Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the south-west, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights in the northeast. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is its largest urban area and economic centre.
Israel is located in a region known as the Land of Israel, synonymous with Canaan, the Holy Land, the Palestine region, and Judea. In antiquity it was home to the Canaanite civilisation, followed by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Situated at a continental crossroad, the region experienced demographic changes under the rule of empires from the Romans to the Ottomans. European antisemitism in the late 19th century galvanised Zionism, which sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine and gained British support with the Balfour Declaration. After World War I, Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Increased Jewish immigration in the lead-up to the Holocaust and British foreign policy in the Middle East led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs, which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after the United Nations (UN) proposed partitioning the land between them. (Full article...)
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Matzo is a spelling variant for matzah, Jewish unleavened bread.
Matzo can also relate to:
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Image 1An aerial view of Masada in the Judaean Desert, with the Dead Sea and Jordan in the distance
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Image 2Paratroopers at the Western Wall, an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by David Rubinger.
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Image 3Southern 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.
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Image 4A view of Jaffa, from the beachfront of Tel Aviv
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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.
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Image 7An 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).
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Image 8Northeast 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.
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Image 9Dead 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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Image 10A 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]
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Image 11Diving tourism site on the southern coast of Eilat, around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including dolphins.
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Image 12David 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.
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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.
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Image 14Ceramic tile on the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
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Image 15The 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.
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Image 16Young Nubian ibex ( Capra nubiana) on a stone wall by the edge of Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
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Image 17A 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.
WikiProject Israel – WikiProject Jewish history – WikiProject Judaism – WikiProject Jewish culture – WikiProject Hebrew
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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
The Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel is the main congregational mosque or prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also named al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, but this name primarily applies to the whole compound in which the building sits, which is itself also known as "Al-Aqsa Mosque". The wider compound is known as Al-Aqsa or Al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf.
In the reign of the caliph Mu'awiyah I of the Umayyad Caliphate (founded in AD 661), a quadrangular mosque for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers is recorded somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif. The present-day mosque, located on the south wall of the compound, was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (r. 705–715) (or both) as a congregational mosque on the same axis as the Dome of the Rock, a commemorative Islamic monument. According to Islamic tradition, a small prayer hall (musalla), what would later become the Al-Aqsa Mosque, was built by Umar, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. After being destroyed in an earthquake in 746, the mosque was rebuilt in 758 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. It was further expanded upon in 780 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi, after which it consisted of fifteen aisles and a central dome. However, it was again destroyed during the 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake. The mosque was rebuilt by the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036), who reduced it to seven aisles but adorned its interior with an elaborate central archway covered in vegetal mosaics; the current structure preserves the 11th-century outline. (Full article...)
Charoset is a sweet, dark-colored mixture of finely chopped fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. According to the Talmud, its color and texture are meant to recall mortar (or mud used to make adobe bricks), which the Israelites used during their enslavement in Ancient Egypt, as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim 116a of the Talmud. The word comes from the Hebrew word for clay (Hebrew: חֶרֶס, romanized: ḥéres).
Charoset is one of the symbolic foods on the Passover Seder plate. After reciting the blessings, and eating first maror dipped in charoset and then a matzah "Hillel sandwich" (with two matzot) combining charoset and maror, people often eat the remainder spread on matzah. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Israel-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Image 1Jewish youth dancing the Horah in the kibboutz Ein Harod in 1936 (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 2" Hezekiah ... king of Judah" – Royal seal written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, unearthed in Jerusalem (from History of Israel)
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Image 3Silver 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)
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Image 5Menahem Zion synagoge, Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 10The opening ceremony of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by Arthur Balfour, 1 April 1925 (from History of Israel)
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Image 11Cultural 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)
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Image 12Jewish workers in Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from History of Israel)
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Image 16Gal Fridman, winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 18Patriot missiles launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud over Tel Aviv during the Gulf War (from History of Israel)
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Image 20The Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), as of June 2011 (from History of Israel)
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Image 21Ofek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicle (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 22Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa. (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 24Gen. Uzi Narkiss, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Chief of staff Yitzhak Rabin and Gen. Rehavam Ze'evi in the Old City of Jerusalem, 7 June 1967 (from History of Israel)
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Image 25David dictating the Psalms. The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 26A 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)
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Image 27Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent. (from History of Israel)
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Image 29Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 31Aerial 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)
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Image 32Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords signing ceremony at the White House on 13 September 1993 (from History of Israel)
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Image 33Dedication ceremony of the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem in 2018 (from History of Israel)
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Image 34Buchenwald survivors arrive in Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from History of Israel)
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Image 36Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from History of Israel)
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Image 37The route of the exiles to Babylon (from History of Israel)
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Image 38Israeli paratroopers dig in near the Mitla Pass, 31 October 1956 (from History of Israel)
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Image 39Menachem Begin addressing a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv against negotiations with Germany in 1952 (from History of Israel)
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Image 40Painting of the siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade (1099) (from History of Israel)
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Image 41Tiles in the Bezalel style, 1920s (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 43Hebrew ulpan in Dimona, 1955 (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 45First modern art exhibition in Israel at the Ohel theatre 1926, organized primarily by the Histadrut art studio (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 46143rd Division crossing the Suez Canal in the direction of Cairo during the Yom Kippur War, 15 October 1973 (from History of Israel)
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Image 47Illustration 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)
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Image 48Ecclesiastes is known for its incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of Vanitas (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 49Protest in Tel Aviv on 6 August 2011 (from History of Israel)
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Image 50Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 51Remains of the Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 52Simulated view of a black hole. Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered black hole entropy (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 53Nahal Brigade soldiers returning after the 2006 Lebanon War (from History of Israel)
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Image 55Supply convoy on its way to besieged Jerusalem, April 1948 (from History of Israel)
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Image 56Sermon on the Mount. The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during Roman-ruled Judea (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 57The Merneptah Stele. According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record. (from History of Israel)
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Image 58The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from History of Israel)
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Image 60Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 61Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from History of Israel)
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Image 62Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
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Image 63A portion of the Isaiah Scroll. One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from Culture of Israel)
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Israel Buildings and structures in Israel Organizations based in Israel
- 13 August 2025 – Gaza war
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
- Israeli forces launch a massive aerial bombardment of Gaza City amid reports that the Israeli Army is about to enter the city imminently. (BBC News)
- Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir approves the military occupation of the entire Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post)
- 11 August 2025 – Israel–Norway relations
- The Norwegian Pension Fund divests from 11 Israeli companies and terminates its contracts with asset managers in Israel, following reports last week that it invested in an Israeli jet engine company that sold parts to the IDF. (Reuters)
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