Israel

G

Culture

Israeli culture reflects the diverse background of the people. The most successful writers draw their inspiration from Jewish tradition. Such writers have included the novelist Shmuel Yosef Agnon, co-winner of the 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature, and the philosopher Martin Buber. The impetus to create an indigenous Israeli literature is strong, but the cultural diversity of their compatriots is a problem for Israeli writers and artists. The foremost orchestra of the nation, the Israel Philharmonic, attracts each year a number of world-famous conductors and soloists. A vigorous tradition of folk song, in which the influence of Oriental Jewish music is strongly felt, thrives in Israel, as does dance. A prominent theatre is the Israel National Theatre in Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Israel has more than 130 museums, two of the most prominent being the Eretz-Israel Museum in Tel Aviv-Yafo and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, which houses a large collection of Jewish folk art, a collection of modern sculpture, and biblical and archaeological artefacts. Probably the most significant, however, is Yad Vashem, which is run by the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, the Jewish people’s national memorial to the Holocaust. The Shrine of the Book, part of the Israel Museum, houses a notable collection of Dead Sea Scrolls. Of the more than 500 public libraries in the country, the most important is the Jewish National and University Library on the campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with some 3.5 million volumes.

Israel has three World Heritage Sites. In 2001 Masada, a palace fortress, was inscribed; also in the same year, the Old City of Acre (Akko)—a walled Crusader port city—was recognized. The most recent inscription was for the White City of Tel Aviv (2003), which was constructed in the period 1930-1950 based on a plan by Sir Patrick Geddes and involved architects from the Modern Movement.

IV

Economy

Israel is heavily dependent on US aid and credits for military purchases. It is the biggest recipient of American economic and military aid in the world, amounting to around US$3,000 million a year. The economy is heavily dependent on defence and the service industries. In 2001, 17 per cent of government expenditure was spent on defence and 13 per cent on health. In 2006 military expenditure totalled US$9,820 million. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, fruits, and vegetables are leading exports. To earn foreign exchange, Israel targets niches in international markets with high-technology products such as medical-scanning equipment.

Israel’s open immigration policy for all Jews creates a heavy burden on the state as various influxes of immigrants have to be absorbed. The most recent big wave of immigration took place when Soviet Communism collapsed in 1989, allowing free Jewish emigration. These new arrivals were in the main highly educated, following professions already well represented in Israel and, although bringing mainly scientific expertise, presented a considerable integration and retraining challenge. Later, many of the 525,000 arrivals chose to seek a future in the United States. More recent waves of immigration have included Jews from the United States, who now form a considerable proportion of the Jewish settler population.

In the 1970s and 1980s the Israeli economy was beset by a staggering annual rate of inflation of up to 260 per cent—and by a chronic foreign trade imbalance. In July 1984 the national unity government declared an economic emergency, the imposition of sweeping austerity measures, and currency devaluation of 18.8 per cent. Within two years Israel’s currency, the shekel, was revalued and stabilized, and inflation was down to less than 20 per cent.

Living standards are generally high in Israel. In 2007, Israel had one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The annual national budget included revenue of US$65,957 million and expenditure of US$68,992 million. The GNP in 2004 was US$118,040 million (World Bank figure), or US$22,170 per capita. In 1995 the growth rate of GDP was 7.1 per cent, but growth slowed by the end of the 1990s, being estimated at just over 2 per cent by 1999. Inflation in 1996 was 11 per cent but had been reduced to below 2 per cent by the end of the decade. Unemployment had fallen from 10 per cent in 1993 to 6.9 per cent in 1995, but had risen again to almost the 1993 level by 1999.

Israel’s economic future is especially hard to predict. It has been heavily dependent on the United States for economic and military aid. The fading of early hopes for peace following the Oslo Accords, the eruption of a new Palestinian Intifada in 2000, and the election of Ariel Sharon, who has emphasized Israel’s security as his prime concern, as prime minister (see below) has meant that cuts in Israel’s defence spending, reaching over 9 per cent of its GDP by the end of the 1990s, appear unlikely. The country is now no longer subject to an Arab League trade boycott, so its regional markets have opened up. Also, if it cooperates with the autonomous Palestinian regions, it will continue to have access to a source of labour, though recent troubles have resulted in the closure of borders with Palestinian-administered regions for considerable periods.

A

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

Only 17 per cent of Israel consists of arable land, yet the country meets almost all of its food needs, and certain items, chiefly citrus fruits, vegetables, and eggs, are exported. Agricultural production in 2007 included 1,309,720 tonnes of fruits and berries, 1,559,924 tonnes of vegetables and melons, 579,000 tonnes of potatoes, 162,000 tonnes of wheat, and 47,600 tonnes of cotton. The livestock population included 440,000 head of cattle, 455,000 sheep, 91,000 goats, and 42.7 million chickens.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing employed just 2.7 per cent of the labour force and contributed only 2.6 per cent of GDP in 1995, yet its structure and successes are an important aspect of national identity and pride. This success has been made possible by reliance on scientific research and advanced technology, particularly the implementation of land reclamation and irrigation programmes. Israeli farming settlements are organized into three principal types. In the collective settlement (kibbutz), people share equally in the work and its profits. In the cooperative settlement (moshav), individual farms are worked separately but the produce is pooled and marketed by the settlement. In the smallholders’ settlement (moshava), individual farms are worked as private enterprises. The first two types of settlement are established on land owned by one of the various colonizing organizations, principally the Jewish National Fund, and leased to the settlers.

A major portion of the land reclamation and conservation programme in Israel is afforestation, or the establishment of forest cover, mainly in the hilly areas. About 8 per cent of Israel is forested. In 2007 the fish catch was about 26,036 tonnes. More than half of this quantity consisted of freshwater fish raised mainly in artificial fishponds.

B

Mining

The chief assets of the Israeli mining industry are the huge quantities of potash, bromine, magnesium, and other minerals extracted from the salt deposits of the Dead Sea. Potash production in 1994 amounted to about 1.3 million tonnes, while in 2007 some 0.84 million tonnes of phosphate rock were produced. Extensive quarrying of marble and granite meets domestic construction needs.

C

Manufacturing

Factories are mainly concentrated in Haifa and Tel Aviv-Yafo, although an important industrial complex is developing around the new port of Ashdod. The principal industrial products are processed foods, beverages, and tobacco; chemical, petroleum, and coal products, metal products, textiles and clothing, construction materials, glass and ceramics, jewellery, precision instruments, and electronic equipment. Wines and olive oil are also produced, and the diamond-processing industry flourishes.