2008 November | Israel Travel

24.5.07 Amsterdams’ King Shiloh Sound System recording a live set 4 Tel Aviv’s 106fm radio during their tour in Israel.

Duration : 0:4:44

Technorati Tags: amsterdam, israel, King, reggae, Shiloh, sound, System, tour

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. The West Bank and Gaza Strip are also adjacent. With a population of about 7.28 million, the majority of whom are Jews, Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. It is also home to Arabs Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Samaritans, as well as other religious and ethnic minority groups.

The modern state of Israel has its roots in the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), a concept central to Judaism for over 3000 years. After World War I, the League of Nations approved the British Mandate of Palestine with the intent of creating a “national home for the Jewish people.” In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. On May 14, 1948 the state of Israel declared independence in accordance with the UN decision and this was followed by a war with the surrounding Arab states, which refused to accept the plan. The Israelis were subsequently victorious in a series of wars confirming their independence and expanding the borders of the Jewish state beyond those in the UN Partition Plan. Since then, Israel has been in conflict with many of the neighboring Arab countries, resulting in several major wars and decades of violence that continue to this day. Since its foundation, Israel’s boundaries and even the State’s very right to exist have been subject to dispute, especially among its Arab neighbors. However, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and efforts are being made to reach a permanent accord with the Palestinians.

Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and universal suffrage. The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel’s legislative body. In terms of nominal gross domestic product, the nation’s economy is estimated as being the 44th-largest in the world. Israel ranks high among Middle Eastern countries on the bases of human development, freedom of the press, and economic competitiveness. Jerusalem is the country’s capital, seat of government, and largest city, while Israel’s main financial center is Tel Aviv.

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Technorati Tags: arabic, aviv, bank, bbtv, broadbandtv, gaza, hebrew, israel, jerusal, jews, judaism, strip, tel, tourism, tourist, travel, vacation, west

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Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. The West Bank and Gaza Strip are also adjacent. With a population of about 7.28 million, the majority of whom are Jews, Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. It is also home to Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Samaritans, as well as other religious and ethnic minority groups.

The modern state of Israel has its roots in the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), a concept central to Judaism for over 3000 years. After World War I, the League of Nations approved the British Mandate of Palestine with the intent of creating a “national home for the Jewish people.” In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. On May 14, 1948 the state of Israel declared independence in accordance with the UN decision and this was followed by a war with the surrounding Arab states, which refused to accept the plan. The Israelis were subsequently victorious in a series of wars confirming their independence and expanding the borders of the Jewish state beyond those in the UN Partition Plan. Since then, Israel has been in conflict with many of the neighboring Arab countries, resulting in several major wars and decades of violence that continue to this day. Since its foundation, Israel’s boundaries and even the State’s very right to exist have been subject to dispute, especially among its Arab neighbors. However, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and efforts are being made to reach a permanent accord with the Palestinians.

Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and universal suffrage. The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel’s legislative body. In terms of nominal gross domestic product, the nation’s economy is estimated as being the 44th-largest in the world.Israel ranks high among Middle Eastern countries on the bases of human development, freedom of the press, and economic competitiveness.Jerusalem is the country’s capital, seat of government, and largest city, while Israel’s main financial center is Tel Aviv.

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Duration : 0:4:53

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Sorry, hon, I side with your mother on this one. There is too much going on there right now and Americans in particular are targets. Ask yourself if this trip is worth losing your life over…I think not.

Wait until things have settled down over there and then that will be the time to go.

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A group of German bishops sparked controversy yesterday when they compared Israel's treatment of the Palestinians with the Nazis' maltreatment of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.

The comments were made by the 27-strong German Bishops' Conference after its tour of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Children walk past the controversial Israeli barrier

Several of the bishops were upset by the Jerusalem Wall, the 30ft high concrete barrier illegally built by Israel to separate Palestinian suburbs from the rest of the city.

While crossing one of the checkpoints into East Jerusalem, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, said he had been particularly incensed.

"This is something that is done to animals, not people," he said referring to the wall and heavily fortified checkpoints where Palestinians are subjected to intrusive questioning and demands for Israel-approved documentation.

The Archbishop was brought up in Communist-controlled East Germany.

"For me it is a nightmare. I didn't think I would see such a wall again in my life," he said.

"Just like they brought the Berlin Wall down, so too will this wall come down. It will not endure."

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The bishops visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, before heading to Ramallah, the de facto capital of the occupied West Bank.

"This morning we saw pictures of the Warsaw ghetto at Yad Vashem and this evening we are going to the Ramallah ghetto," Bishop Gregor Maria Franz Hanke said.
Opinions?http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/07/wbishops07.xml

At the very least, their comments were really insensitive, especially considering they are Germans. It is one thing to protest the wall and Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. That is legitimate. But to compare Jews to Nazis shows amazing lack of sensitivity considering probably what their own grandfathers did to the Jews. Also no German bishops spoke out in the 30s and 40s about what was happening to the Jews. To my way of thinking, if these people want the moral high ground, they should just talk about how bad the wall is and not compare it to the Warsaw ghetto. Jews were starved to death in the Warsaw ghetto. They died of cold and exhaustion and disease. Then they were deported to death camps where they were gassed to death. This has not happened in Israel. So the comparison is way off. By all means, talk about and fight injustice. But use a little common sense when you do so.

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