The great majority of citizens in the State of Israel are Jewish; the great majority of Israeli Jews practice Judaism as their religion. Israel and the Arab League states The Arab-Israeli conflict is a long-running conflict in the Middle East regarding the existence of the state of Israel and its relations with Arab states and with the Palestinian population (see Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, called the War of Independence (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) by Israelis and al Nakba (Arabic: النكبة, the catastrophe) by Arabs, was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and its neighbors Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. ... HM Ships Eagle, Bulwark, and Albion of the British Royal Navy. ... The Six-Day War, also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Six Days War, or June War, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. ... Attrition warfare is a strategic concept that to win a war, ones enemy must be worn down to the point of collapse by continuous losses in personnel and materiel. ... The Yom Kippur War (in Hebrew: Milchemet Yom HaKipurim (מלחמת יום הכיפורים), also known as the October War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, and the Ramadan War), was fought from October 6 (the day of Yom Kippur) to October 22 and 24, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Egypt... Operation Litani was the official name of the Israel Defense Forces 1978 invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani river. ... The 1982 Invasion of Lebanon, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee (Shalom HaGalil in Hebrew), began June 6, 1982, when the Israel Defence Force invaded southern Lebanon in response to the Abu Nidal organizations assassination attempt against Israels ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, and to halt Katyusha... From the time it was established in March 1945, the Arab League took an active role in the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... Anwar Sadat (left), Jimmy Carter (center), and Menachem Begin (right) shake hands in celebration of the success of the Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at... The Israeli peace camp is a collection of political and non-political movements which desire to promote peace, mainly with the Arab neighbours of Israel (the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon) and encourage co-existence with the Arab citizens of Israel. ... Geneva Accord October 20, 2003 Road Map for Peace April 30, 2003 The Peoples Voice July 27, 2002 Elon Peace Plan 2002 ... Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... This is a incomplete timeline of events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... The first Intifada was an uprising that took place from 1987 to 1991 or 1993 (see Intifada). ... The wreckage of a commuter bus in West Jerusalem after a suicide bombing on Tuesday, 18 June, 2002. ... Israels unilateral disengagement plan (also known as the disengagement plan, Gaza Pull-Out plan תוכנית ההינתקות and Gaza Expulsion plan by its opponents. ... The Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... The Star of David, a common symbol of Jews and Judaism Judaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people and one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths. ...

While Judaism has always affirmed a number of other Jewish Principles of Faith, it has never developed a fully binding catechism. While individual Jewish rabbis, or sometimes entire groups, at times agreed upon a firm dogma, other rabbis and groups disagreed. With no central agreed-upon authority, no one formulation of Jewish principles of faith could take precedent over any other Judaism affirms a number of basic principles of faith that one is expected to uphold in order to be said to be in consonance with the Jewish faith. ...

In the last two centuries the Jewish community has divided into a number of Jewish denominations. The largest and most influential of these denominations are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Jewish denominations: Over time, the Jewish community has become divided into a number of religious denominations, also called branches or movements. Each denomination has a different understanding of what principles of belief a Jew should hold, and how one should live as a Jew. ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ... Conservative Judaism (or Masorti Judaism) is a denomination of Judaism characterized by: A positive attitude toward modern culture The belief that traditional rabbinic modes of study, and modern scholarship and critical text study, are both valid ways to learn about and from Jewish religious texts. ... Reform Judaism (also known as: Progressive Judaism, while in the U.K. Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism, together, make up Progressive Judaism) is a branch of Judaism characterized by: The belief that an individuals personal autonomy overrides traditional Jewish law and custom. ...

All of the above denominations exist, to varying degrees, in the State of Israel. Nevertheless, Israelis tend to classify Jewish identity in ways that are strikingly different than diaspora Jewry.

Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni) or as "traditional" (masorti). The former term is more popular among Israeli families of western origin, and the latter term among Israeli families of "eastern" origin (i.e. Middle East, central Asia and North Africa). The latter term, as commonly used, has nothing to do with the official "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in the State of Israel. There is ambiguity in the ways these two terms are used. They often overlap, and they cover an extremely wide range in terms of ideology and religious observance.

The term "Orthodox" (dati) is unpopular in Israeli discourse (among both "secular" and "religious" alike). Nevertheless, the spectrum covered by "Orthodox" in the diaspora exists in Israel, again with some important variations. The "Orthodox" spectrum in Israel is a far greater percentage of the Jewish population in Israel than in the diaspora, though how much greater is hotly debated. Various ways of measuring this percentage, each with its pros and cons, include the proportion of religiously observant Knesset members, the proportion of Jewish children enrolled in religious schools, and statistical studies on "identity".

What would be called "Orthodox" in the diaspora includes what is commonly called dati (religious) or haredi (ultra-Orthodox) in Israel. The former term includes what is called "Religious Zionism" or the "National Religious" community, as well as what has become known over the past decade or so as haredi-leumi (nationalist ultra-Orthodox), which combines a largely haredi lifestyle with nationist ideology.

Haredi applies to a populace that can be roughly divided into three separate groups along both ethnic and ideological lines: (1) "Lithuanian" (non-hasidic) haredim of Ashkenazic origin; (2) Hasidic haredim of Ashkenazic origin; and (3) Sephardic haredim. The third group is the largest, and has been the most politically active since the early 1990s. Events and trends Technology The World Wide Web was born at CERN Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft...

Gallup International reports that 25 percent of Israeli citizens regularly attend religious services, compared to 15 percent of French citizens, 10 percent of UK citizens, and 57 percent of American citizens. A Gallup Poll is an opinion poll frequently used by the mass media for representing public opinion. ... Places of worship are buildings or other locations where religious persons may worship their deity, regularly or not. ... The culture of the United Kingdom is rich and varied, and has been influential on culture on a worldwide scale. ... Despite official separation of church and state, many churches in the U.S. take strong stances on political subjects. ...

The main article Jewish views of religious pluralism describes how Judaism views other religions; it also describes how members of each of the Jewish religious denomination view the other denominations. This article deals with Jewish views of religious pluralism. ...

External links

• The Masorti Movement (Conservative Judaism in Israel) (http://www.masorti.org)
• Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (http://www.reform.org.il/English/)