The Modern Israeli Culture - Essay Example

The culture of the Israel people and historical back ground of the socio- cultural setting of the value, norms and religious belief of Israel people. The modern Israeli culture have evolved from many factors like four thousand years of Jewish inheritance, more than 100 years of political Zionism and 50 years of contemporary statehood which mirrors global cultural elements although still struggling for its own authentic identity. Israel’s cultural expression through the arts is as different as the people, among activities for every taste, present expert capacity of global standard beside affluence of chances for ambitious artists and amateur. The growth of literature in the country is because of the years of revitalization of Hebrew, the language of Israeli people. Authors and poets encourage through their work with local images and events in addition to worldwide topics, showing the altering nature of the countrys anxiety and the advance of its composite, multilayered culture. Modern painting and sculpture, although mirroring global tendencies, are also influenced by the precise Israeli character and scenery. Major work of art orchestras, comprising the widely known and acclaimed Israel’s Philharmonic Orchestra, choirs, an opera company and number of chamber ensembles present all over the country. Expert dance groups, plus folk dance troupes, perform on a regular basis before excited spectators. The connection linking the countrys past and present is validated through several recorded archeological spots, symbolizing thousands of years of history. And this help to establish the long link of the Jewish people with the Land of Israel including Solomons stables at Megiddo, dwellings from the Israelite period in the Jerusalem, sacrament baths at Masada, number of synagogues all over the country and the Dead Sea scrolls, enclosing the first existing copy of the Book of Isaiah in readable Hebrew script. The countrys national museum offer areas to archeology, Judaica, Impressionist and Israeli painting, plus extraordinary collections such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Freedom for the press is an important part of Israels democracy and expressed by the number of publication in Hebrew-language. In the area of sports soccer and basketball are Israels most popular sports, and others include swimming, tennis, volleyball, gymnastics, track-and-field and other activities gaining popularity every year (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs n.pag, 2003). Nearly 50 years of efforts, put by Theodore Herzl, founder of the Zionist movement, caused the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, and established a sovereign nation as a homeland for Jews. These efforts were affirmed the British Governments support for the formation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. After the World War I, Palestine came under the British command and Jewish migration gradually rose, at the same time hostility between Palestines Jewish and Arab communities became crucial. British exertions to limit this immigration were offset by global opinion for Jewish national aspirations. This global opinion led UN to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states in 1947, with Jerusalem under UN supervision. As soon as British withdrew its mandate over Palestine, the State of Israel was proclaimed and the neighboring Arab states attacked Israel. This conflict was settled by the peace agreement between Israel and other Arab states (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs n.pag, 2007). The Israeli-Palestinian clash is possibly one of the most perceptive topics in the Middle East. Considering the religious background - the region being centers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam- to Israel being the regional supporter for the US, the Palestinian’s have been deprived of the right to their land. Current crises have shattered the peace processes and fanatic attitude on both sides are on the rise. The US media gives an awfully prejudiced outlook of Palestinians. The West is heavily supplying modern war weapons and supporting the Israel because Israel is only ally to West in the Middle East region for its oil interest (Shah n.pag, 2000). Since 1949 Israel has been a member of the United Nations and sustains relationships with most of nations around the globe. The upsetting incidents of the Holocaust and the years of Arab-Israeli clash, Israels foreign policy has been made to progress peace, whilst guaranteeing the nations safety and encouraging mutual aid with all nations. One of main feature of Israels relations with many developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America is the giving out of its vast knowledge and skill, in fields of agriculture, regional planning, public health, and community development. Recent estimation shows the total world Jewish population over 13 million, out of which 38 percent live in Israel, and close to 50 percent in North and South America. The negotiation between Diaspora Jewry and Israel comprises a broad range of topics of mutual interest and concern. Israel lookout to build up its ties with Diaspora Jewish societies by improving Jewish-Zionist actions, nurturing the study of the Hebrew language, encouraging visits by tourists and study missions, promoting financial investment and starting joint economic projects. Diaspora Jews take part in the progress of the nation through financial helps, social and political support and by staying in Israel, giving their skills and cultural backgrounds to the Israel’s image (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs n.pag, 2003). Education is the main concern for modern culture since it builds a viable society with common objectives and a mutual value system. Israel is a model of a contemporary nation that has relied upon the education method to help in the growth of a national strength to continue philosophy of collectivism the key visions of its founders. But, as the country observe its 50th year; it is faced with growing differences between various social groups. The planners anticipated the education system as a combining force in the society and support to social mobility for underprivileged people. But Israel failed in this respect because of internal divisions, competing and other devastating interests. Political, racial, and ethnic tensions have developed mainly between the founders and the new emigrants, mainly from Eastern Europe, and the more fresh arrivals from the Middle East and Africa, identified as Sephardim. At present Sephardim are the majority of the population, but Ashkenazi’s keep maximum political power and have more monetary and educational chances. There are financial tensions exists between the new private entrepreneurs and those who have maintained their collective socialist economic value system. Additionally there are religious tensions between Israel’s nonobservant Jews. These stresses points to a superior need to support the progress of an incorporated social order free of financial disparities. As Israel fight to uphold a culture that values social justice and offers full contribution, the advance of a tiered society permits a few of its people to go ahead into the information age whereas others continue to remain at the bottom deficient of the essential skills and education to advance (Lindsay & Parrott 341-347). Israel was estabalished to give a national home to the Jewish people. Even though the Israeli rule clearly provide equal civil rights to all citizens irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or other heritage, it gives preference to Jews who wants to come back to Israel as part of a governmental strategy for the purpose of increasing the Jewish population (Wikipedia n.pag, 2007). Considering the entire Jewish people, Jewish religious activities are high from the normal measures. Even as the preservation of those Jewish practice could be clarified as residual within Israeli Jews still close to their established heredity, the claim of the same public regarding Jewish faith, frequently a setback of some discomfiture to those who wish to appear modern. It appears that Israel’s Jews are actually divided into four groups, ultra-Orthodox, religious Zionists, traditional Jews, and secular. The ultra-Orthodox represent 8 percent of Jewish people, 17 percent are religious Zionists, the third group consists of the huge majority of Israeli Jews, about 55 percent, who call themselves as ‘traditional’. The fourth secular group consists of some 20 percent of the Jewish people. The ultra-Orthodox in the Western eyes are the black hatted Jews who are featured in all the pictures. The religious Zionists are comparable to the modern Orthodox Jews in the Diasporas, sharing all features of modern culture apart from that they uphold Orthodox rite of Jewish religious law and tradition. The traditional Jews are Sephardim from the Mediterranean or Islamic worlds who signify traditional Jewish life but are ready to alter halakhically-required Jewish observance where they consider it to be individually required to do so. They have the entire range of faith and practices from people of fundamentalist faith who have understood Judaism in the modern way but preserve several of its traditions and rituals. Most of the traditional Jews Many of these ‘traditional’ Jews vary from the Orthodox in some aspects in that usually they may drive their cars on the Sabbath, use electricity, watch television, or go to the beach, after finishing religious services in the morning and the evening. The secular groups, in contrast, are fairly comparable to those traditional Jews, only the difference is that they assert to uphold those practices for family and national interests rather than for religious causes. As a matter of fact Jewish religious practice has a strong national element which gives most Jews the national identity. Almost two-thirds of Israelis believe in God and another quarter believes that there may be God but not have much confidence. The more exciting is that 55 percent believe in the honest exposure of the Torah by God to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai, at the same time as those who think that it is likely that there was but not sure enough; elevate the total to 86 percent. According to Diaspora Jews there is no religious pluralism in Israel. But they are referring to the kind of religious pluralism of American. As a matter of fact Israel is not monolithic in any respect but a deep-rooted religious pluralism that must be recognized. Israel is a nation with minimum half a dozen diverse recognized religion-ethnic group of people which in the Middle East are the most important symptoms of pluralism. They comprise of Jews; Arabs and Muslims, Bedouin, and Christians; non-Arab Christians of various denominations from other parts of the world. There are little prospects for Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel and are not expected to progress their position in the near future, regardless of the fact that both actions can liberally set up worshippers and can even get funds from the Israeli government. The thoughts that lie behind Reform and conventional Judaism can be evidenced back to the Protestant Reformation, that came up in Central and Western Europe not only to sanitize the Church but to bring together faith and observance in a way that on no account seen expression in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean world, or the Islamic world. For the average Christian, the importance was more on inspiring church sacraments and not on personal goodness or doctrine, whereas the Islamic world, like the Jewish, stresses the communal, legal, and traditional character of religious performance over matters of individual outlooks. Hence, Northern European Protestantism biased the Jews in that part of the world to have better uniformity in their religious worships. In Judaism the intimate link between nationality and religion is vital but this has been so significantly detached in the Protestant world and particularly in the United States. This eradicates the need to tackle differences between faith and action (Elazar n.pag). In the Middle East region little political change had taken place since last three decades. As a matter of fact the governments of the Middle East had shown an outstanding stability. Apart from Islamic revolution in Iran and a military takeover in Sudan in 1989, the region had been steady. Almost all heads of state had been ruling for long period. Iran, the only nation in the region underwent a revolution in the past 25 years, passed on the power to new leaders through elections. Assassinations in Egypt and Israel caused in new leaders but did not alter the basic political arrangement in those countries (Yaphe, 3-17). It is clear the Western cultural had influence in the Middle East especially in Israel. The socio cultural setting of Israel has lot of diversities because of emigration of Jews from various countries. In conclusion one can say that the modern nation of Israel evolved as a result of facing constant struggles and challenges. Work cited Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Background Note: Israel, (February 2007), 28 May 2007 Elazar, D.J. Religion in Israel: A Consensus for Jewish Tradition, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 28 May 2007 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Looking at Israel- History, (23 Mar 2003), The State of Israel, 28 May 2007 Lindsay, B. & Parrott, J. New Challenges for Educational and Social Policies in International Settings: a review essay, Comparative Education Vol. 34 No. 3 (1998), pp 341-347, 28 May 2007 Shah, A. The Middle East (16 October 2000) 28 May 2007 Wikipedia Religion in Israel (2007) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 28 May 2007 Yaphe, J.S. Chapter 1: The Middle East in 2015: An Overview, In: The Middle East in 2015, National Defense University Press, Washington, (2002) pp3-17. 28 May 2007 Read More