Israel Guide: Culture

If you really want to make a new life in a country, you need to understand the people who live there. Our guide will give you useful and interesting information about culture and history, people, traditions, customs and more.

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  The immigrant Israeli

  An introduction to the national psyche

  Israel is a nation of immigrants (although many Israelis rather speak of “returning to their homeland”). With a mix of cultures and heritages, Israel has developed its own modern culture.

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  Mindset

  The Israeli attitude and way of life

  The Jews have over four thousand years of history, but Israel is only a few decades old. To state the obvious, Israeli culture is the product of an old Jewish legacy and a new government.

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  Government and politics

  How religion affects Israeli politics

  Israel is a secular democracy with three distinct branches of government: executive, parliamentary and judicial. Much of Israeli law is influenced by Jewish laws and practises. This concerns many Israelis, who believe that religion and law should be separate.

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  A nation at war

  The military influence on Israeli culture

  Since the formation of the Israeli state on Palestinian lands, Israel has had to defend itself from hostile neighbours who still feel the land belongs to Palestine. This has obviously an impact on the national mentality and on day-to-day life.

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