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Israelis
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Israelis are citizens of the modern state of Israel regardless of religious heritage or ethnic identity, including most numerously Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, and others. Note that the aforementioned religious and ethnic groups are not always mutually exclusive.
The term "Israelis" should not be confused with "Israelites", which denotes the ethnic group as known to have inhabited the Kingdom of Israel in Biblical times.
rding to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of May 2006, of Israel's 7 million people, 77% were Jews of any background, 18.5% non-Jewish Arabs, and 4.3% "others".
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Israelis are citizens of the modern state of Israel regardless of religious heritage or ethnic identity, including most numerously Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, and others. Note that the aforementioned religious and ethnic groups are not always mutually exclusive.
The term "Israelis" should not be confused with "Israelites", which denotes the ethnic group as known to have inhabited the Kingdom of Israel in Biblical times.
Demographics
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of May 2006, of Israel's 7 million people, 77% were Jews of any background, 18.5% non-Jewish Arabs, and 4.3% "others". Among Jews, 68% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) — 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries. Nearly half of all Israeli Jews are descended from Jews who immigrated from Europe, while around the same number are descended from Jews who immigrated from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. Over two hundred thousand are, or are descended from, Ethiopian and Indian Jews.
Israel has two official languages; Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is the major and primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the Mizrahi Jewish community. English is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, Yiddish, Ladino, Amharic, Romanian, Polish 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 Persian.
In recent decades, considerable numbers of Israelis, estimated broadly from 760,000 to twice that figure, have moved abroad. Reasons for emigration vary, but generally relate to a combination of economic and political concerns. Los Angeles is home to the largest community of Israelis out of Israel. They make a considerable presence in Encino, an upper income neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, and elsewhere in the valley and L.A.'s Westside.
Culture of Israel
The largest cities in the country Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem are also the major cultural centers, known for art museums, and many towns and kibbutzim have smaller high-quality museums. Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern, religious and secular music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from the Diaspora and more modern cultural importation: Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially by Yemenite singers, and Israeli hip hop or heavy metal. Folk dancing, which draws upon the cultural heritage of many immigrant groups, is popular. There is also flourishing modern dance.
Religion in Israel
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2004, 76.2% of Israelis were Jewish by religion (Judaism), 16.1% were Muslims, 2.1% Christian, 1.6% Druze and the remaining 3.9% (including Russian immigrants and some ethnic Jews) were not classified by religion.
Roughly 12% of Israeli Jews defined as haredim (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 9% are "religious"; 35% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to Jewish Halakha); and 43% are "secular" (termed "hiloni"). Among the seculars, 53% believe in God. However, 78% of all Israelis (and virtually all Israeli Jews) participate in a Passover seder.
Unlike North American Jews, 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.
Among Arab Israelis, 82.6% were Muslim, 8.8% were Christian and 8.4% were Druze.
The Bahá'í World Centre, which includes the Universal House of Justice, in Haifa attracts pilgrims from all over the world. Apart from a few hundred volunteer staff, Bahá'ís do not live in Israel.
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