Socioculture in Israel

Introduction

Israel is a country with very a very interesting culture because it is such a young country and also because it houses the city of Jerusalem, a very important religious city for many religions. A third reason would be because it was a state that was fought for, for many generations.

Israel is very effected by Judaism, it's prime religion. Everything, almost, is effected by this fact.

Religion

The three major religions in Israel are Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Jewish holy days and the weekly Sabbath are, by law, observed throughout the country and only kosher food is served in the army, hospitals, and other governmental institutions. Of the three religions, Judaism is the largest and contains the most members. In 1987, 82 percent of the entire population was made of Jews, but that number has probably dropped since the Jewish population increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent while the Arabian population grew at an annual rate of about 2.8 percent.

Judaism

Judaism is the religion of Jews and is one of the world's oldest religions. The main idea of the religion is that there is a single, omnipresent God who created the world. Man's duty is to serve God as best as he can. The holy, most sacred text of Judaism is the Torah , which, according to tradition, contains not only a record of history and the law of God but is a complete guide to human life and the mysteries of the universe. There are many kinds of Judaism.

Reform Judaism

This was used more in Germany, at first. In America it was influenced by liberal Protestantism, more specifically, the Social Gospel movement. Since the 1940s, it has emphasized Jewish peoplehood and traditional religious culture. It is a nonauthoritarian religion and challenges the supernatural authority of the Torah and Halakhah .

Conservative Judaism

This branch of Judaism brings a sense of community and an idea of modernizing Eastern European Jews. It holds a respect for traditional Jewish laws and practice while keeping a flexible approach to Halakhah. There is another version of this called the Reconstructionist movement and was founded by Mordecai M. Kaplan in the 1930s. This movement keeps a religious naturalism and emphasizes Jewish peoplehood and culture.

Orthodoxy Judaism

The modern Orthodox Jew tries to integrate traditional views with modern life. There are also some Hasidic Sects that try to rid their ideas of the modern world and only focus on the past. Generally, the Orthodox Jew acknowledges the supernatural authority of the Torah and the Halakhah.

In Israel

In Israel in 1988, 61.4% of the Jews were native Israelis, 21.4% of the Jews were European-American, 9.2% of the Jews were African, and 8% of the Jews were Asians. The percentage of Israeli Jews has grown while all the other percentages have dropped with European-American making the biggest difference from 1948 where 54.8% of the Jews were European-American. About 27% of the world's Jews live in Israel.

Israel contains a very diverse population with citizens that come from all different backgrounds. The Jewish community alone is said to consist of members from 103 countries that speak more than 70 different languages. There are many different minority groups in Israel. In the mid-1980s the about 29,000 or them consisted of Sunn Muslim Circassian, Samaritans Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Protestants of different sects; the Greek Orthodox community being the largest of the Christian groups.

Members from the different religions generally related to members of their own religion more than other religions. Sometimes, this degree of secludence reached the level of intense hatred that was felt from both parties.

Arabs in Israel

Israel's Arabs are given the same religious and civil rights as the Jews as stated by the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. Arabs have been allowed to vote in national elections and have sent members to sit in the Knesset since 1949. They have also lost much land to the Israeli government and had to live under a military control that severely limited their physical mobility and permissible political expressions until 1966.

The state, although, has also sought the Arab's dependence to dominate the minority and avoid disturbances, proof that they are looked upon as a potential dagger and not treated entirely equal to the Jews. For example, many school systems, as well as access to Jewish institutions of higher learning are funded for by the government. The Arab communities are also given health facilities, religious institutions, and courts. Despite all of these, the real dependency has sprouted from the integration of Arab labor into Israel's economy.

Museums, libraries, and other arts

Israel contains more than 130 different museums. The two most well known are the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Israel Museum, in Jerusalem. The influence of Judaism on the culture and society stands out in the museums. Both of the museums contain a large collection of Jewish folk art.

Public libraries, in Israel, take up more than 500 different locations. The most important of these is the Jewish National and University Library on the campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, another Jewish institution. This one, though, contains about 4 million volumes.

The most successful writers of the countries craft their work using Jewish traditions. These writers include Shmuel Yosef Agnon, co-winner of the 1966 Nobel Prize in literature, and the philosopher Martin Buber.

Bibliography

Meta, Helen Chapin. Israel a country study. Washington, D.C.: United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army., 1990.

Sachar, Howard M.. A History of Israel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf., 1996.

Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, Microsoft