Above is a map that shows the demographics of the State of Israel when it was officially established as a country in the year 1948. You will see above that there was, and still is today, a diversity of religious occupation in the land of Israel. While Jewish people still inhabit a large area of the land, it is a diverse country even today. While the actual boundaries of the county of Israel look different today than it did thousands and thousands of years ago, they still benefit from the same general land masses and proximity to resources and trade ports.
Seen colorfully above are where the 12 Tribes of Israel settled over the nation of Israel. These 12 sons, their names listed above in each different color land mass, are the dependents of Abraham that I spoke above to the right. This map shows how much of the outline of Israel has changed over time, and how much land has been lost in wars and during times of other political and religious fighting in the Middle East. While some of these land masses are still an essential part of Israel, most have been lost or compromised in size over the last handful of decades.
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Israel is a country unlike any other in the world. Whether it is in the news in regards to the struggle for power in the Middle East, in having to do with war and crisis, or even at the center of America’s political debates, Israel is a small country in size, but not in reputation.
The State of Israel as we know it today was established May 14, 1948 as a response to the horrific things that the Jewish people experienced in Germany and the surrounding European counties during World War II and the Holocaust. For such a small country, and for formally existing for such a short period of time, Israel has certainly made a splash in the International Affairs scene, and is the center of most political conversations and disagreements. But, this land was not always this way. Dating back to a time even before Jesus Christ, this land has been inhabited and used for cities expansion. Other than the modern day Israel that we all think of now, the earliest settlers lived in a different time an through different struggles than we might equate with Israel now. Israel as it was once inhabited by Canaanites, where the land got its long time name. Between 3,000 and 2,500 BCE, the Canaanites introduced the usage of bronze and developed cities. This area of the world is said to the earliest stage of humanity where organized civilized city life was being exhibited. While this period of time and these inhabitants existed for a long while, the land of Israel changes drastically in history when we are first introduced to the Jewish people, with Abraham coming to live in Israel, and his descenders inhabiting there, too, for many generations to come. There were twelve tribes of Israel, 12 sons, that derived from Abraham, which inhabited different parts of land. The Israelite tribes gave the country unity, and significance in history, because while they were all spread out throughout the country, they were both connected in a family sense, and in belief. Initially, they established the tribes in the area of Israel that had plains, and then were eventually able to move over to hill-top country, and eventually capture all the areas in between under the ruling of King David of Jerusalem in 1,000 BCE. While there are dozens and dozens of stories of war, capturing and losing of land, and being under rulings of kings that were not always favorable to the Jewish people, Israelites and the land of Israel has ultimately prevailed, and still inhabit the land where they originally settled with Abraham so many years ago. Obstacles of settlement goes without saying, but is due to the conflict of religious opinions in the modern-day coined term “middle east”. While the Jews, Palestinians, Christians and Muslims all believe that they have ownership, rights and jurisdiction over the land due to their historical and religious figures having dwelled there. The obstacles of settling in this land has, and probably always will be religion based. From rulers and kings who wanted to oppress the Jewish people, to those who were more drastic and wanted to destroy the nation of Israel and our religious beliefs and convictions all together, religion is the obstacle of settlement in Eretz Yisrael - The Land of Israel. Lastly, the resources that flourish and grow well in the land of Israel are so varied in type that it made it extremely easy to be successful. Because of its position in the world, Israel had access to many different things. In the country, agriculture is the main resource they could work off of. Because there are so many different climates, from a cold climate to extreme desert, Israelites had the ability to grow fruits and vegetables of all kinds, and trade them or live off of their own land. In addition to that, there are seas and oceans that touch the land of Israel, so fishing and trading through those water channels also sustained the people of Israel through their own natural resources and geographical location. Israel, as we think of it today, is such an advanced world powerhouse, and because of its deep seeded history for so many different groups of people around our world, will be here for thousands of years to come. |
Internet resources are a wonderful way to learn more information about Israel, its settlement over the last thousands of years, its current state of affairs, the resources it provides the world, and much more. To become more informed, I recommend these two websites...
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Economy/eco6.html
***Jewish Virtual Library Website would best be used to look up specific information about the rich history of the land. It goes in to great and intense detail about names, key players in wars, the landmarks, what is significant about them, etc. It is one of the most thorough websites I have ever come across -- especially about my beloved country, Israel.
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/israel.html
***Eretz Yisroel is a wonderful website where it lays out who settled when and where. It is in chronological order, and goes in to detail as to who ruled Israel when, who was in power, the struggles to remain there, and the outcomes of any and all wars or conquered that came through the land over the last thousands of years.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Economy/eco6.html
***Jewish Virtual Library Website would best be used to look up specific information about the rich history of the land. It goes in to great and intense detail about names, key players in wars, the landmarks, what is significant about them, etc. It is one of the most thorough websites I have ever come across -- especially about my beloved country, Israel.
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/israel.html
***Eretz Yisroel is a wonderful website where it lays out who settled when and where. It is in chronological order, and goes in to detail as to who ruled Israel when, who was in power, the struggles to remain there, and the outcomes of any and all wars or conquered that came through the land over the last thousands of years.
Population Pyramid Graphs of Israel |
According to the population graphs to the right, Israel has had an great change over the 3 time spans I selected.
Firstly, the year I selected to analyze was 1970. This was a time when Israel was really flourishing, the economy was booming, and the country was rapidly growing. It shows that the major population was not middle aged -- and rather in their young 20's, or in their older years. I think it is interesting how the influx from 15-19 is so great in the 1970's. Secondly, the year I chose to look at is 1950. This is just when Israel was getting its feet off the ground as an established nation for the world to rely on. Coming off of World War II, 1950 was a time when Israel was getting an influx of war survivors. The ages represent that, and show that older generation of Israeli citizens was slim in numbers. Most people were "new" Israelis, and elders were not established in the country yet. Thirdly, the year 2010 adequately represents what it looks like to go to Israel now. The ages are pretty evened out, and there is a presence of all age demographics within the country today. |