History UsefulNotes / Israel

* IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles (The Israeli Defense Force, the national military of Israel)

* ArabIsraeliConflict

* Israeli Political System -- Israel has a Westminister-style parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage and--significantly--a party-list direct-proportional system based on that of UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands, with a very low threshold. This explains why their government often seems crazy: coalitions can live or die if as little as 2.5% of the vote swings to one party instead of another.

Although Israel definitely sits on the Asian continent, it participates in a fair number of European institutions, for varying reasons. Israel can participate in the EurovisionSongContest because it can receive radio signals from a "proper" European country (or some such), it participates in the European Football Championship, and it is a member of the Western European and Others group in the UnitedNations. This is all partly because Europeans consider it culturally European, and partly because the Arabs wouldn't have them in the Asian equivalents.

Although Israel definitely sits on the Asian continent, it participates in a fair number of European institutions, for varying reasons. Israel can participate in the EurovisionSongContest because it can receive radio signals from a "proper" European country (or some such), it participates in the European Football Championship, and it is a member of the Western European and Others group in the UnitedNations partly because Europeans consider it culturally European and partly because the Arabs wouldn't have them in the Asian equivalents.

Although Israel definitely sits on the Asian continent, it participates in a fair number of European institutions, for varying reasons. Israel can participate in the EurovisionSongContest because it can receive radio signals from a "proper" European country (or some such), but it participates in the European Football Championship and is a member of the Western European and Others group at the UnitedNations partly because Europeans consider it culturally European and partly because the Arabs wouldn't have them in the Asian equivalents.

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in Asia, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the best in the region at pretending to be democratic while carrying out apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), the studious nature of Jewish culture, and Israel's particular defense needs (the current Israeli high-tech boom was spurred by veterans of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAI_Lavi one fighter plane project]]).

* [[DisContinuity DisContinuity]] - Maps without Israel in them are a popular accessory in schools the other side of the conflict. A strong contender for most audacious [[DisContinuity DisContinuity]] in the history of ever.

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in Asia, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the best in the region at pretending to be democratic while carrying out apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

Famous Israeli things include the [[RareGuns Desert Eagle]], and its unique cultural practices, which are partly inherited from Jewish traditions in Europe and the Middle East.

* Ziva David, of ''{{NCIS}}''.

All of this means that under the fundamental questions about the past of Israel and its right to exist and so forth bubbles a mutual boiling soup of self-righteousness and spite, and it is best not to dwell on it for fear of the InternetBackdraft to end all internet backdrafts. It's probably best to try to understand both sides, even if not excusing their behavior. Israel is in some respects a nation driven by the fear of Palestinians swarming into their homes on Syrian tanks declaring AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs, and stuff generally blowing up. In ensuring that this does not happen ''ever'', Palestinians often find themselves screwed over, and this obviously does not inspire much ''bona fide'' what with the blockades and collateral damage and all; the guerrilla tactics used by the more offensive sort of Palestinian do not help matters. What the average person, Palestinian or Israeli, most likely wants is just to live life and be left alone, but sadly, previous experience dictates that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption this is not likely to happen]] [[{{Understatement}} in the near future]].

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in Asia, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the only true democracy in the region (the Arab Spring may change that in the short-to-medium-run, what with the revolution in Egypt, but not immediately). It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

* EnemyMine - Desperate for any support in the face of an ongoing delegitimization campaign, pro-Israeli lobbies have resorted to allying themselves with a sect of Christians in America who believe that when all the Jews are in Israel, and the Palestinians are not, Jesus will return and throw all the unbelievers in the lake of fire.
** The liberal left and the Arabs/Muslims.

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in the Asia, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the only true democracy in the region (the Arab Spring may change that in the short-to-medium-run, what with the revolution in Egypt, but not immediately). It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in the region, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the least authoritarian country in the region (or rather, the best at pretending). It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in the region, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the only true democracy in the region (the Arab Spring may change that in the short-to-medium-run, what with the revolution in Egypt, but not immediately). It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

** Played somewhat straight in Israeli politics, since as of 2010 there has not been a single non-Ashkenazi Prime Minister. There have been Sephardic and Mizrahi Presidents, but the President of Israel is just a ceremonial figurehead.

* Israeli Political System -- Israel has a Westminister-style parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage and--significantly--a party-list direct-proportional system based on that of the Netherlands, with a very low threshold. This explains why their government often seems crazy: coalitions can live or die if as little as 2.5% of the vote swings to one party instead of another.

* Israeli Political System -- Israel has a Westminister-style Parliamentary democracy with universal voting and a very low election threshold. This explains why their government often seems crazy: coalitions can live or die if as little as (IIRC) 3% of the vote swings to one party instead of another.

The country is also known for having one of the best education systems in the region, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the only true democracy in the region. It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which, in contrast to Cold War-era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

* EnemyMine - Desperate for any support in the face of an ongoing delegitimization campaign, pro-Israeli lobbies have resorted to allying themselves with a sect of Christians in America who believe that when all the Jews are in Israel, and the Palestinians are not, Jesus will return and throw all the unbelievers in the lake of fire.

* WesternTerrorists - Prior to Israel's foundation (that is, during the British mandate over Israel), [[LaResistance la resistance]]-esque organizations Etzel and Lehi. Etzel specifically was led by about the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin nerdiest-looking guy ever]], under whose command British officers were hung and civilian-filled hotels were blown up. He later shut Etzel down to make a political party out of it, became prime minister and [[HiddenDepths signed the Camp David peace treaty with Egypt]].

While much of Israel's history has been dominated by armed conflict, the country is also known for having one of the best education systems in the region, and for a thriving computer industry, as well as being the only true democracy in the region. It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, the more recent surge of immigrants from former communist states (which contrast to cold war era propaganda, are very well educated), and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

While much of Israel's history has been dominated by armed conflict, the country is also known for having one of the best education systems in the region, and for a thriving computer industry. It is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the Middle East, despite having only been founded relatively recently. Compounding this effect is the large influx of intellectuals from foreign nations, particularly those who fled Nazi persecution, and the studious nature of Jewish culture.

* Ziva David, late of ''{{NCIS}}''.