Hiss congratulated in Moscow for his part in bringing about the Western betrayal at the Yalta Conference.
- From February 14, 1936, to March 1, 1945, AG Weser launched a total of 162 U-boats.

April


- April 1 - World War II: United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war. The Battle of Okinawa starts.
- April 4 - World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf death camp in Germany.
- April 7 - World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato is sunk 200 miles north of Okinawa while in-route to a suicide mission.
- April 9 - Abwehr conspirators Wilhelm Canaris, Hans Oster, and Hans Dohanyi are hanged at Flossenberg concentration camp along with pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
- April 10 - The Allied Forces liberated their first Nazi concentration camp, Buchenwald.
- April 12 - United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945) dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) takes the Oath of Office.
- April 15 - Bergen-Belsen concentration camp liberated.
- April 16 - World War II: The Goya sunk by the Soviet submarine L-3.
- April 25 - Founding negotiations of United Nations in San Francisco
- April 25 - World War II: Elbe Day, United States and Russian troops link up at the Elbe River, cutting Germany in two
- April 27 - U.S. Ordinance troops find the coffins of Frederick Wilhelm I, Frederick the Great, Paul Von Hindenburg,and his wife
- April 28 - Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, are hanged upside down by Italian partisans as they attempt to flee the country.
- April 29 - Start of Operation Manna.
- April 30 - Adolf Hitler and his wife of one day, Eva Braun, commit suicide as Red Army approaches Führerbunker in Berlin. Karl Dönitz succeeds Hitler as President of Germany. Joseph Goebbels succeeds Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.

May


- May 1 - Joseph Goebbels and his wife commit suicide after killing their 6 children. Karl Dönitz appoints Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk as the new Chancellor of Germany.
- May 1 - World War II: Troops of Yugoslav 4th Army together with Slovene 9th Corpus NOV enter Trieste.
- May 2 - World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin. Soviet soldiers hoist the red flag over the Reichstag building.
- May 2 - World War II: Troops of New Zealand Army 2nd Division enter Trieste a day after the Yugoslavs. German Army in Trieste surrenders to the New Zealand Army.
- May 2 - The last postage stamp utilized by Manzhouguo is issued.
- May 3 - World War II: Sinkings of the floating-jails Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland by the RAF in the Lübeck Bay.
- May 3 - Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and 120 members of his team surrender to US forces. They later help start the US space program.
- May 4 - World War II: Liberation of the concentration camp Neuengamme near Hamburg by the British army.
- May 4 - World War II: Reddition of the North Germany army by Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
- May 4 - World War II: Holland liberated by Canadians troops. [http://www-lib.usc.edu/~anthonya/war/lib.htm]
- May 5 - World War II: Prague uprising against the Nazis.
- May 5 - Ezra Pound, poet and author, is arrested by American soldiers in Italy for treason.
- May 5 - World War II: US armored unit liberates prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp - including Simon Wiesenthal
- May 5 - World War II: Canadian soldiers liberate the city of Amsterdam from Nazi occupation.
- May 5 - World War II: Admiral Karl Dönitz orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases.
- May 5 - World War II: A Japanese balloon bomb killed five children and a woman, Elsie Mitchell near Lakeview, Oregon, when it exploded as they dragged it from the woods. They were the only people killed by enemy attack on the United States mainland during World War II.
- May 6 - World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops (first was on December 11, 1941).
- May 7 - World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document will take effect the next day.
- May 8 - World War II: V-E Day (Victory in Europe, as Nazi Germany surrenders) commemorates the end of World War II in Europe.
- May 8 - World War II: British 8th Army together with Slovene partisan troops and motorized detachment of Yugoslav 4th Army arrives to Carinthia and Klagenfurt.
- May 8-May 29 - In Algeria, French troops and released Italian POWs defeat rebellion of Algerians
- May 9 - World War II: Hermann Göring is captured by the United States Army; Norway arrests Vidkun Quisling; Soviet Union marks V-E Day.
- May 9 - World War II: Red Army enters Prague (capitulation of German occupation troops)
- May 9 - World War II: General Alexander Löhr Commander of German Army Group E near Topolšica, Slovenia, signs capitulation of German occupation troops.
- May 9 - World War II: Alderney, annex of the concentration camp Neuengamme liberated.
- May 12 - World War II: Yugoslav Army capitulates to the New Zealand Army, in Trieste and hands over the city.
- May 15 - World War II: the last WWII battle in Europe is fought at Poljana near Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia
- May 23 - President of Germany Karl Dönitz and Chancellor of Germany Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk are arrested by British forces at Flensburg. They would respectively be the last German Head of state and Head of government until 1949.
- May 23 - Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Nazi Gestapo, commits suicide in British custody.
- May 25 - In Atlantic, ships can finally keep their lights lit. Leo Szilard begs Harry S. Truman not to use the bomb. [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- May 28 - William Joyce, known as "Lord Haw-Haw" is captured. He is later charged with high treason in London for his English-language wartime broadcasts on German radio. He is hanged in January of 1946.
- May 29 - Group of German communists, Ulbricht in the lead, arrive in Berlin
- May 30 - Iranian government demands that Soviet and British troops leave the country

June


- June 1 - British take over Lebanon and Syria
- June 5 - Allied Control Council, military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
- June 6 - King Haakon VII of Norway returns to Norway
- June 11 - William Lyon Mackenzie King is reelected as Canadian prime minister. Franck Committee recommends against a surprise nuclear bombing of Japan. [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- June 12 - Yugoslav Army leaves Trieste, leaving the New Zealand Army in control.
- June 21 - World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends.
- June 24 - World War II: Victory parade in Red Square
- June 25 - Seán T. O'Kelly is elected the second President of Ireland.
- June 26 - United Nations charter signed.
- June 29 - Czechoslovakia cedes Ruthenia to Soviet Union

July


- July 1 - World War II: Germany is divided between Allied occupation forces
- July 5 - World War II: Liberation of the Philippines declared.
- July 8 - World War II: Harry S. Truman informed that Japan will talk peace if she can keep the Emperor. [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- July 9 - A forest fire breaks out in the Tillamook Burn, the third fire in that area since 1933.
- July 16 - Nuclear testing: The Trinity Test, the first test of an atomic bomb, using 6 kilograms of plutonium, succeeds in detonating, unleashing an explosion equivalent to that of 19 kilotons of TNT.
- July 17 - World War II: Potsdam Conference - At Potsdam, the three main Allied leaders begin their final summit of the war. The meeting will end on August 2.
- July 21 - World War II: Harry S. Truman approves order for atomic bombs to be used. [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- July 23 - World War II: French marshall Philippe Pétain, who headed the Vichy government during World War II goes on trial, charged with treason.
- July 26 - Winston Churchill resigns as Britain's prime minister after his Conservative Party is soundly defeated by the Labour Party in the 1945 general election. Clement Attlee becomes the new prime minister.
- July 26 - Potsdam Declaration demands Japan's unconditional surrender; Article 12 permitting Japan to retain the Emperor had been deleted by Truman. [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- July 28 - An Army Air Forces B-25 bomber accidentally crashes into the Empire State Building, killing 14 people.
- July 28 - World War II: Japan rejects Potsdam Declaration [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html].
- July 29 - The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched, aimed at mainstream light entertainment and music.
- July 30 - World War II: The USS Indianapolis is hit and sunk by the Japanese submarine I 58. Some 900 survivors jump into the sea and are adrift for 4 days. Nearly 600 die before help arrives. Captain Charles Butler MacVey III is later court-martialed.
- July 31 - World War II: Pierre Laval, fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.

August


- August 6 - World War II: the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The United States detonates an atomic bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan at 8:16 AM (local time).
- August 7 - President Harry Truman announces the successful bombing of Hiroshima with an atomic bomb while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
- August 8 - The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States, and that nation becomes the third to join the new international organization. Soviets declare war on Japan.
- August 9 - World War II: The United States detonates an atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" over the city of Nagasaki, Japan at 11:02 AM (local time). World War II: The Soviet Union begins its offensive against Japan in the then Japanese controlled Chinese region of Manchuria. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1986/RMF.htm]
- August 10 - World War II: US drops warning leaflets on Nagasaki. [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- August 13 - Zionist World Congress approaches British government to talk about founding of Israel.
- August 14 - World War II: Emperor Hirohito accepts the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.
- August 15 - World War II: Emperor Hirohito announces Japan's surrender on the radio. The United States called this day V-J Day (Victory in Japan). This ends the period of Japanese expansionism and begins the period of Occupied Japan.
- August 15 - Korea gains independence following Japan's surrender
- August 17 - Indonesian nationalists Sukarno and Mohammed Hatta declare the independence of Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno as a president. Dutch colonial authorities do not approve
- August 19 - Vietnam War: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
- End of August - Chinese Civil War: Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek meet in Chongqing to discuss an end to hostilities between the Communists and the Nationalists.

September


- September 2 - World War II ends: The final official surrender of Japan was accepted by General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz from a delegation led by Mamoru Shigemitsu, aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. But in Japan August 14 is well recognized as the day the Pacific War ended.
- September 2 - Ho Chi Minh promulgates the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence, and unity from the north to the south.
- September 4 - World War II: Japanese forces surrender on Wake Island after hearing word of their nation's surrender.
- September 5 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a Japanese-American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist "Tokyo Rose," is arrested in Yokohama.
- September 8 - US troops occupy southern Korea, Russians occupy the north. This arrangement proves to be the beginning of a divided Korea.
- September 8 - Hideki Tojo, Japanese prime minister during most of World War II, attempts suicide to avoid facing a war crimes tribunal.
- September 9 - "First actual case of bug being found" Moth found in Relay 70, Panel F Mark II Aiken Relay Computer
- September 11 - [http://www.rri-online.com/ Radio Republik Indonesia] starts broadcasting.
- September 12 - Japanese army formally surrendered in Singapore.
- September 20 - Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru demand that British troops leave India

October

India]
- October 1 - to October 15 - Launch of three A4 rockets near Cuxhaven in order to show Allied forces the rocket with liquid fuel (Operation Backfire)
- October 10 - Russian code clerk Igor Gouzenko defects to Canada. He helps the West gain an understanding of Soviet spy rings in North America.
- October 15 - World War II: Former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, is executed by firing squad for treason.
- October 17 - Colonel Juan Peron stages a coup d'état, becoming ruler of Argentina.
- October 18 - The first German war crimes trial begins in Nuremberg.
- October 18 - Isaías Medina Angarita, president of Venezuela, is overthrown by a military coup.
- October 21 - Women's suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
- October 23 - Jackie Robinson signs a contract with the Montreal Royals.
- October 24 - United Nations founded.
- October 24 - Norwegian Nazi leader, Vidkun Quisling, is shot by firing squad for treason.
- October 27 - Indonesian separatists riot and fight Dutch and British security forces.
- October 29 - Getulio Vargas, president of Brazil, resigns.
- October 29 - At Gimbels Department Store in New York City, the first ballpoint pens go on sale at $12.50 each.

November


- November 1 - John H. Johnson publishes the first issue of the magazine Ebony.
- November 13 - Charles De Gaulle elected head of a French provisional government
- November 15 - Harry S. Truman, Clement Attlee, and Mackenzie King call for a UN Atomic Energy Commission.[http://www.nuclearfiles.org/hitimeline/1945.html]
- November 16 - Cold War: The United States controversially imports 88 German scientists to help in the production of rocket technology.
- November 16 - Yeshiva College founded
- November 20 - Nuremberg Trials begin: Trials against 24 Nazi war criminals of World War II start at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice.
- November 29 - The Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia is declared (this day was celebrated as Republic Day until 1990s). Marshal Tito is named president.
- November 29 - Assembly of the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), is completed. It covers 1800 feet of floor space. The first set of calculations is run on the computer.

December


- December 2 - General Eurico Gaspar Dutra elected president of Brazil
- December 3 - Communist demonstrations in Athens - preliminary of the Greek Civil War
- December 4 - By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves the entry of the United States into the United Nations.
- December 21 - General George S. Patton dies from injuries sustained in a car accident on December 9.
- December 27 - Twenty-eight nations sign an agreement creating the World Bank.
- December 27 - Terror strikes against British military bases in Palestine.

Unknown date


- Foundation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Poland has two rival governments
- Discovery of Nag Hammadi scriptures
- Dutch painter Han van Meegeren is arrested for collaboration with Nazis but the paintings he had sold to Hermann Göring are found to be his fakes.
- Female suffrage in Guatemala and Japan
- Saskatchewan Government Insurance, the first state-owned automobile insurance company in North America, is created.
- Denmark recognizes independent Iceland
- US house of representatives calls for unrestricted Jewish immigration to Palestine in order to establish a Jewish commonwealth there
- Roben Hollis Fleet pays $11.550.000 alimony to his second wife Dorothy

Ongoing events


- Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)

Science and Technology


- Arthur C. Clarke puts forward the idea of a communications satellite in a Wireless World magazine article.
- At the Mayo Clinic, streptomycin is first used to treat tuberculosis.
- Percy Spencer accidentally discovers that microwaves can heat food. Invention of the microwave oven follows.
- Grand Rapids, Michigan and Newburgh, New York become the first cities to add fluoride to drinking water.
- The first nuclear reactor outside of the U.S. is built in Chalk River, Ontario, Canada.
- High-altitude, west-to-east winds across the Pacific Ocean — discovered by the Japanese in 1942 and by Americans in 1944 — are dubbed the jet stream.
- Salvador Edward Luria and Alfred Day Hershey independently recognize that viruses undergo mutations.
- The herbicide 2,4-D is introduced; it is later used as a component of Agent Orange.
- A team led by Charles DuBois Coryell discovers chemical element 61, the only one still missing between 1 and 96 on the periodic table. The new element is called promethium.
- Raymond Libby develops oral penicillin.
- American Canamid discovers folic acid, a vitamin abundent in green leafy vegetables, liver, kidney, and yeast.

Births

January-February


- January 3 - Victoria Principal, American actress
- January 3 - Stephen Stills, American singer and songwriter (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young)
- January 4 - Richard R. Schrock, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 10 - Rod Stewart, English singer
- January 26 - Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
- January 29 - Tom Selleck, American actor
- January 30 - Michael Dorris, American author (d. 1997)
- February 3 - Bob Griese, American football player
- February 5 - Charlotte Rampling, English actress
- February 6 - Bob Marley, Jamaican singer and musician (d. 1981)
- February 7 - Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player
- February 7 - Pete Postlethwaite, English actor
- February 9 - Mia Farrow, American actress
- February 14 - Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein
- February 17 - Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
- February 24 - Barry Bostwick, American actor
- February 27 - Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (d. 2004)
- February 28 - Bubba Smith, American football player and actor

March-April


- March 1 - Dirk Benedict, American actor
- March 7 - John Heard, American actor
- March 8 - Jim Chapman, American politician
- March 8 - Micky Dolenz, American actor, director, and musician (The Monkees)
- March 8 - Anselm Kiefer, German painter
- March 9 - Dennis Rader, American serial killer
- March 19 - Cem Karaca, Turkish musician
- March 26 - Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (d.

Israel

The State of Israel (Hebrew: , transliteration: Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةْ إِسْرَائِيل, transliteration: Dawlat Isrā'īl) is a country in the Middle East on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a parliamentary democracy and the world's only Jewish state. The name "Israel" means "One Who Struggles with God," and is rooted in the Biblical passage Genesis 32:28 wherein Jacob is renamed Israel after struggling with an unnamed assailant. Israel is bordered by Lebanon and Syria in the north, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, and Egypt and the Gaza Strip in the south-west, and has coastlines on the Mediterranean in the west and the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) in the south. Israel captured the West Bank and the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967. It withdrew all troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip on September 12 2005. The future status of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights remains to be determined.

History

Historical roots

Most believe that the land on which the State of Israel now exists was the birthplace of Judaism in the 10th century BCE or earlier, although some scholars dispute this. The earliest mention of the name 'Israel' is in Ancient Egyptian accounts of conquered lands in Asia minor, dating back to about 1500 BCE. For over 3,000 years, Jews have held the Land of Israel to be their homeland, both as a Holy Land and as a Promised Land, while non-Jews have also later maintained similar claims. The Land of Israel holds a special place in Jewish religious obligations, encompassing Judaism's most important sites including the remains of the First and Second Temple. Starting around 1200 BCE, a series of Jewish kingdoms and states existed intermittently in the region for over a millennium until the failure of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire resulted in widescale expulsion of Jews (see Destruction of Jerusalem). Under Roman, Byzantine, and (briefly) Persian rule, Jewish presence in the province dwindled, but the Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud, two of Judaism's most important religious texts, were composed in Palestine during this period. The Arabs conquered the land from the Eastern Roman Empire in 638 CE and the area was ruled by various Arab states before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Throughout the centuries, the size of the Jewish population in the land fluctuated widely, with the population in the region of present day Israel numbering approximately 20-25,000 in 1881 of a total population of 470,000.

Zionism and Aliyah

Ottoman Empire on May 14 1948 in Tel Aviv.]] The first wave of Jewish emigration to Israel, or Aliyah (עלייה) started in the late 1800s as Jews fled persecution. The end of the 19th century saw the founding of Zionism, the national movement to create a Jewish political entity in Palestine, leading to the Second Aliyah during the first two decades of the 20th century with the influx of around 40,000 Jews. In 1917 the British Foreign Secretary Arthur J. Balfour issued the historic Balfour Declaration that "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". In 1920 Palestine became a League of Nations mandate administered by Britain (see British Mandate of Palestine). Jewish immigration resumed in third and fourth waves after World War I. Later, the rise of Nazism in 1933 led to a fifth wave of Aliyah, and the Jews in the region increased from 11% of the population in 1922 to 30% by 1940. The subsequent Holocaust in Europe led to additional immigration from other parts of Europe. By the end of World War II, the number of Jews in Palestine was approximately 600,000. In 1939 the British abandoned the idea of a Jewish national home, and abandoned partition and negotiations in favour of the unilaterally-imposed White Paper of 1939, which capped Jewish immigration. Its other stated policy was to establish a system under which both Jews and Arabs were to share one government. As a result of impending world war, the plan was never fully implemented, but the White Paper policy was implemented well into the end of WWII, and enforced even when refugees who survived the Holocaust were fleeing from Nazi persecution. (See Struma article.)

Establishment of the State and the War of Independence

In 1947, following increasing levels of violence by militant groups, alongside unsuccessful efforts to reconcile the Jewish and Arab populations, the British government decided to withdraw from the Palestine Mandate. Fulfillment of the 1947 UN Partition Plan would have divided the mandated territory into two states, Jewish and Arab, giving about half the land area to each state. Under this plan, Jerusalem was intended to be an international region under UN administration to avoid conflict over its status. Immediately following the adoption of the Partition Plan by the United Nations General Assembly, the Palestinian Arab leadership rejected the plan to create the as-yet-unnamed Jewish state and launched a guerilla war. On May 14 1948, before the expiring of the British Mandate of Palestine on midnight of the May 15 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed. The surrounding Arab states supported the Palestinian Arabs in rejecting both the Partition Plan and the establishment of Israel, and the armies of six Arab nations attacked the State of Israel. Over the next 15 months Israel captured an additional 26% of the Mandate territory west of the Jordan river and annexed it to the new state. Most of the Arab population fled or were expelled during the war. The continuing conflict between Israel and the Arab world resulted in a lasting displacement that persists to this day. 1948 edition of Yishuv newspaper The Palestine Post, soon renamed into The Jerusalem Post. In the news: Egyptian Air Force bombs Tel-Aviv, Transjordan shells Jerusalem. 15 May was Shabbat.]] Immigration of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab lands doubled Israel's population within a year of independence. Over the following decade approximately 600,000 Mizrahi Jews, who fled or were expelled from surrounding Arab countries, migrated to Israel (with another 300,000 or so settling in France and North America, leaving only a tiny remnant, mostly in Morocco and Tunisia). Israel's Jewish population continued to grow at a very high rate for some years, and was fed by further waves of Jewish immigration following the collapse of the USSR.

Wars

The refusal of Arab countries to recognize the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 has been a source of repeated wars and other conflicts with Arab nations such as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The state of war between Egypt and Israel ended with the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty on March 26, 1979. The state of war with Jordan officially ended with the signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace on October 26 1994. Sporadic negotiations with Lebanon and Syria have not as yet resulted in peace treaties. Israel is currently also embroiled in an ongoing conflict with Palestinians in the territories controlled since the Six Day War in 1967, despite the signing of the Oslo Accords on September 13 1993, and the ongoing efforts of Israeli, Palestinian and global peacemakers. Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank to become part of a (preferably contiguous) future state. Israel currently plans on expanding existing large West Bank settlement blocs, and maintains the current impasse in the peace process —negotiations toward a permanent peace treaty featuring a two-state solution— cannot be restarted until the Palestinian government dismantles terrorist groups.

Articles related to the wars


- 1948 Arab-Israeli War "The Independence War" (see also: 1949 Armistice Agreements). Also called "War of Liberation" מלחמת העצמאות או מלחמת השחרור
- 1956 Suez War "Operation Kadesh" מבצע קדש או מלחמת סיני
- 1967 Six Day War מלחמת ששת הימים
- 1970 War of Attrition מלחמת ההתשה
- 1973 Yom Kippur War מלחמת יום כיפור
- 1982 Lebanon War "Operation Peace For Galilee" מבצע שלום הגליל
- First Intifada אינתיפדה
- 1990/1 Gulf War מלחמת המפרץ
- al-Aqsa Intifada אינתיפדת אל-אקצא The Israeli Defense Forces codenamed it "אירועי גיאות ושפל" ("Ebb and Tide events") but it is unofficially referred to as the Oslo War in some Israeli circles.

Politics and law

Israel is a parliamentary democracy based on universal suffrage and proportional representation. Israel's legislative branch is a 120-member parliament known as the Knesset. Membership in the Knesset is allocated to parties based on their proportion of the vote. Elections to the Knesset are normally held every four years, but the Knesset can decide to dissolve itself ahead of time by a simple majority, known as a vote of no-confidence. The President of Israel is head of state, serving as a largely ceremonial figurehead. The President selects the leader of the majority party or ruling coalition in the Knesset as the Prime Minister, who serves as head of government.2

Constitution

Israel has not completed a written constitution. Its government is based on the laws of the Knesset, especially by "Basic Laws of Israel", which are special laws (currently there are 15 of them), by the Knesset legislature which will become the future official constitution. In mid-2003, the Knesset's Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee began [http://www.cfisrael.org drafting a full written Constitution to be proposed to the Knesset floor.] This effort is still underway as of late 2005. The declaration of the State of Israel has a significance in this matter as well. Israel's legal system is a western legal system best classified as "mixed": it has a strong Anglo-American influence, but in some parts has borrowed heavily from civil law tradition. Despite the Anglo-American influence, the jury system was not adopted in Israel, and court cases are decided by professional judges.

Judiciary and Legal System

The Judiciary branch of Israel is made of a three-tier system of courts: at the lowest level are the Magistrate Courts, situated in most cities. Above them, serving both as an appellate court and as a court of first instance are the District Courts (six of them, situated in the six judicial districts of Jerusalem, South, Tel Aviv, Centre, Haifa and Nazareth). At the top of the judicial pyramid is the Supreme Court seated in Jerusalem. The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Aharon Barak. Religious tribunals (Jewish, Sharia'a, Druze and Christian) have exclusive jurisdiction on annulment of marriages. The Israeli Supreme Court serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and as the body for a separate institution known as the High Court of Justice. The HCOJ has the unique responsibility of addressing petitions presented to the Court by individual citizens. The respondents to these petitions are usually Governmental agencies (including the Israel Defense Forces). The result of such petitions, which are decided by the HCOJ, may be an instruction by the HCOJ to the relevant Governmental agency to act in a manner prescribed by the HCOJ. Judges are elected by a committee made of Members of the Knesset (Parliament), Supreme Courts Judges and Members of the Israeli Bar. According to the Courts Law, judges retire at the age of 70. Registrars to all courts are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with the approval of the Minister of Justice. Israel's legal system is part of the Western legal systems. It is a mixed system, influenced by Anglo-American, Continental and Jewish law principles. As for the Anglo-American influence, the Israeli legal system is based on the principle of stare-decisis (precedent). It is an adversarial system, not an inquisitorial one, in the sense that the parties (e.g. plaintiff and defendant) are the ones that bring the evidence before the court. The court does not conduct any independent investigation on the case. There is no jury in Israeli courts, and cases are decided upon by professional judges. As for Civil Law influences, several major Israeli statutes (such as the Contract Law) are based on Civil Law principles. Israeli statute body is not comprised of Codes, but rather of individual statutes. However, a Civil Code draft has been completed recently, and is planned to become a bill.

Military

Israel's military consists of a unified Israel Defense Forces (IDF), known in Hebrew by the acronym Tzahal (צה"ל). Historically, there have been no separate Israeli military services. The Navy and Air Force are subordinate to the Army. There are other paramilitary government agencies which deal with different aspects of Israel's security (such as MAGAV and the Shin Bet). See further discussion: Israel Security Forces. The IDF is considered one of the strongest military forces in the Middle East and ranks among the most battle-trained armed forces in the world, having had to defend the country in five major wars. The IDF's main resource is the training quality of its soldiers, but it also relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems (both developed and manufactured in Israel for its specific needs, and also largely imported from the United States), and expert manpower, rather than possession of overwhelming manpower. Most Israelis, males and females, are drafted into the military at the age of 18. Exceptions are Israeli Arabs, confirmed pacifists, those who cannot serve due to injury or disability, and women who declare themselves religiously observant. Compulsory service is three years for men, and 20 months for women. Circassians and Bedouin actively enlist in the IDF. Since 1956, Druze men have been conscripted in the same way as Jewish men, at the request of the Druze community. Men studying full-time in religious institutions can get a deferment from conscription; most Haredi Jews extend these deferments until they are too old to be conscripted, a practice that has fueled much controversy in Israel. Following compulsory service, Israeli men become part of the IDF reserve forces, and are usually required to serve several weeks every year as reservists, until their 40's.

Geography

Haredi Jews The total area of the sovereign territory of Israel —excluding all territories captured by Israel in 1967 — is 20,770 (20,330 land) square km; the total area under Israeli law —including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights — is 22,145 (21,671 land) square km; the total area under Israeli control — including the military-controlled and Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank — is 28,023 (27,549 land) square km.

Metropolitan areas

As of 2004, The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics defines three metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv (population 2,933,300), Haifa (population 980,600) and Be'er Sheva (population 511,700) [http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton55/st02_15.pdf]. Jerusalem may also be considered a metropolitan area, though its limits are hard to define since it spans communities in Israel proper and the West Bank, both Israeli and Palestinian, and even the boundaries of Jerusalem city itself are disputed. As of 2005, the official population of Jerusalem city is 706,368.

Economy

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of fossil fuels (crude oil, natural gas, and coal), grains, beef, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains and beef. Diamonds, high-technology, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers) are leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Israel possesses extensive facilities for oil refining, diamond polishing, and semiconductor fabrication. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the U.S., which is its major source of economic and military aid. A relatively large fraction of Israel's external debt is held by individual investors, via the Israel Bonds program. The combination of American loan guarantees and direct sales to individual investors, allow the state to borrow at competitive and sometimes below-market rates. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR topped 750,000 during the period 1989-1999, bringing the population of Israel from the former Soviet Union to 1 million, one-sixth of the total population, and adding scientific and professional expertise of substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began slowing in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Those policies brought inflation down to record low levels in 1999.

Demographics

1999 According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2004, of Israel's 6.9 million people, 76.2% were Jews, 19.5% Arabs, and 4.3% "others".[http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_01.pdf] Among Jews, 68% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second or third generation Israelis, and the rest are olim — 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.[http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_24.pdf] Israel has two official languages; Hebrew and Arabic (See also: Languages of Israel). Hebrew is the major and primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the large Arab minority and by some members of the Mizrahi and Teimani Jewish communities. English is studied in school and is widely understood. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, Yiddish, Ladino, Romanian and French. American and European popular television shows are commonly presented. Newspapers can be found in all languages listed above as well as others, such as Farsi. As of 2004, 224,200 Israeli citizens lived in the West Bank in numerous settlements, (including towns such as Ma'ale Adummim and Ariel, and a handful of communities that were present long before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and were re-established after the Six-Day War such as Hebron and Gush Etzion). Around 180,000 Israelis lived in East Jerusalem [http://fmep.org/settlement_info/stats_data/jerusalem/east_jerusalem_population_area_2000-2002.html], which came under Israeli law following its capture from Jordan during the Six-Day War. About 8,500 Israelis lived in settlements built in the Gaza Strip, prior to their evacuation by the government in the summer of 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.

Religion in Israel

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2004, 76.2% of Israelis were Jews by religion. Muslims made up 16.1% of Israelis, 2.1% were Christian, 1.6% were Druze and the remaining 3.9% (including Russian immigrants and some Jews) were not classified by religion.[http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_01.pdf] Israel, however, is not a theocracy and religions other than Judaism are supported. Roughly 6% of Israeli Jews define themselves as haredim (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 9% are "religious" ; 34% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to Jewish halacha); and 51% are "secular" (termed "hiloni"). Among the seculars, 53% believe in God.[http://www.geocities.com/demokratya/dat/shavit.htm] 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. Of the Arab Israelis 82.6% were Muslim, 8.8% were Christian and 8.4% were Druze.[http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st02_01.pdf]

Culture and religion

Footnotes

1 Jerusalem is Israel's officially designated capital, and the location of its presidential residence, government offices and the Knesset, Israel's Parliament. In 1980, the Israeli Knesset confirmed Jerusalem's status as the nation's "eternal and indivisible capital", by passing the Basic Law: Jerusalem — Capital of Israel. However, many countries dissent from this designation, and consider the status of Jerusalem as an unresolved issue, due to Israel's capture of the eastern half of Jerusalem (and subsequent reunification) from Jordan during the Six Day War. They believe that the final issue of the status of Jerusalem will be determined in future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; Therefore, those countries locate their embassies in other major cities like Tel-Aviv, Ramat-Gan, Herzliya, etc., instead, to avoid political sensitivities. Moreover, some of the dissenting countries do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, due to what they perceive as illegal Israeli action in designating the city to be its capital in the first place (1950), as well as Israel's capture of the eastern half from Jordan, in 1967. These states instead recognize Tel-Aviv, the temporary capital for a time in 1948, when Jerusalem was under Arab control, as the continuous legitimate capital, and as a result keep their embassies there. Other entities maintain that Jerusalem must be internationalized as originally envisioned by the United Nations General Assembly. See the article on Jerusalem for more. 2 For a short period in the 1990s the prime minister was directly elected by the electorate. This change was not viewed a success and was abandoned.

See also


- List of Israelis
- Cities in Israel
- Communications in Israel
- Transportation in Israel
- Military of Israel
- Foreign relations of Israel
- Israeli-occupied territories
- Israel and the United Nations
- Ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim (aka Mossad)
- Violence against Israelis
- List of universities in Israel
- Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange

Annotated List of Israeli Media Sources

General references to the Israeli media:
- [http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/culture/the%20printed%20media-%20israel-s%20newspapers The Printed Media: Israel's Newspapers] Summary from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- List of Israeli newspapers English-language periodicals:
- Globes [http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/nodeView.asp?fid=942] English-language website of Israel's business and technology daily
- Ha'Aretz [http://www.haaretz.com/] Online English edition of the relatively highbrow Hebrew-language newspaper, Haaretz has a liberal editorial stance similar to that of The Guardian.
- IsraelInsider [http://www.israelinsider.com] - Independent, right wing outlet. Target audience is American Jewry.
- Jerusalem Newswire [http://www.jnewswire.com/ ] Independent, right-wing Christian-run news outlet
- The Jerusalem Post [http://www.jpost.com/] Israel's oldest English-language newspaper, considered to have a right-of-center editorial slant
- Jerusalem Report [http://www.jrep.com/] Left-of-center English weekly newspaper
- Maariv [http://www.maarivintl.com/] English edition of the centrist second largest Hebrew-language newspaper
- YNetNews [http://www.ynetnews.com/] English-language website of Israel's largest newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth Hebrew-language periodicals:
- Globes [http://www.globes.co.il/ ] business and technology daily
- Ha'Aretz [http://www.haaretz.co.il/] Relatively highbrow Israeli newspaper with a liberal editorial stance similar to that of The Guardian
- Hamodia Daily newspaper serving Israel's Haredi community. English editions are also published in the U.S. and the U.K. and serve local Jewish Orthodox communities in those countries. Hamodia is not available online.
- Hazofe [http://www.hazofe.co.il] daily newspaper with a religious Zionist point of view Hebrew-language periodicals (continued):
- Maariv [http://www.maariv.co.il/] Second largest Israeli newspaper, centrist.
- Makor Rishon [http://www.makorrishon.net] Conservative weekly newspaper
- Yated Ne'eman Daily newspaper serving the Haredi community
- Yedioth Ahronoth [http://www.ynet.co.il/], Israel's largest newspaper, centrist Arabic-language periodicals:
- Al-Ittihad Arabic-language daily newspaper Israeli broadcast media:
- [http://www.iba.org.il/ Israel Broadcasting Authority], TV News in Hebrew, some English.
- [http://www.radioisrael.com Radio Israel]
- [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ Arutz Sheva] news site representing the settler community, right-wing religious (English)
- [http://www.israelradio.org/ Kol Israel - Voice of Israel] Also produced by the IBA. In Hebrew, French, English, Spanish, Ladino, Russian, Persian, Yiddish, etc.
- [http://www.isracast.com IsraCast] - Independent, multimedia broadcast and distribution network that focuses on Israeli foreign affairs and defense issues (English) Important Internet sources:
- Indymedia Israel [http://israel.indymedia.org/], primarily left-wing and anti-zionist, mostly in Hebrew Relevant non-Israeli media:
- Electronic Intifada [http://electronicintifada.net], Independent website covering Palestinian affairs and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
-
- Jewish Telegraphic Agency [http://www.jta.org/], New York-based news agency covering worldwide Jewish news, centrist (English)
- Yahoo News [http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/israel] news headline links

External links


-
- [http://www.telavivguide.net Tel Aviv travel guide with information about sightseeing and activities in and around Tel Aviv]

General information


- [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575008/Israel_(country).html#s1 Encarta Encyclopedia entry on Israel]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/803257.stm BBC News Country Profile - Israel and Palestinian Territories]
- [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/israel.html Jewish Virtual Library Israel articles], including information on history, economics, and military issues. From the American-Israel Cooperative Enterprise, an Israel-advocacy group.
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/is.html CIA World Factbook - Israel]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/israel/ US State Department - Israel] includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
- [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm/Israel.html Columbia University Libraries - Israel] directory category of the WWW-VL
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Middle_East/Israel/ Open Directory Project - Israel] directory category
- [http://www.sabranet.com SABRAnet - Where Israel comes alive on the Internet]
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Israel/ Yahoo! - Israel] directory category

Government


- [http://www.gov.il/FirstGov/english Government Portal of Israel]
- [http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel]
- [http://www.president.gov.il/defaults/default_en.asp The President of the state of Israel]
- [http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng Prime Minister's Office]
- [http://www.cbs.gov.il/engindex.htm Bureau of Statistics]
- [http://www.idf.il/ Israel Defence Force site]
- [http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il/pages/eng/purpose.htm Israel Security Fence Project]

The Knesset (Parliament)


- [http://www.knesset.gov.il/ The Knesset (Parliament)]

Legislation and the Legal System


- [http://62.90.71.124/eng/home/index.html The Courts]
- [http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_yesod1.htm Basic Laws], legal code of Israel
- [http://www.israelinsurancelaw.com/ Israeli Commercial, Banking, Tort and Insurance Laws - in English]

History

Please see main article History of Israel
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/78601.stm The birth of Israel] from the BBC
- [http://www.imj.org.il/ Israel Museum, Jerusalem]
- [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/7/Israel-s%20Foreign%20Relations-%20Selected%20Documents Historical documents] from the Israeli Ministry of Public Affairs
- [http://www.isracast.com/territories.asp Authentic historical Recordings] - UN Partition Vote of 1947, Arab Rejection, "First" Hatikva, David Ben-Gurion - On Independence, Arab Countdown to Six Day War, Moshe Dayan - Six Day War, Gen. Ariel Sharon - "Move forward!", Nasser's Infamous Phonecall, Gen. Yitzhak Rabin - Six Day War, Abba Eban's "Stalingrad" Speech

Economy, science, and technology


- [http://www.standardpoor.co.il/index.html Standard and Poor's Israel Economic Information]
- [http://duns100.dundb.co.il/ DUNS 100], the hundred largest companies in Israel
- [http://www.science.co.il/ Israel Science and Technology Homepage]
- [http://www.israelinsurancelaw.com/ Translation of Israeli Laws to English]
- [http://www.isracast.com/tech.asp IsraCast: Science and Technology News From Israel] - Updated Weekly (English)
- [http://www.worldwide-tax.com/israel/indexisrael.asp Israel economy and business parameters] Israel key Data on Israeli Taxes, Income Tax, Tax Rates in Israel.

Foreign relations and the current conflicts

For links on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, see Arab-Israeli Conflict: External Links
- [http://www.mfa.gov.il Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
- [http://www.israel21c.com Israel21c: A focus beyond the conflict]
- [http://www.saag.org/papers2/paper131.html India-Israeli Relations: The Imperatives for Enhanced Strategic Cooperation]
- [http://mondediplo.com/focus/mideast/r1276 Le Monde diplomatique report on EU-Israeli relations]
- [http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/israel/intro/ European Union's relations with Israel]
- [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ustoc.html US-Israeli Relations] from the Jewish Virtual Library.
- [http://www.cactus48.com/truth.html Jews for Justice in the Middle East] Publication detailing Arab-Israli conflict

Society


- [http://www.iwn.org.il/iwn.asp Israel Women's Network]
- [http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/country/israel Gay Middle East - Israel section]
- [http://www.fmep.org/analysis/ori_nir_israels_arab_minority.html Israeli Arabs and Israeli Society], discussion with Ori Nir, correspondent for Haaretz and the Forward.
- [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/freedom.html Freedom of Religion in Israeli Society and Politics] by Prof. Shimon Shetreet, former minister of Religious Affairs.
- [http://www.nswas.org/ Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam] the Oasis of Peace, an experimental Arab-Jewish cooperative village.
- [http://www.reform.org.il/ Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism], Reform Judaism in Israel

Photos


- [http://www.trekker.co.il/english/israel-tour.htm Pictures of various holy sites and tourist destinations].
- Israel capital - [http://www.jerusalemshots.com/en Jerusalem]. Portal of Jerusalem Photos

Historical Recordings


- [http://www.isracast.com/territories.asp Authentic historical Recordings] - UN Partition Vote of 1947, Arab Rejection, "First" Hatikva, Ben-Gurion - On Independence, Arab Countdown to Six Day War, Moshe Dayan - Six Day War, Gen. Ariel Sharon - "Move forward!", Nasser's Infamous Phonecall, Gen. Yitzhak Rabin - Six Day War, Abba Eban's "Stalingrad" Speech
- [http://www.isracast.com/yk/stage.swf A cry from the bunkers] - Dramatic and authentic recordings by IDF soldier Avi Yaffe from inside the IDF position, under attack at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war. Category:Hebrew words Category:Levant Category:Near Eastern countries Category:Middle Eastern countries Category:Southwest Asian countries zh-min-nan:Í-sek-lia̍t-kok ko:이스라엘 ms:Israel ja:イスラエル simple:Israel

20th century

The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar. Common usage sometimes regards it as lasting from 1900 to 1999, but this is incorrect since counting of calendar years begins with the year 1. The 20th century is also sometimes known as the nineteen hundreds (1900s). Decades are almost always considered as starting with the "0" year and named accordingly ("1960s", etc.). However, a number of arguments have been used to justify the common usage. One was advanced, erroneously, by Stephen Jay Gould. He claimed that the first decade had only nine years, thus contradicting the definition of decade equaled 10 years. Another argument is that the astronomical year numbering system for years does have a year zero, the year normally known as 1 BC. In 2000 the International Organization for Standardization clarified ISO 8601 to use the astronomical year numbering system, which could be interpreted as retrospectively endorsing all the people who had celebrated the new century a few months earlier. The term is also used to describe various periods that overlap with the calendar definition, most notably the Short twentieth century, which claims that the 20th Century spanned from 1914 to 1989, rendering the pre-WWI 1900s into the 19th Century and putting the 1990s at the beginning of the 21st Century. Indeed, the part of the 20th Century before World War I is quite identical to the late 1800s culturally and technologically and the 1990s decade pointed in many ways (such as the rise of the Internet) to the 21st Century and is seen by some as not being truly a part of the 20th Century.

Overview

The twentieth century saw a remarkable shift in the way that vast numbers of people lived, as a result of technological, medical, social, ideological, and political innovations. Terms like ideology, world war, genocide, and nuclear war entered common usage and became an influence on the lives of everyday people. War reached an unprecedented scale and level of sophistication; in the Second World War (1939-1945) alone, approximately 57 million people died, mainly due to massive improvements in weaponry. The trends of mechanization of goods and services and networks of global communication, which were begun in the 19th century, continued at an ever-increasing pace in the 20th. In spite of the terror and chaos, the 20th century saw many attempts at world peace. As the 35th President of the