What is "israel"

Jacob \Ja"cob\, n. [Cf. F. Jacob. See 2d Jack.] A Hebrew patriarch (son of Isaac, and ancestor of the Jews), who in a vision saw a ladder reaching up to heaven (--Gen. xxviii. 12); -- also called Israel. And Jacob said . . . with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. --Gen. xxxii. 9, 10. Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. --Gen. xxxii. 28. Jacob's ladder.

1. (Bot.) A perennial herb of the genus Polemonium ( Polemonium c[oe]ruleum), having corymbs of drooping flowers, usually blue. Gray.

2. (Naut.) A rope ladder, with wooden steps, for going aloft.
   --R. H. Dana, Jr.

3. (Naut.) A succession of short cracks in a defective spar. Jacob's membrane. See Retina. Jacob's staff.

   1. A name given to many forms of staff or weapon, especially in the Middle Ages; a pilgrim's staff. [Obs.]
      --Spenser.

   2. (Surveying) See under Staff.

Old English, "the Jewish people, the Hebrew nation," from Latin Israel, from Greek, from Hebrew yisra'el "he that striveth with God" (Gen. xxxii.28), symbolic proper name conferred on Jacob and extended to his descendants, from sara "he fought, contended" + El "God." As the name of an independent Jewish state in the Middle East, it is attested from 1948. Compare Israeli, Israelite.

Israel commonly refers to the State of Israel. It may also refer to:

Places

• Land of Israel, the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.
  • The Holy Land, a common appellation for roughly the same region due to its theological importance to several religions.
  • The Promised Land, in Judaism and Christianity, the land promised by God to the Israelites in the southern Levant.
  • The Kingdom of Israel, which, among other places, may refer to:
    • Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) (1020 BCE - 931 BCE), the kingdom established by the Israelites and uniting them under a single king.
    • Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) (931 BCE - 722 BCE), the secessionist kingdom of northern Israelites.
    • Judea, also called Israel, as it is known in the Bible in Maccabees, the Gospels, and Acts.
• Israel, West Virginia, an unincorporated community

People:

• Israel (name), a given name and family name
• Jacob, a biblical patriarch, later given the name Israel
  • His descendants, the Israelites
    • By extension, the Jewish people

In music:

• "Israel" (Siouxsie and the Banshees song), 1980
• "Israel" (Bee Gees song)
• Izrael (band), a Polish reggae band
• Israel (jazz), a jazz composition by John Carisi
• Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Hawaiian musician

Israel was the bishop of Caucasian Albania in the latter part of the 7th century. In 682, he led an unsuccessful delegation to convert Alp Iluetuer, the ruler of the North Caucasian Huns, to Christianity. Israel wrote about the customs of the Huns, including the local cult of Tengri.

"Israel" is a song by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a stand-alone single in 1980 by record label Polydor. The track was written by Siouxsie and the Banshees and co-produced with Nigel Gray.

Israel David Bascón Gigato (born 16 March 1987 in Utrera, Seville), known simply as Israel, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder.

Israel was Patriarch of the Church of the East in 961.

Israel is an album by American jazz trombonists Kai Winding and J. J. Johnson featuring performances recorded in 1968 and released on the CTI label.

Israel ( or ; ; ), officially the State of Israel ( ; ), is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's financial center and technology hub is Tel Aviv. Jerusalem is the proclaimed capital, although Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally unrecognized.

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine. This specified borders for new Arab and Jewish states and an area of Jerusalem which was to be administered by the UN under an international regime. The end of the British Mandate for Palestine was set for midnight on 14 May 1948. That day, David Ben-Gurion, the executive head of the Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel", which would start to function from the termination of the mandate. The borders of the new state were not specified in the declaration. Neighboring Arab armies invaded the former British mandate on the next day and fought the Israeli forces. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula (1956–57, 1967–82), part of Southern Lebanon (1982–2000), Gaza Strip (1967–2005; still considered occupied after 2005 disengagement) and the Golan Heights. It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed. Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is the world's longest military occupation in modern times.

The population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2016 to be 8,541,000 people. It is the world's only Jewish-majority state, with 6,388,800 citizens, or 74.8%, being designated as Jewish. The country's second largest group of citizens are Arabs, numbering 1,775,400 people (including the Druze and most East Jerusalem Arabs). The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins; the rest are Christians and Druze. Other minorities include Arameans, Assyrians, Samaritans, Armenians, Circassians, Dom people, Maronites and Vietnamese. The Black Hebrew Israelites are subject to a slow process of deeper integration, but are still in their majority permanent residents rather than citizens. Israel also hosts a significant population of non-citizen foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia, including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea and other Sub-Saharan Africans.

In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state. Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The prime minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as the legislature. Israel is a developed country and an OECD member, with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product . The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with the one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the fourth highest in Asia, and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

Israel is a Biblical given name. The patriarch Jacob was given the name Israel ( Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Yisraʾel Tiberian Yiśrāʾēl; "Triumphant with God", "who prevails with God") after he wrestled with a "man" ( and 35:10). The name already occurs in Eblaite and Ugaritic texts as a common name. Commentators differ on the original literal meaning. Some say the name comes from the verb śarar ("to rule, be strong, have authority over"), thereby making the name mean "God rules" or "God judges". Other possible meanings include "the prince of God" (from the King James Version) or " El fights/struggles". "The Jewish Study Bible" of Oxford University Press says on page 68 "The scientific etymology of Israel is uncertain, a good guess being '[The God] El rules.'" Jacob's descendants came to be known as the Israelites, eventually forming the tribes of Israel and ultimately the kingdom of Israel, whence came the name of modern-day Israel.

In Israel, the name " Israel Israeli" is sometimes used to mean someone whose name is unknown or unspecified.

Israel was a common name among Chaldeans till recent times. A famous Chaldean author is Bishop Israel Audo, famous for authoring a book about the Chaldean Genocide.

In Nazi Germany, male Jews who did not have "typically Jewish" given names were forced to add "Israel" as of January 1939. This decree was revoked by the allies in 1945.

"Israel" is an enigmatic ballad track written by Barry Gibb. It appeared on the Bee Gees' 1971 album Trafalgar.

This track was recorded and finished in April 7, 1971 at the IBC Studios in London, with the two Maurice Gibb composition, " Trafalgar", "It's Just the Way", the Robin Gibb 1970 compositions "Engines, Aeroplanes" and another Barry composition, the ballad " Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself".

"Israel" was later released as a single in May 1972 in Belgium, the Netherlands, where it reached #22, and in New Zealand. "Dearest" was chosen as the B-side.