The Jews in Israel Dana Tabak Grade 5-W King David Victory Park Teacher: Morah Karin JHB, South Africa

Description of Israel and her Jews. Jews have long considered Israel to be their homeland, even while living in the diaspora. Following centuries of Diaspora, the 19th century saw the rise of Zionism, the Jewish Nationalist Movement, a desire to see the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine, and significant immigration.

Israeli Jews mostly speak Hebrew and most practice Judaism in some form. Israel, the Jewish state, currently has almost half the world's Jews. The Jewish community in Israel is composed from all Jewish ethnic divisions.

History of Jewish community. Most Jews came from Europe and North Africa.

Number of Jews live there. On the eve of Israel's 64th Independence Day, Israel's population stood at 7,881,000 people. 5,931,000 of the population (75.3%) are Jewish.

Interesting facts. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible. Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population. Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin -109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed. Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world.

Special tunes/jewish songs. Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people which have evolved over time throughout the long course ofJewish history. In some instances Jewish music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs. A piyyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Best-known piyyut may be Adon Olam ("Master of the World"), Zemiros are Jewish hymns, usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages, but sometimes also in Yiddish or Ladino. The best known zemiros are those sung around the table during Shabbos and Jewish holidays. Nigun refers to religious songs and tunes that are sung by groups. It is a form of voice instrumental music, often without any lyrics or words. Pizmonim are traditional Jewish songs and melodies with the intentions of praising God as well as describing certain aspects of traditional religious teachings.

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Jews http://www.science.co.il/israel-history.php http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/newpop.html http://www.jfns.org/page.aspx?id=43769 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ music

Photos of their synagogues.