Israel

ISRAEL. - Official name assumed by the independent Jewish State that replaced the British Mandate over Palestine in 1948.

(prepr. Enc. Cest.)
ISRAEL. - 1) State borders; 2) boundaries of the Arab occupation zones; 3) railways.

I. GEOGRAPHY

Situated in western Asia, along the Mediterranean, between Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan and Egypt, this State has an area of 27,000 sq. km. (including 704 sq. km. of inland waters; less than Piedmont) and consists of a narrow coastal plain onto which a tableland, or limestone plateau, slopes gently down, cut by fissures and erosion gorges and poor in surface waters. The plateau, with an average elevation of 600-800 m. (the highest point being Mt. Germaq, 1199 m.), which continues with the arid Negev as far as the Red Sea, overlooks to the E. the (el-Gōr) depression of the Jordan, which likewise extends, with the Dead Sea and the Wādī el-'Arabah, as far as the Gulf of 'Aqabah. The climate gradually loses its maritime and Mediterranean character as one proceeds toward the E.; precipitation, generally scarce and concentrated in the winter months, increases with elevation, but likewise decreases toward the E. and toward the S. Nevertheless the country is far more varied than its modest size would imply, and anything but desolate: wherever there is water (rivers, artesian wells) the soil lends itself well to several kinds of crops. The rivers are few and of short course, of which the only important one is the Jordan (about 300 km.), which ends in the Dead Sea (915 sq. km.), situated 392 m. below the level of the Mediterranean and 399 m. deep; a lake remarkable for its exceptional salinity (20%) and the high specific weight of its waters, as well as for the absolute lack of fish fauna.

The population (1.9 million inhabitants: 72 per sq. km.) is very diverse in race, language, religion and aspirations: the numerically most conspicuous groups are the Muslim, the Jewish and the Christian; there are moreover minorities of Druzes, Syrians, Armenians, Greeks, Egyptians, etc., as well as about 60 thousand Bedouins. Although increased by continuous intense immigration, the Jewish element does not yet have an absolute majority of the population, except in that of the three territorial units (Arab State, Jewish State, city of Jerusalem which the partition plan assigns to the Jews), that is, in a large part of the coastal zone, in eastern Galilee and in the Negev. Greatly increased in recent years is the urban population: besides the capital, Jerusalem (164 thousand inhabitants), three urban centers today exceed 100 thousand inhabitants (Jaffa, Haifa and Tel Aviv, which with its 183 thousand inhabitants surpasses them all).

The Palestinian economy is based on agriculture, which yields cereals (wheat, barley), tobacco, sesame, fruit, etc., but above all wine, oil and citrus fruits (the latter the main export commodity). The returns from livestock raising are fair (which has a Mediterranean character, but is also well provided with cattle; poultry farming and beekeeping flourish); mineral resources are modest (sulfur, bitumen, potash, bromine), which are nevertheless offset by good hydroelectric availability (Jordan) and the outlet for Iraq's petroleum, which terminates at Haifa. Industries are in promising development, especially in the centers where the Jewish element predominates, but they are still of modest dimensions (notable are the petroleum and tobacco manufacturing industries). Land traffic is oriented toward the N., especially after the completion of the link between the Palestinian network (600 km.) and the network of Lebanon; maritime traffic benefits from the ports of Jaffa and Haifa (both modernly equipped): the latter has by now become the most important of those of the Levantine Sea.

Giuseppe Caraci

II. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

When the partition of Palestine was established (Nov. 29, 1948), respect for and safeguarding of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim Holy Places with all their attached institutions were contemplated.

In the Proclamation of Independence of the State of I., issued on May 14, 1948, there was declared "full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, religion or sex; guarantee of full freedom of conscience, religion, education and culture; safeguarding of the sanctity and inviolability of the sanctuaries and holy places of all religions."

The organization of the government includes the Ministry of Worship, in which, among the various sections for religious affairs in general, there is also that of the Christian communities. However, the first Constituent Assembly (Keneseth), elected on Jan. 25, 1949, which holds its sessions in Tel Aviv, has not yet taken a position on the matter.

In the State of I. there currently exist four main Christian confessions: Catholics (Latins, Greek Catholics, Maronites); Greek Orthodox (with the Russian Orthodox); Protestants (Anglican Episcopal Church, Arab and English; Arab Evangelical Congregation and other branches represented by missionaries in the main cities) and the Orthodox Monophysites (Armenians, Copts, Syrian-Jacobites, Abyssinians). It seems that the possibility of the problem of Christians of Jewish origin is being forced upon the State.

Martiniano Roncaglia