Israel, photos of Israel

Israel, photos of Israel, Israel pictures: Acre, Israel Bahá'í gardens in Haifa Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth Caesarea - Israel Haifa - Israel Jerusalem Mount Tabor Ramat Gan - Israel Tel Aviv - Israel _____ Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, situated at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the east and southwest, respectively, and Egypt and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's financial center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is the country's most populous city and its designated capital, although Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is not recognized internationally. It is the world's only Jewish-majority state. 75.3% of Israelis, are designated as Jewish. The country's second largest group of citizens are denoted as Arabs. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are settled Muslims, with smaller but significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins; the rest are Christians and Druze. Other minorities include Maronites, Samaritans. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and Democratic State. Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's legislative body.