The Land of Israel
Modern Cities
Many of the cities in modern Israel date back to the towns of the Bible, while some—like Tel Aviv, Israel's largest—are only a century old. All of Israel's cities—and towns and villages—are part of Israel's unique mix of ancient and modern, bringing together cultures from around the world and those close to home. Learn more about Israel's largest cities here.
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Ashkelon
Modern-day Ashkelon is built on layer upon layer of past civilizations. A coastal city in the Southern District of Israel with an ancient seaport, it was the oldest and largest port city in the days of antiquity. Ashkelon was important as a trading post in Biblical times, and it is the site of the famous scene between Samson and Delilah, when Delilah cuts Samson's hair in order to deprive him of his strength (Judges 14). The Philistines conquered Ashkelon, and it became one of the five Philistine city-states (along with Gath, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod); even during the Israelites' conquest of the land, the Philistines could not be uprooted from the city. Years of bitter war between the Philistines and the Israelites followed and King Saul himself was slain by the Philistines (II Samuel 1). Read more »
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Beersheba
Beersheba is the 7th largest city in Israel, and the largest in the southern desert region known as the Negev. In fact, Beersheba, the administrative center of the Southern District of Israel, is often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev." Read more »
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Eilat
Eilat is located at the southernmost tip of Israel, on the shores of the Red Sea, or rather, an inlet of the Red Sea called the Gulf of Eilat or Gulf of Aqaba. Eilat is mentioned in the Bible, though it was not part of Biblical Israel. The Biblical Eilat is connected to the ancient town of Ezion-Geber, and is mentioned in Numbers 33 as one of the stations the Israelites crossed on their winding journey from Egypt to the Holy Land. It is later mentioned in Deuteronomy 2, also in connection with Ezion-Geber. Read more »
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Haifa
Haifa, surrounded by the gentle waters of the Mediterranean on one side, and the striking Carmel mountains on the other, is the third largest city in Israel (following Tel Aviv, number two, and Jerusalem, number one), and the largest city in the north. It is the capital of the Haifa District, one of the six administrative districts in Israel. Read more »
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Jerusalem
Jerusalem is one of the world's oldest cities. Christians and Muslims both revere the city, for the holy sites and history it contains. It is central, and essential, to the Jewish faith, mentioned in the Bible over 600 times. Jerusalem has many different names in the Bible, including Shalem, and Ir David (David's city). The etymology of the name is thought to come from "yerusha," meaning inheritance, and "shalem," meaning peace. Read more »
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Rehovot
The name "Rehovot" first appears in the Bible, as the name of one of the wells dug by the patriarch Isaac (Gensis 26). The name means "wide open," and it was a reference to the expanse of land God gave to Isaac, which would allow the people to be fruitful in the land. The modern town of Rehovot took its name from this Biblical place, though the ancient Rehovot was in the Negev, while modern-day Rehovot is on the coast, south of Tel Aviv. Read more »
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Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo, called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, right after Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Tel Aviv District, one of Israel's six administrative districts. Tel Aviv's neighbor city, Jaffa, has a long, rich history dating back to Biblical times. Jaffa was an important port city; it is mentioned in II Chronicles 2 as the city to which the wood for Solomon's Temple was delivered. Jaffa is also the city from which Jonah fled, heading for Tarshish (Jonah 1). Read more »
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Tiberias
Tiberias—Teverya in Hebrew—is a town rich in history. Unlike many famous cities in Israel, such as Jerusalem, Beersheba, and Hebron, its roots are not Biblical, but it nonetheless became an important center for Torah and Jewish life in the period following the destruction of the Second Temple. Read more »
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The West Bank
The land on the west bank of the Jordan River is a hotly contested region which goes by many names. Many Israelis call it "Yesha" (though the Hebrew acronym—Judea, Samaria, and Gaza—technically includes the Gaza Strip as well, which is no longer part of Israel); Palestinians and the United Nations refer to the land as "occupied Palestinian territories"; others call it the "disputed territories"; and others simply call it "the West Bank." Read more »
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No Jew has the right to yield the rights of the Jewish People in Israel -
ReplyDeleteDavid Ben Gurion
(David Ben-Gurion was the first Prime Minister of Israel and widely hailed as the State's main founder).
"No Jew has the right to yield the rights of the Jewish People in Israel.
No Jew has the authority to do so.
No Jewish body has the authority to do so.
Not even the entire Jewish People alive today has the right to yield any part of Israel.
It is the right of the Jewish People over the generations, a right that under
no conditions can be cancelled.
Even if Jews during a specific period proclaim they are relinquishing this right, they have neither the power nor the authority to deny it to future generations.
No concession of this type is binding or obligates the Jewish People. Our right to the country - the entire country - exists as an eternal right, and we shall not yield this historic right until its full and complete redemption is realized."
(David Ben Gurion, Zionist Congress, Basel, Switzerland, 1937.)
"No country in the world exists today by virtue of its 'right'.
All countries exist today by virtue of their ability to defend themselves against those who seek their destruction."
“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope”