Israel

The State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medinat Yisra'el) is a country in the Middle East region, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the west, Egypt on the south-west, Jordan on the east, Syria on the northeast, and Lebanon on the north. Israel's capital and largest city is Jerusalem and it has a population of slightly more than 7 million. Its total land area is 20,330 square kilometers.

Israel declared its independence on Friday, May 14, 1948 following the UN Partition Plan which was adopted by the UN's General Assembly on November 29, 1947. Since the signing took place in the afternoon close to the Shabbat, the religious Jews signed the declaration first, because they did not want to sign on the Shabbat. Then the non-religious Jews signed it.

The word "Israel" is also the name of the Jewish people, the northern kingdom of the Hebrews (c. 1000-721 BC), and an often-used first name given to males and sometimes a surname as well.

Major cities in Israel include Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beer Sheva.