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= ISRAEL =

__**Major Government**__

 * ====parliamentary democracy====
 * ====capital:jerusalem====

__**Major Religions**__

 * Jewish 75.5%, Muslim 16.8%, Christian 2.1%, Druze 1.7%, other 3.9% (2008)

__**Languages Spoken**__

 * Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language

__**Current leader or president**__

 * chief of state:
 * President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)
 * head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 31 March 2009)v

__**Brief history of the country including any important people and major wars**__

 * "Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948 led to the first Arab-Israeli war. Hours after Israeli leader David Ben-Gurion read the declaration//,// Arab forces invaded Israel."
 * "Jews paraded a captured Arab vehicle through Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, the day the Jewish state of Israel was established in the historic region of Palestine. //Zionists// (Jewish nationalists) and Palestinian Arabs were fighting over the region, which they both claimed. Israelis and Palestinians continue to struggle over the region."
 * 1967-Six Day War

**__Currency__**

 * Shekel (3.82 shekels = 1 U.S. dollar; 2009 est.).

__**Major cultural traditions and (holidays/foods etc..)**__

 * ====chopped liver, chicken soup, and gefilte fish, are common====
 * ====//felafel//—small, deep-fried patties of ground chickpeas====
 * ====Raw vegetables and fruits are among the most popular foods====
 * ====restaurants serve only //kosher// foods====
 * ====hanukkah====

__**Climate**__

 * ====temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas====

__**Population:**__

 * 7,353,985
 * population growth rarte: 1.628% (2010 est.)
 * birth rate: 19.51 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
 * death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

__**Geography**__

 * Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
 * geographic coordinates: 31 46 N, 35 14 E

__**Major Resources**__

 * timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand

__**Must inlude a Work Cited Page with a minimum of 4 resources (1 book 3 websites)**__

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