Israel Geography

The Arab/Israeli conflict is a conflict between the Arabs and the Jews over a small piece of land known as the holy land which is an area in the Middle East of the Arab world. The Arabs call the land Palestine, the Jews call it Israel but both religions have strong religious links with the land. There is conflict between the two religions because they both believe that the land belongs to them.

Israel is a country in Western Asia, situated at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, Egypt to the southwest,

Covering up to 500,000 square miles, these were extremely fertile lands, watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Long, long ago, the area was so populated and so prosperous that it has been nicknamed the Cradle of Civilization. But it collapsed. Due to thousands of years of irrigation, subsequent salination, and displacement of forest with agriculture; the area now is the cradle of misery and hostility. It is now part of the deserts and arid lands of Israel, Lebanon, Jordon, Syria, Iraq, and southeastern Turkey.

In this area, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lie above the level of the plain in many places, and the whole area is a river delta joined by the channels of the two rivers and by irrigation canals. Sometimes lakes will form, if the rivers have been affected by a flood. A fairly large area is marshland, caused by centuries of flooding and poor drainage. The waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers also carry a lot of silt, muddy dirt, which gets carried to the plains during flooding, and it continues to slightly raise the elevation of the plains over time. The Tigris and Euphrates also carry large quantities of salts. These salt deposits have washed into the plains during excessive flooding. One particular area of high levels of salt in central Iraq, southwest of Baghdad, has helped cause the Bahr al Milh, or the Sea of Salt. There are two other major lakes in the country to the north, Buhayrat ath Tharthar and Buhayrat al Habbaniyah.

Israel, a country slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey, is located in the Middle East. It borders the Mediterranean Sea for a length of 168 miles. In the south and southwest, it borders the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sinai Peninsula. Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula during the war of June 1967 and returned it to Egypt in April 1982. To the east, it shares a 147-mile borderline with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and 189 miles with the Palestinian Autonomous Area on the western shore of the Jordan River. In the north, Israel shares 49 miles of borders with Lebanon, and with Syria for 47 miles on the disputed Golan Heights.

The lust for territory seems to be the real source of conflict, and until one group is satisfied, the appearance of religious conflict will exist in the Middle East. It seems as if the real truth needs to be portrayed to the rest of the world about the true reason for the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is geography and ultimately water. The lack of water stems from the Great Syrian Rift Zone, and causes damage to Israeli land which ultimately decreases the amount of water that flows into the Red Sea. This lack of water causes Israel and other surrounding countries (Jordan, Lebanon, and the Occupied Territories) to only have one source of surface water, which is from Lake Kinnaret, or the Sea of Galilee that flows into the Jordan River.

The Middle East and North Africa are around many oceans where they can get to many other places faster. Most of the Middle East has mountains that cover the land and North Africa is covered mainly by deserts. Jeffrey and Charles say that,

Israel is located in Southwest Asia in the Middle East; it is located in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem which is located at 31° 46 N, 35° 12’ E. The average life expectancy is 79 for men and 83 for women and 92% of people are living the urban areas. Mount Meron is the second tallest mountain in Israel and is located in Northern Israel; it is the largest nature reserve in the Galilee. It is important because it is located next to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s grave. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is the author of the Zohar, a seminal kabalistic work, on the anniversary of his death there are thousands of Jews that come to Mount Meron to campout, pray and celebrate his life.

Table salt, unlike sea salt, is mined from underground salt deposits, processed to eliminate some minerals and add iodine and non-clumping additives, and then packaged for sale. Sea salt, the salt referred to in the Bible, comes from ocean or saltwater lake water.The main source of salt for the Israelites was the Dead Sea and the valleys surrounding it. The Dead Sea is eight times saltier than any other ocean or sea in the world. The shores of the Dead Sea are also the lowest point of dry land on earth, being 1, 350 feet below the Mediterranean Sea level.. Due to its low altitude, water from the Dead Sea does not drain into any other bodies of water, but rather evaporates, leaving behind salt and other minerals in the remaining water, thus increasing the saltiness of the Sea. The valleys surrounding the Dead Sea are also full of salt. There is a mountain by the name of Jebel Usdum in one of these valleys that is made almost entirely of salt. People in Biblical times could often be found gathering salt from mountains such as this one. They would also gather water from the Dead Sea itself in buckets, pour it into crevices of rocks, and let it evaporate in the hot sun, leaving behind salt and other minerals that provide sea salt with its unique color and taste. They would then collect that salt, often forming it into cakes or bars for easy

Two different variables add essentialness to the locale. In the first place, the fundamental exchange course of the old world was on the beach front plain. It entered the plain through ago in Mount Carmel and proceeded through the limited spot between the seaside swamps and the Shephelah at Gezer. In this way, the beach front plain was to the place where there is Israel what the Panama Canal is to North America, maybe significantly more so. Second, a few

As one moves southward, the mountains become progressively higher, pierced occasionally by valleys running west to east. This region is known as the hill country of Ephraim in much of biblical history (Tullock, H. 2012). Farther south, it becomes the hill country of Judah. This region actually has two parts: (1) the Shephelah, an area of low-lying hills, and (2) the plateau on which Jerusalem is located (Tullock, H. 2012). Separating the Shephelah and the Judean plateau is a north–south valley that made approaching the plateau from the coastal plain especially difficult (Tullock, H. 2012). There are basically four approaches: (1) the Valley of Aijalon, which is the easiest and most famous; (2) the Valley of Sorek; (3) the Valley of Azekah; and (4) the Valley of Elah (Tullock, H. 2012).

Tel Aviv was a founded city starting in 1909 by Jewish immigrants on the border of Israel. They founders named the city after Hebrew translation, meaning Tel Aviv is the old new land. They city’s transformation began as architects, urban developments, and the municipality wanted a modern theme to bring in people from all over. With the growth of Jewish refugees swarming into the land, and other population members, Tel Aviv grew in numbers drastically. When this occurred, the community changed drastically, factories flooded in, houses were starting to be built, roads were constructed, and the livelihood of the community started to form. Tel Aviv began to make its stamp on the Jewish life, demanding a Hebrew language, and celebrating their existence of becoming the first Hebrew city.

When one thinks of turmoil in the Middle East, oil is often the first thought, however, water has begun to be a problematic area, both internal and international. However, the cause for water scarcity does not only depend on conditions within its borders (Giordano, Giordano & Wolf , 2004). Israel's water source comes from the Jordan River, an elongated valley in the central Middle East, and is shared with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine (Lowi, 1995). The Hasbani River, the Dan River, and the Banyas River are the three tributaries of the Jordan River. Although the Jordan Basin extends into five states, approximately 80 percent

Israel is today an industrialized country with most of its manufacturing, including many traditional fields, based on intensive and sophisticated research & development and hi-tech processes, tools, and machinery. This is the outcome of very rapid and intensive development. Their major GNP is 21.6 by industry branch and least being agriculture by 2.5. industrial branch includes 75% of countries exports. Israel is one of the most

Lebanon lies on the eastern shore of the Mediterranea n Sea, in that part of