Alternative History
State of Israel
Hebrew: מדינת ישראל, Arabic: دولة إسرائيل Romanised: dawlat 'iisrayiyl, French: l'État d'Israël
Timeline: War to End All Others
OTL equivalent: Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Sinai
Israel with gold star of david Coat of arms of Israel
Flag of Israel Coat of arms
Motto: 
Unofficial: Hebrew: "אם תרצו, אין זו אגדה", Arabic: إذا شئت، فهو ليس حلمًا Romanised: 'iidha shiti, fahu lays hlman, English: if you will it, it is no dream
Anthem: 
Hebrew הַתִּקְוָה‎ Hatikvah, Arabic: الأمل Romanised: al'amal, English: The Hope
Israel with Sinai and Lebanon
Location of Israel
CapitalJerusalem
Largest city Tel Aviv
Other cities Beirut, Haifa, Acre, Netanya, Sidon, Tyre
Official languages Hebrew, Arabic, French, English
Regional languages , Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian
Ethnic groups  Jewish, Palestinian/Egyptian Arab, Lebanese, Druze
Religion Judaism, Sunni Islam, Irreligiousness
Demonym Israeli
Government Democratic Unitary Parliamentary Republic
 -  President Merav Michaeli (ILP)
 -  Prime Minister Yair Lapid (ILA)
Legislature Knesset
Establishment
 -  Mandatory Palestine 22nd July 1922 
 -  Israeli Independence 9th November 1928 
 -  Israeli Constitution 3rd August 1948 
Area
 -  Total 35,000 km2 
13,514 sq mi 
Population
 -   census 40,540,000 
GDP (PPP)  estimate
 -  Total €4.43 Trillion 
 -  Per capita €109,274 
HDI  0.93 
Currency Euro
Time zone +2
Date formats dd/mm/yy
Drives on the Right Side
Calling code +972
Membership international or regional organizations Dublin Treaty Organisation, Union of European States, the G9, the New Mediterranean Democratic Dialogue, Union for the Mediterranean

The State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Romanised: Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl) (Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Romanised: Dawlat Isrāʾīl) (French: l'État d'Israël) is a country in the middle east. It borders the Suez Canal International Zone, Republic of Egypt, the Arab Federation and the Kingdom of Jordan.

Israel is located in a region known historically as Canaan, Palestine and the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to several Canaanite, and later, Israelite and Judahite states, and is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. The region was also ruled successively by the Assyrian, Babylonian, Achaemenid and Hellenistic empires, Hasmonean kingdom, Herodian rulers, Roman and Byzantine empires, Arab Caliphates (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid), Crusaders, Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman empires. The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism in Europe, a movement seeking a Jewish homeland, which garnered British support during World War I. This Palestinian Mandate began to collapse due to internal unrest in the 1920s and in 1929 the modern state gained independence.

Conflict between the Arab states characterised much of 20th Century Israeli history. Israel engaged in the "Alliance of the Periphery" doctrine. This effectively meant allying states on the outskirts of the Arab world, which Israel would use to keep other Arab states on their toes. Israel under this doctrine backed Transcaucasia, Iran, Iraqi Kurds and Assyrians, South Sudanese rebels, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Morocco. This doctrine was unofficially ended following normalisation of relations with the Arab states.

Israel is home to the world's largest Jewish population and is home to many other ethnoreligious groups, such as Druze, Assyrians and Samaritans, as well as native Arabs from Palestine and Lebanon. Israeli culture is especially diverse, the Palestine region being home to many ethnic groups and the Jewish settlers coming from across the world. This meaning that Israel is home to former French, American, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, German, Eastern European and Russian jews. This has created a cultural melting pot which is unseen in the wider world.

Israel is a nuclear power, a high income economy with a HDI of 0.93, a key member of the Union of European States and is a major investor in South America, Africa and Asia. Israel was often seen as a pariah in the Middle East, although recently it has developed cordial to friendly relations with the Middle Eastern states of the Arab Federation, Jordan, Tunisia, Iran and Morocco and has normalised ties with the UAK and Egypt.

History[]

Mandate of Palestine and Zionism (1918-1928)[]

The Ottoman Empire were defeated and partitioned in 1918 after fighting for the Central Powers in the Great War and the different parts of the Empire were either given independence or given to European Powers as League of Nations mandates. Palestine, Qatar, the Trucial States, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait were given to British zones of economic and political influence.

The British had declared their intention to create a Jewish state in the historical Palestinian region through the Balfour Declaration (1917). Palestine, unlike previous Jewish plans for Uganda and Ararat City (US), this plan was backed by a political movement. This being Zionism. Zionists rose up after the rise of nationalism in the 19th Century. As antisemitism was growing in Europe (especially in Russia) thinkers like Theodor Herzl backed the creation of a Jewish State in the former Jewish region of Palestine. These settlers had been moving to the Ottoman Empire before the Great War, setting up intentional agricultural communities called Kibbutz and establishing new cities like Tel-Aviv.

Zionist-Pioneers-Early-Pre-Israel-Kibbutz

Zionist settlers in Israel

When the British established the Palestinian Mandate, Muslim and Jewish assemblies were set up, the Supreme Muslim Council (Muslim) and the Assembly of Representatives (Jewish), by the Mandate's High Commissioner Herbert Samuel. Samuel originally intended for joint religious participation in these elected bodies but the Arabs flat out rejected the proposal.

The councils were established but religious violence began to grow in scale and number. The new Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, replaced the old Mufti in 1921. He was an Arab nationalist and a key influencer in violent opposition to Zionism. In 1921 the British also occupied the region of Lebanon after the French Civil War caused the French Syrian Mandate to collapse.

A dramatic uptick in Jewish Immigration to Palestine characterised 1921 to 1927, along with the dramatic development of infrastructure of Palestine by newly created organisations such as the Jewish Advancement Fund, founded in Warszawa Poland , which helped fund projects and immigration to the League of Nations Mandate. Jews in Russia and Metropolitan France immigrated due to their own countries instability. Anger was caused amongst Zionists when Byelorussia started prohibiting Jewish Emigration, attempting to keep them within the country due to the Jewish population's comparative wealth in Byelorussia. By Christmas 1927 the Jewish population made up around 40% of the total Palestinian population of about 1.2 million. This growth in the Jewish population was mainly due to the UK failing to curb illegal immigration due to lack of funds after the Anglo-Finance Crisis and bribes paid to British officials.

Mohammed Amin al-Husseini was expelled from Palestine after trying to incite anti-Jewish riots in 1925, Mohammed fleeing to Iraq.

Israeli Independence, Civil War/First Arab-Israeli War (September 5th -November 19th 1928)[]

Tension in Palestine reached critical levels in 1928 after an Arab revolt broke out, mainly through the backing of Syndicalist Syria, which was then under the Arab National Syndicalist Party, and al-Husseini. The revolt was wildly successful, the British still suffering from economic malaise and decline. The Jewish terror groups rose up as well, mainly to protect the Jewish population and to partake in the recolt. The British quickly lost control and after Arab and Jewish insurgents took over Jerusalem they attempted to bomb them. This led to international condemnation after several historical sites were nearly destroyed, motivating the UK to sign the Nicosia Declaration (Sep. 29th) stating their termination of the Palestine Mandate.

This then led to the Israeli Civil War (or the First Arab Israeli War), Arab and Jewish armies combating each other in the holy land, civilians on both sides, especially Jews, were targeted for violence in large pogroms, causing around 10,000 deaths. Jewish groups had been pressuring the AEES to intervene and after the Nicosia Declaration, the AEES requested League of Nations permission to intervene. The League accepted and on the 9th of November a joint alliance of Polish, Ukrainian, Helenic, Yugoslav and Livonian troops landed in Palestine to stabilise the situation. The AEES had occupied all of the Mandate by November 19th, Israel declaring its independence on the same day, taking up all the territory of the former mandate.

The new state was a democratic nation, it granting autonomy to the Palestinian Arabs, despite an Arab exodus after the AEES landings. Jews now made up around 56% of Israel's population.

The Quiet Years(1928-1932)[]

David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion

Israel's provisional government worked with a loose set if rules, outlining the rights granted to Israelis, the government's powers and the system of government that would be put into place. David Ben-Gurion leading as the nation's provisional Prime Minister, Gurion being a leader of the Labour Zionists, left-wing and Socialist Zionists. The provisional government gained funds and investment from the AEES as well as immigration from eastern Europe. The status of Israel's minorities was a major issue as the Jewish population now represented a majority in Israel. Druze, Samaritans and others were granted equal status as they had remained mostly neutral in the Civil War. However, anti-Arab opinion had grown in the Jewish population. Eventually an agreement was made where regions of high Arab populations could gain autonomy and that Arabic would become one of the two main languages of Israel, alongside Hebrew. It was also decided that being "Jewish" would be classified as an ethnicity and not a religion, so that Israel would simply be a nation-state rather then any sort of theocratic republic.

The first elections of Israel were held in 1929, Gurion winning as part of the Labour-Socialist Ahdut HaAvoda (translated as Labour Unity) party. The AHP's policy was on reconciliation and prepping the nation for eventually joining the AEES. Chaim Weizmann was elected to the figurehead position of Israeli president. Gurion pursued a policy of investment and government intervention in areas of the economy such as in infrastructure, as well as uniting the various Israeli militias into the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and founding the external Israeli military agency Mossad, the internal security agency Shin Bet and military intelligence in the Aman, all of which were put under the supervision of the Prime Minister's cabinet. Israel also started to try and build relations with their neighbours, most not reciprocating except for Iran, with whom Israel developed a close alliance, and the Transcaucasian Democratic Federation. Israel also became a hub for innovation in this time including many notable scientists such as Albert Einstein moving to the young state.

Israel was considered developed enough to join the AEES and joined in 1932, Israel nearly immediately becoming a hub for military industries, technology and financial services. The Knesset in 1932, at the prompting of right wing conservative parties, attempted to remove Arabic as a national language and instead to designate it as a regional language. This along with conflicts over Jerusalem led to the Second Arab-Israeli War.

Second Arab-Israeli War (1932-1933)[]

A coalition of Arab monarchies invaded Israel on September 24th. Israel was initially forced back with nearly the entire southern coast of Israel being captured. However, Israel managed to push Jordan back and pushed Egyptian led coalition forces out of the Sinai peninsula. This led to domestic unrest in the Arab countries and they sued for peace. The Peace of Jordan was signed on April 7th, ending hostilities between the monarchies and Israel but notably the monarchies didn't recognise, Israel except for Jordan.

The Mossad was heavily funded after the War, mainly to provide information on any future conflict and to commit espionage against the Arab countries.

End of the Ben-Gurion Era (1933-1937)[]

The language reforms were dropped and the Jerusalem Agreement (1936) was placed into law, allowing Israel's capital to have specific areas reserved for certain religions and peoples. To placate hardline Zionists the Law of Return Act (1935) made immigration and citizenship easier to gain for Jews in other countries, this becoming important after the exodus of Jews from the Arab world after the Arab-Israeli War and from Europe after the beginning of the Second Great War. Israel supplied weapons, men and materials to Poland and their continental allies in Europe per their AEES membership. They also supplied arms to China during their war. Ben-Gurion retired in 1937 after exhaustion, having made Israel into an economic power and overseeing the nation's population growth to over 9 million.

Third Arab-Israeli War, Goldberg & Herzog Premierships (1937-1949)[]

GROUP OF SYRIAN PRISONERS OF WAR CAPTURED AFTER LAKE KINNERET ACTION, UNDER ISRAELI GUARD.

Captured Egyptian + Jordanian Soldiers under IDF oversight in the aftermath of the 12 Day War

The Israeli Liberal Alliance managed to win a broad liberal coalition, under the premise of liberalising the economy for foreign investment, establishing an Israeli constitution and opening Israel to non-European and non-Middle Eastern Jews. American Jew, Arthur Goldberg was elected Prime Minister. After his election he couldn't immediately enact most of his policies as the Third Arab Israeli War broke out on February 13th, after the Arab League attacked Israel after being pushed by the German Workers State. The war was quick, lasting only 12 days, Israel pushing back on all fronts and reaffirming its position in Jordan, making the monarchy an allied state. Goldberg also unilaterally annexed Sinai, previously being in talks of handing it back to Egypt. During the War Goldberg entered into a grand coalition across the Knesset, attempting to reach an agreement on an Israeli constitution, his failure to do so costing him politically. Goldberg did initiate Operation God's Hand, who's purpose was to find Germans and other collaborators who partook in the genocide of Jews during the Second Great War and who had escaped. One of the most infamous cases in God's Hand was the kidnapping of war criminal Eva Braun who was taken and tried in 1951 and executed in 1952.

He helped Israel join the AEES's successor organisations of the UES and the DTO as well as the League of Nations and signed the Syrian Peace deal, angering hardliners in the coalition and the collapse of his government ahead of the 1941 elections. Chaim Herzog (Andut HaAvoda) managed to form a left wing coalition, being elected Prime Minister in 1941.

Chaim Herzog, 1950s

Chaim Herzog

The Coalition was focused on reconciliation with the Arab world. Herzog added an addendum to the Law of Return, allowing Druze, Lebanese and Palestinian Arab refugees to return on similar conditions to the Jewish diaspora. Very few Arabs returned however, except for members of the Druze and Lebanese diasporas. Israel had placed Druze in many high ranking positions in the IDF in the previous decades, the Druze protecting the Jewish state in the Second and Third Arab-Israeli Wars, so their migration was a benefit to Israel in Herzog's eyes. It also helped that the Druze overwhelmingly voted for the Andut HaAvoda.

Because of this reproachment he managed to open diplomatic relations with the Kingdoms of Tunisia and Morocco, all three forming the New Mediterranean Democratic Dialogue. As the economy boomed Herzog managed to form an Israeli Constitution (1948). The document declared Israel to be "A democratic and free Jewish State which treats all groups that inhabit Israel as equal", the Constitution treating "Jewish" as an ethnic group. It was also mostly secular, allowing non-religious state based institutions for things like marriage. Herzog began the Israeli nuclear program as well in 1946.

UK Embassy Dublin, petrol bombed, 1972

UK Dublin Embassy bombed, 1948

Herzog's premiership was mostly calm internationally until the Ulster Arms Scandal (1948-49). The scandal began when elements of the Mossad were found to have been trading arms to extremists in the Irish government who then smuggled them to the Irish Republican Army terrorist group for terrorist activities in Ulster. The scandal involved how much culpability Chaim, who was born in Ireland, had for the scandal. Especially after the IRA bombed the UK embassy in Dublin with Israeli bomb equipment, which strained Anglo-Israeli relations. The left wing coalition lost due to the international embarrassment even though Herzog was cleared of all charges

Persitz Premiership & involvement in the Middle Eastern Cold War (1949-61)[]

The Israeli Liberal Alliance won the election with Shoshana Persitz being elected as Israel's first female Israeli PM and first Ukrainian born Israeli PM. Her secular liberal alliance pushed for educational reform, its focal point being the Education Act (1951) which created a secular school system. Her term saw the full liberalisation of the Israeli economy and the Israeli economic boom of the 1950s as well as the renovation of cities like Tel Aviv and Gaza.

Shoshana Persitz

Shoshana Persitz

She pushed for the UES to give Association status to Iran and South Africa, mainly to secure an alliance between the two rising powers. She supported the reform movement in the then Arab Socialist Federation, congratulating the Federation after the end of one party rule (six virtual puppet parties being created instead). She became more involved in the Cold War's Middle Eastern Theater, especially after the 1960 Egyptian Revolution installed an extremist Arab nationalist government. She did this by supporting Mossad operations in the Gulf monarchies against the USA and in the Arab Socialist Republics against the Shanghai Pact. Under her leadership Israel developed its first nuclear weapons.

She was the first properly democratically elected female head of government, being seen internationally as a feminist darling. Her secular reforms were also popular nationally and internationally. She did lose the 1961 election after the numerous crises of the early 1960s.

Meir Premiership (1961-1969)[]

The Israeli left formed a strong coalition with the Andut HaAvoda uniting with several minor to form the Israeli Labour Party (ILP). Golda Meir became Prime Minister afterwards. Under her leadership Israel managed to get out of recession and gain a population of over 20 million. Golda Meir enlisted Israel to became one of the members of the G9 dialogue of liberal democracies alongside the French Republic, Italy, Poland-Lithuania, the Federal Republic of Brazil, the Federal Kingdom of Russia (later China), India, the Imperial State of Iran, the Union of South Africa and Yugoslavia.

Golda Meir

Golda Meir in the White House, 1966

The Fourth Arab-Israeli war occurred in 1963 Egypt attempted an invasion of Israel, making landings in the southern Sinai. Israeli forces were caught unawares but managed to force the Egyptians back and activate the self defence clause of the DTO, causing Egypt to back down and sign a temporary ceasefire which has remained in place ever since. This also led to the internationalisation of the Suez Canal. The Haitian Crisis was also a difficult time for Israel as they had previously supplied the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic with economic and military support, although they have supported the newly re-established Haitian Republic.

The Central African Collapse put Meir's government under increased scrutiny as the nation had put large amounts of money into the LONTA administration, this money now being burned as the region descended into chaos. Because of this she distanced from the conflict, not backing Katanga like other European leaders in an attempt to pull the population's attention away from the African situation, although the return of prominent Israelis who were working in the administration caused her attempt to fall through and increasing criticism of her government's hands-off attitude to the Crisis was damaging to the ILP's popularity. Her industrialisation and urbanisation of the Negev in southern Israel resulted in ethnic conflict between Jewish Israelis and Bedouin Arabs and her increased economic regulation slowed the economy.

Her attempts at trying to contain the situation led to her popularity declining and the Labour Party lost the 1969 election to the Conservative Israeli Party, this being the first CIP victory

Begin Premiership (1969-1972)[]

Menachem Begin 2

Menachem Begin

Menachem Begin of the Conservative Israel Party created a bare-majority right-wing coalition, forcing to moderate his party's platform to ally with religious Zionists and Muslims in smaller parties. His main policies were a revitalisation of the Israeli military, Begin believing that Israel had become too reliant on the DTO, religious autonomy to those in Israel and to counter terrorism in the State and its neighbours, partnering with Iran, Jordan and the Arab Federation to defeat organisations such as the Black April Organisation. He also sought to combat the United Arab Republic, which was intensely anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli. Begin was a controversial party leader for the CIP, as he was a former leader of the Zionist militant organisation the Irgun which some believed would alienate the religious Muslim voters of the CIP. This was proven wrong however.

The Begin premiership was supportive of Shinbet and Mossad, increasing their funding to create chaos in the UAR and the wider anti-Israeli pan-Arab movement. Tensions rose with the Arab Federation, which despite being an Israeli ally, was viewed upon with suspicion by the Begin administration who believed it was part of the same pan-Arab movement as the UAR. With this antagonism the Begin government held information away from the Federation for a period of three months in 1971 due to a spat between him and leaders in the Federation. This led to an uptick in terroristic activity in the Arab Federation until the Israelis went back to sharing information with the Arabs. These few months of chaos led to the Black April Organistaion to make footholds in the Federation, the BAO taking its name after the Jordanian Civil War where the Arab-Socialist faction failed to defeat the Jordanian government.

This failure led to a head when the BAO launched a terror attack against the Israeli Olympic team during the 1972 Damascus Olympics. Kidnapping the team alongside a police officer in the Olympic village before then killing the team after a hostage crisis. The world reacted with shock, sympathy flooding to Israel. Despite this the Begin was criticised domestically for his failure to use the Mossad to break into the village and rescue the team as well as his stifling of information sharing leading to the BAO gaining ground in the Federation. Members of his coalition broke off and a vote of no-confidence issued. After a special election in February 1973, the ILA won with some conservative and social liberal parties. British-born Israeli Edwina Cohen then became prime minister.

Cohen Premiership (1973-1978)[]

Edwina currie

Edwina Cohen (1999)

The ILA's victory in the 1973 election came on the back of a counter-revolution to the conservative elements of Israeli society. Part of this was the rise in the same-sex rights movement within Israel. Edwina Cohen, a 27 year old member of the ILA who emigrated from the UK to Israel, advocated for same-sex marriage At the same-time she advocated for increased co-operation with the Arab Federation and Jordan which saw some support from moderates following Begin's isolationism.

The Oil Crisis was beginning at the start of Cohen's premiership and her government implemented an agreement with France, the Arab Federation and Russia to secure Israeli access to petroleum products while also increasing Israeli production of renewable sources of energy and nuclear energy. Cohen also added many Druze and Arab politicians to her cabinet. Jabr Muadi was the fist Druze Foreign Minister and Hanan Daoud Mikhael Ashrawi who was the first female and Arab Deputy Prime Minister. Cohen also implemented a series of food quality assurances on the European level after an outbreak of salmonella in Gaza. Cohen implemented same-sex marriage and full legal equality for homosexuals following a successful referendum in 1975. This was seen as a successful vote of confidence in her premiership.

Part of Cohen's attempts to build ties with western states was making French and English official languages of Israel in 1976.

Cohen was highly opinionated and made many disparaging remarks during the Israeli economic depression following the Oil Crisis, despite attempts to combat the crisis. One comment of hers was particularly controversial. Televised during an interview in 1977 for Euronews, she was given a story of an elderly woman who was on the streets by the name of Helena. Her response was "I am unaware of Helena's exact situation, but I think she might be misinformed about the options available to her, to get her out of that situation". This and other comments ruined her reputation and led to a centre-left alliance led by the ILP to win the 1978 election with Shimon Peres becoming the PM

First Peres Premiership (1978-1991)[]

1986 King David Hotel Bombing[]

Netanyahu Premiership (1991-1997)[]

Fayyad Premiership (1997-2008)[]

Second Peres Premiership (2008-2016)[]

Lapid Premiership (2016-)[]

2023-24 Jordanian Crisis[]

Politics[]

Government[]

Israel works under a Unitary Parliamentary Republican system deriving its powers, restrictions and responsibilities from the Israeli Constitution (1948) and its amendments. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and cabinet, being elected by a parliamentary majority. The Israeli government is nearly completely run by coalition governments, this is due Israeli elections run on a basis of proportional representation, a party needing only 2.5% of the vote to gain a seat in the Knesset. The country defines itself in its constitution as "A democratic and free Jewish national State which treats all groups that inhabit Israel as equal ", the constitution also containing protocols for the Laws of Return (1935, 1943) which give the right for any Jewish, Druze or Arab Palestinian descendent to gain citizenship and residency in Israel. Israeli politics and society has become less focused on Zionism and Islamism and has become more secular, parties being less defined on Zionism or anti-Zionism and more on political ideologies like Liberalism, Conservatism and Socialism. Soft Zionism and Soft Anti-Zionism has also replaced formerly conflicting hardline Zionists and Anti-Zionists. Matters of faith and marriage can be handled by religious authorities or the state (secular institutions).

Human Rights[]

Israel has universal suffrage for all citizens over the age of 18. Freedoms of speech, assembly and, importantly, religion are guaranteed by the constitution and a culture supporting liberal democracy and freedom. Same-sex marriage is legal in Israel and LGBT citizens are treated on an equal level legally. All creeds and religions are on paper equal under Israeli law although discrimination exists, in particular discrimination is often brought up in relation to Arab Israelis and Haredi Jews. Religion is a contentious issue in Israel, with special rights being guaranteed to different religious groups (e.x Jews, Muslims, Christians) to certain sites and other religions can be banned from praying at the same time as another group or at certain sites all together.

Economy[]

Israel is a major economy in the world a high income economy, it being a major supplier of weapons and military tech. It is also seen as on the forefront of technological development and investment as well as advancing computer technology such as Israel supporting the ResDinRés network in the 60s. Natural gas is a minor sector of the Israeli economy, financial services being a much larger section of the economy. It has a highly diversified economy, although increasingly the tertiary sector makes up much of Israel's economy. Religious tourism has risen in Israel, in particular with the normalisation of Muslim nations relations with Israel many Muslims have begun to visit holy sites in the country. Israel as a UES full member has access to the UES single market and its customs union and uses the Euro as its national currency.

Administration[]

Israel is divided into 10 Governorates, they are:

  1. Sinai Governorate
  2. Gaza Governorate
  3. West Bank Governorate
  4. Jerusalem Governorate
  5. Tel-Aviv Governorate
  6. Haifa Governorate
  7. Nabatiyeh Governorate
  8. Beqaa Governorate
  9. North Governorate
  10. Beirut/Mount Lebanon Governorate

Certain governorates are given increased autonomy due to historical precedent, interethnic agreements or peace treaties. The following Governorates have autonomy:

The Mount Lebanon Governorate, is granted increased political autonomy due to its unique demographic character (being dominated by Maronite Christians) and devolved economic autonomy. This has allowed Lebanon to become an international hotspot for financial services. Maronite Christians and Shi'ite Arabs are the vast majority of Lebanon's population, although there exists a Jewish and Sunni Arab community in the south.

Jerusalem Governorate, is run on a complex series of governance mixed between a secular/civil and religious administration alongside an International Committee run by the League of Nations. Its unique structure was established following Israeli independence in 1928, at the pressure of international powers concerned with the rights of Muslim, Christians and Arabs under a Jewish dominated state. Jews make up the majority of Jerusalem's population, although the rights of Christians and Muslims are protected and certain sights in the city have rights reserved for different ethno-religious groups.

Sinai Governorate,

Parties[]

Israeli politics is more diverse then most nations because of their proportional representative system where any party only needs 1.5% to gain 2 seats in the Knesset. There are nine major parties however, with the first three forming the government most of the time. They are:

(a) HaAvoda the Israeli Labour Party, a fusing of former socialist democratic and social democratic parties founded in 1955 out of a fusion of various Labour Zionist parties, its largest founder being the former Andut HaAvoda Party. They gain the most support from Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, as well as left wing secular Israelis, the Druze ethnic group, Bedouins, those working in Kibbutz and working class Israelis. Its ideology is Soft-Zionism, Soft Secularism, Democratic Socialism, Social Democracy, Pro-Europeanism and Social-liberalism. They were supportive of Arab normalisation under the principle that no losses occur to Israeli territory and since the general normalisation between Muslim majority states and Israel, they have backed several projects such as the MENA Rail Road and the Gaza-to-Tehran motorway. They support LGBT and women's rights.

(b) Liberal Democrats the Israeli Liberal Alliance, a combination of market liberal and social-liberal parties which was formed out of the Liberal Zionist movement. They see most support from Christian Arabs, Secular Jews and Arabs as well as urban residents in Israel, Christians in Lebanon, upper and middle class Israelis and American/Middle Eastern Jews. Its ideology is Economic Liberalism, Social Liberalism, Progressive Liberalism, pro-Europeanism and Hard Secularism. The ILA is supportive of same-sex rights and support the current safety net. The party supports the French secular policy of Lacite and is considered the most secular political party in Israel. They support normalisation with secular Muslim majority states and was against the 1991 Israeli-UAK normalisation Agreement, despite never attempting to rescind it when in power. Its leader is Yair Lapid since 2014 and has been the Prime Minister since 2016.

c) Likud the Consolidated (Likud) Conservative Israeli party, founded in the 1960s out of various right wing and conservative groups. The CIP is the main arm of the right wing in Israel. The party is multi-denominational, running on the platform of increased religious autonomy and social conservative views held by the different faiths in Israel. It also supports the funding of religious studies for the major three religions of Israel (Islam, Christianity, Judaism). It is popular amongst conservative Israelis, Bedouins, religious Jews (especially Haredi Jews) and Sunni Muslims in Lebanon. Its ideology is Religious Autonomy, pro-Europeanism Social Conservatism, Religious Conservatism, Economic Liberalism and Federalism. Due to its large Muslim & Arab support they support normalisation with Arab countries.

(d) Maki flag Israeli Communist & Syndicalist Party (MAKI), a fusion of the Israeli Communist Party and the Revisionist Syndicalist Party of Israel. It is based off of far left politics and economic thought as well as Revisionist Syndicalism's adoption of operating under a capitalist democratic frame work before implementing their political system. Their main base of support is in elite leftists and the down trodden of society. Their ideology is Democratic Syndicalism, Democratic Communism, Revisionist Syndicalism, Neutral Zionism, Moderate Arab Nationalism and Socialism. They reject the labels of Palestinian, Zionist, Jewish or Arab, claiming that such notions distract from the goal of proletarian upheaval but a large portion of their voters are Arab Israelis from the West Bank. Instead hoping for all people to identify with the label of "Israeli". The were conservative on social issues, however they have liberalised since the 21st Century as newer members became more supportive of things such as LGBT rights.

(e) United Israel - All Israeli Political Party, is a national conservative political party. It is a regional offshoot of the United Russia political party founded by Russian Jews in Israel. It is a centre-right to right wing political party and its ideological positions are national conservatism, hard secularism, Russian speakers interests, anti-clericalism, national liberalism and economic liberalism. They are critical of the position of Imams, priests and Rabbis in Israel and promote religious secularism. The party has been criticised for the Anti-Arab attitude of its members and has been reported to the Electoral Commission several times for racism. They strongly reject Arab normalisation although are unwilling to alter any existing arrangements with Arab states.

(f) Fatah FlagFatah, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is an Arab nationalist political party. They support the establishment of an independent Arab state which they call Palestine. They are commonly considered a spoiler political party by Arab nationalists who refuse to support the ILP, Ra'am or the MAKI. Its stated positions are, Arab/Palestinian Nationalism, Democratic Socialism, "Anti-Imperialism" and Arab Socialism. The party has been accused of Anti-Semitism. It has also been stated that the party is the political organ of its leader Mahmoud Abbas (earlier Yasser Arafat), who has been accused of corruption on numerous occasions.

(g)Flag of Lebanon Lebanese National Party, is a regionalist party for Mount Lebanon and its surrounding area. It is mainly occupied by Maronite Christians, secular Arabs and those who live in the Lebanon region.

(h) United Arab ListUnited Arab List (Ra'am

(i) Jewish Defence LeagueJewish National Front

Terrorism[]

Israel has had to contend with terrorism throughout its history from Arab political movements, Zionist extremists, left wing radicals and nationalists. Terrorism since Israeli independence has been mainly from the Arab and left wing radical camps. Arab terrorism declined after reconciliation with the Arab community in Israel in the 1960s although it experienced a brief resurgence during the Oil Crisis. Since the 1990s terrorism in the Arab community has come from Islamist forces. Liberal and left wing Israeli politicians have been the occasional targets of right wing Zionist extremists, such as the 1986 King David Hotel Bombing. The Shinbet holds powers in Israel to help combat terrorism and has been given praise for the skill at containing the terrorism problem.

Military[]

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל) is the name for Israel's military

  1. Israeli Ground Forces (Hebrew: זרוע היבשה) is Israel's main ground forces. It is renowned for its skill and high quality equipment, it being some of the most technologically advanced in the region. Many high rankling members of the IGF are ethnic Druze and are considered highly loyal to Israel. Every Israeli citizen is required to join the military for a set period of time although exceptions are made for disabilities, medical conditions and religious practices.
  2. Israeli Air Force (Hebrew: זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל) is Israel's air force. The IAF is considered up to the international standard and is given limited responsibility to monitor and protect Jordanian and Arab Federal air space.
  3. Israeli Navy (Hebrew: חיל הים הישראלי), is Israel's naval force. They are also considered advanced and Israeli naval docks are responsible for protecting and holding DTO ships and men.

Foreign Relations[]

Israel is a key Middle Eastern and Mediterranean power player and has cordial relations with all UES and DTO members. Israel has good relations with most post-colonial states, investing particularly in Nigeria, Ethiopia and the LONTA of Central Africa. Israel has tense relations with many hardline Islamic countries such as Turkestan and Uyghurstan, with both openly stating their intention to destroy Israel. Other states with openly hostile relations with Israel are Libya, Somalia, Malawi, Tanganyika, Indonesia, Israel is one of the major nuclear powers, alongside the French Republic, Poland-Lithuania, China, the US, the UK, Russia and India.

It was previously unrecognised by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Turkey, the Kingdom of Yemen, the Socialist Republic of Oman, the Trucial State Federation, the Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Afghanistan, the Union of Sudan and the Somali Republic. Turkey recognised Israel in 1974 as part of their democratisation reforms, Oman in 1981, Egypt in 1986, the United Arab Kingdom in 1991, and Sudan in 2005. Israel has taken measures to prevent its encirclement by hostile nations, this being known as the Alliance of the Periphery. They do this mainly by supporting the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan, sponsoring Iran's nuclear program, opening their economy to the Arab Federation and forming the New Mediterranean Democratic Dialogue. Although this policy has declined mainly due to bettered relations with its neighbours.

Iran, the Arab Federation and Jordan are very close allies of Israel. Jordan was in particular is closely related to Israel, with the Israelis backing the Hashemites during Black September, funding their educational institutions as well as the Hashemite dynasty retaining custodianship of several holy sites in Jerusalem. Jordan and Israel's economies were closely tied together and a dip in one usually leads to a dip in the other. Following Jordan's annexation by the Arab Federation, Israel has increased their ties to the Arab Federation. Israel also supports nationalist and identity building initiatives in their neighbours, hoping to dissuade the formation of pan-Islamic and radical pan-Arab identities. The Arab Federation and Israel are also very integrated economically. Due to Israeli support the three countries populations are also highly supportive of Israel on a political and economic level.

Demographics[]

Religion[]

Jewish citizens take up 65% of Israel's population (including secular & atheistic Jews), various sects of Islam take up 13%, Druze are around 9%, Irreligious or atheists are around 10% and 3% are other including Christians.

Ethnicity[]

65% of Israel's population are Jewish, Arabs make up 19% are Arabs, 9% are Druze (classified under Israeli law as different from Arab) and 7% are others including Samaritans, Assyrians and Copts.

Language[]

Hebrew, French, English and Arabic are the official languages of Israel, Hebrew being the primary lingua franca of the nation. There are seven recognised minority languages which Israeli citizens can request government documents in said languages. The languages are Russian, Byelorussian, Yiddish, Ukrainian and Spanish. Of these, Ukrainian and Polish are the most used, Ukrainian-Polish media being shown in Israel and dubbed in Hebrew.

Culture[]

Sports[]

Football and basketball are the major sports in Israel. They have attended the Olympics since their admission to the League of Nations. They did not boycott the 1948 St. Louis Summer Olympics unlike other UES aligned countries but did not stay as members of the National Corporatist Party's youth wing hurled debris and attacked the Israeli team due to antisemitism.

Film, Literature & Media[]

Israeli film makers and producers are renowned internationally and are particularly popular in western markets. The domestic Israeli film industry is rather peculiar internationally, mainly because the majority of their films are not made in either Arabic (mainly due to bans on Israeli media in many Arab countries) or Hebrew. Instead they are made using foreign languages such as Russian, French or English and subtitled into one of Israel's official languages. This has been changing since the 1990s as the Arab world has grown to accept Israel and warmer relations between the Arab states and Israel and the growth of Hebrew profficiency amongst non-Jewish Israelis. The major boom in Israeli film and movie industries is also caused by the exodus of entertainers from the USA in the mid 20th Century, Israel being the major hotspot for Jewish directors and actors. Some notable Israeli directors are Stanley Kubrick, Terrence Mallick, Samuel Wilder and Richard Brooks. Notable Israeli actors are Barbara Streisand, Mel Kaminsky, Sonia Hurwitz and Susan Strasberg. Arab and Lebanese Israelis have also had a significant effect on Israeli mdeia. Such actors include Michael Malarkey, Keanu Reeves,

Israeli comics are quite popular, the main brands being פֶּלֶא (English: Wonder or Marvel) and Europa Comics. It is comparable in popularity to Chinese Manhua and is successful globally, particularly in Europe and the Americas, despite the US government initially trying to censor the two businesses, accusing Wonder and Europa of being "foreign assets". Both Europa Comics and Wonder fused into Marvel-Europa Comics in 1968.

Some notable Israeli writers are Anzia Yezierska, Irwin Shaw, Emily Ibrahim and Mikha'il Nu'ayma.

Education[]

Primary and Secondary education is free in Israel. Religious education is popular as well, especially in Orthodox Jewish communities. Recent Israeli governments have begun suppressing and discouraging religious education due to alleged links to extremist Jewish and Muslim communities. In Israel, education is highly valued and encouraged culturally.