2. +
Geography
Middle east region
262 miles long, 65 miles at the
widest point
Bordering Lebanon, Syria,
Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip
North: Golan Heights
(mountain regions) Mount
Hermon (8900 ft)
South: Negev (desert) and the
Dead Sea
East: Jordan Rift Valley
West: Mediterranean Sea
4. +
History
Creation of the state on May 14th, 1948
Thousands of years of history to create the ‘Jewish State’
Zionist movement- headed by Theodore Herzl
Balfour Declaration of 1917, which asserted the British
Government's support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in
Palestine.
May 14th, 1948-Independence Day War
Constant struggle to keep the country and keep peace with
other Arab nations
5. +
Culture
Work Days: Sunday-Thursday 8 AM-5PM
Friendly atmosphere: Address people by
their first names
Very laid back style
Very casual dress code- Western
European dress
Religious parts of Israel require more
conservative attire
Most restaurants keep Kosher (even
McDonalds)
At 18, men and women enter the armed
force
7. + Tel Aviv: named second best high-tech center-the country's industrial, commercial, financial and
cultural life, founded (1909) as the first Jewish city
in modern times
8. +
Haifa: a major Mediterranean port
and the industrial center of northern
Israel
10. +
Infrastructure
Modern, well-developed
housing developments
To cope with its growing
population and to improve
the functioning of the
economy
making large investments to
upgrade its infrastructure
Major project:
the construction of a new
terminal at Ben Gurion
International Airport
a tunnel through Mt. Carmel
to provide a bypass route
around Haifa
the Cross-Israel Highway, a
major north-south artery
mass transit systems planned
for Jerusalem, Beer Sheva,
and the Tel Aviv region.
11. +
Political System/Government
parliamentary democracy
governmental system is based on several basic laws enacted by its
unicameral parliament, the Knesset
The president (head of state) is elected by the Knesset for a 5-year
term.
Knesset-120 members voted by secret ballot for a 4-year term
(though Prime Minister has the ultimately authority)
The prime minister (head of government) exercises executive
power and has in the past been selected by the president as
the party leader most able to form a government.
12. +
Economy
Advanced/diversified economy
Strong high-tech sector
high-technology electronic
biomedical equipment
metal products
processed foods
chemicals
transport equipment
Israel has 4,000 active tech start-ups. It has more of these firms than any
other country outside of the U.S.
One of the world’s centers for diamond cutting and polishing
World leader of software development
Tourism (was higher pre-war in 2000)
13. +
Economy
Israel has approximately the same number of companies listed on
NASDAQ as Canada, Japan, and Ireland combined
Almost 45% of Israel's exports are high tech. Most leading players,
include:
Intel
Motorola
IBM
Cisco
In 2012, Israel's population was approximately 7,590,758 with a
count of approximately 9,200,000 cell phones!
Israel entered the global economic crisis in good shape,
recovering by 2003
14. +
Immigration
1989- Wave of Jewish immigration from former U.S.S.R
countries
Most were highly educated
Brought nearly one million new citizens
These Jewish immigrants account for 13% of Israel’s 7.5 million
person population
Key factor is Israel’s high-tech development
15. +
Social Media
Israelis use many of the same SM platforms as the U.S (some
in English, some in Hebrew, and some in Arabic)
The IDF used Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, blogs to
make the case for its campaign in Gaza, as well as, to issue a
warning to Hamas.
Used social media aggressively- hostile voice
The Power of Social Media:
Ahmed Jabari’s death was announced first to the ‘twittersphere’
Many Israeli claims are discussed on Hamas’ (the armed branch
of the Islamic Resistance Movement) social media
(@AlqassamBrigade)
17. +
Social Media-Twitter
Twitter
Keeps Israel and the
Diaspora involved with
Israeli communication,
updates (bombings, war,
economy), breaking news,
etc.
Many Israeli news
platforms, including the IDF
and government agencies,
use Twitter accounts
18. +
Social Media- YouTube
YouTube
IDF uses YouTube to publicize military events
Combined YouTube with Twitter to publicize killing of Hamas
military chief Ahmad Jabari
Video was entitled: "IDF Pinpoint Strike on Ahmed Jabari, Head of
Hamas Military Wing”
Description of video read: "On Nov. 14, 2012, the IDF targeted
Ahmed Jabari, the head of Hamas' military wing, in the Gaza
Strip. Jaabriwas a senior Hamas operative who served in the
upper echelon of the Hamas' command and was directly
responsible for executing terror attacks against Israel in the past.”
Ahmed Jaabri--planned kidnapping of GiladShalit-multiple terrorist attacks-ordered Palestinian terrorists to launch thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel