|
5 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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}.
[1913 Webster]
And Jacob said . . . with my staff I passed over this
Jordan, and now I am become two bands. --Gen. xxxii.
9, 10.
[1913 Webster]
Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel.
--Gen. xxxii.
28.
[1913 Webster]
{Jacob's ladder}.
(a) (Bot.) A perennial herb of the genus {Polemonium}
({Polemonium c[oe]ruleum), having corymbs of drooping
flowers, usually blue. Gray}.
(b) (Naut.) A rope ladder, with wooden steps, for going
aloft. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
(c) (Naut.) A succession of short cracks in a defective spar.
{Jacob's membrane}. See {Retina}.
{Jacob's staff}.
(a) A name given to many forms of staff or weapon, especially
in the Middle Ages; a pilgrim's staff. [Obs.] --Spenser.
(b) (Surveying) See under {Staff}.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Israel
n 1: Jewish republic in southwestern Asia at eastern end of
Mediterranean; formerly part of Palestine [syn: {State
of Israel}, {Yisrael}, {Zion}, {Sion}]
2: an ancient kingdom of the Hebrew tribes at the southeastern
end of the Mediterranean Sea; founded by Saul around 1025
BC and destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 BC
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Israel
the name conferred on Jacob after the great prayer-struggle at
Peniel (Gen. 32:28), because "as a prince he had power with God
and prevailed." (See {JACOB}.) This is the common name
given to Jacob's descendants. The whole people of the twelve
tribes are called "Israelites," the "children of Israel" (Josh.
3:17; 7:25; Judg. 8:27; Jer. 3:21), and the "house of Israel"
(Ex. 16:31; 40:38).
This name Israel is sometimes used emphatically for the true
Israel (Ps. 73:1: Isa. 45:17; 49:3; John 1:47; Rom. 9:6; 11:26).
After the death of Saul the ten tribes arrogated to themselves
this name, as if they were the whole nation (2 Sam. 2:9, 10, 17,
28; 3:10, 17; 19:40-43), and the kings of the ten tribes were
called "kings of Israel," while the kings of the two tribes were
called "kings of Judah."
After the Exile the name Israel was assumed as designating the
entire nation.
From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:
Israel, who prevails with God
From CIA World Factbook 2002 [world02]:
Israel
Introduction Israel
-------------------
Background: Following World War II, the British
withdrew from their mandate of
Palestine, and the UN partitioned
the area into Arab and Jewish
states, an arrangement rejected by
the Arabs. Subsequently, the
Israelis defeated the Arabs in a
series of wars without ending the
deep tensions between the two sides.
The territories occupied by Israel
since the 1967 war are not included
in the Israel country profile,
unless otherwise noted. On 25 April
1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai
pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt
Peace Treaty. Outstanding
territorial and other disputes with
Jordan were resolved in the 26
October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of
Peace. In keeping with the framework
established at the Madrid Conference
in October 1991, bilateral
negotiations were conducted between
Israel and Palestinian
representatives (from the Israeli-
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip)
and Syria, to achieve a permanent
settlement; however, these efforts
were derailed/postponed by the
outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian
violence in September 2000. On 25
May 2000, Israel withdrew
unilaterally from southern Lebanon,
which it had occupied since 1982.
Geography Israel
----------------
Location: Middle East, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Lebanon
Geographic coordinates: 31 30 N, 34 45 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 20,770 sq km
water: 440 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza
Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon
79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
Coastline: 273 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: to depth of
exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern
and eastern desert areas
Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low
coastal plain; central mountains;
Jordan Rift Valley
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Natural resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural
gas, phosphate rock, magnesium
bromide, clays, sand
Land use: arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17%
other: 78.81% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,990 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring
and summer; droughts; periodic
earthquakes
Environment - current issues: limited arable land and natural
fresh water resources pose serious
constraints; desertification; air
pollution from industrial and
vehicle emissions; groundwater
pollution from industrial and
domestic waste, chemical
fertilizers, and pesticides
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation
Geography - note: there are 231 Israeli settlements
and civilian land use sites in the
West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-
occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the
Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem
(August 2001 est.); Sea of Galilee
is an important freshwater source
People Israel
-------------
Population: 6,029,529 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 182,000 Israeli
settlers in the West Bank, about
20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights, fewer than 7,000 in the
Gaza Strip, and about 176,000 in
East Jerusalem (August 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.1% (male 837,491;
female 798,695)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,677;
female 1,889,525)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male
257,066; female 341,075) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.48% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.86 years
female: 81.01 years (2002 est.)
male: 76.82 years
Total fertility rate: 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.08% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 2,400 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli
Ethnic groups: Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born
32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-
born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-
Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996
est.)
Religions: Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly
Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other
3.2% (1996 est.)
Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used
officially for Arab minority,
English most commonly used foreign
language
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 95%
male: 97%
female: 93% (1992 est.)
Government Israel
-----------------
Country name: conventional long form: State of
Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local short form: Yisra'el
local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed
Jerusalem as its capital in 1950,
but the US, like nearly all other
countries, maintains its Embassy in
Tel Aviv
Administrative divisions: 6 districts (mehozot, singular -
mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem,
Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations
mandate under British
administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 14 May (1948);
note - Israel declared independence
on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish
calendar is lunar and the holiday
may occur in April or May
Constitution: no formal constitution; some of the
functions of a constitution are
filled by the Declaration of
Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws
of the parliament (Knesset), and the
Israeli citizenship law
Legal system: mixture of English common law,
British Mandate regulations, and, in
personal matters, Jewish, Christian,
and Muslim legal systems; in
December 1985, Israel informed the
UN Secretariat that it would no
longer accept compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Moshe
KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
elections: president elected by the
Knesset for a five-year term;
election last held 31 July 1999
(next to be held NA July 2003);
prime minister elected by popular
vote for a four-year term; election
last held 6 February 2001 (next to
be held NA November 2003); note - in
March 1992, the Knesset approved
legislation, effective in 1996,
which allowed for the direct
election of the prime minister, but
in 2001 the Knesset voted to restore
the previous method under which the
legislators will choose the next
prime minister after the next
legislative elections in 2003
head of government: Prime Minister
Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime
minister and approved by the Knesset
election results: Moshe KATSAV
elected president by the 120-member
Knesset with a total of 60 votes,
other candidate, Shimon PERES,
received 57 votes (there were three
abstentions); Ariel SHARON elected
prime minister; percent of vote -
Ariel SHARON 62.5%, Ehud BARAK
37.4%; note - after the next
legislative elections scheduled for
2003, the prime minister will be
elected by the Knesset
Legislative branch: unicameral Knesset or parliament
(120 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999
(next to be held NA November 2003)
election results: percent of vote by
party - One Israel 20.2%, Likud
Party 14.1%, Shas 13%, Meretz 7.6%,
Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 5.1%, Shinui 5%,
Center Party 5%, National Religious
Party 4.2%, United Torah Judaism
3.7%, United Arab List 3.4%,
National Union 3%, Hadash 2.6%,
Yisra'el Beiteinu 2.6%, Balad 1.9%,
One Nation 1.9%, Democratic Movement
NA (party formed after election,
members elected under Yisra'el
Ba'Aliya list); seats by party - One
Israel 24, Likud Party 19, Shas 17,
MERETZ 10, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 4,
Shinui 6, Center Party 5, National
Religious Party 5, United Torah
Judaism 5, United Arab List 5,
National Union 3, Hadash 3, Yisra'el
Beiteinu 4, Democratic Movement 2
(party formed after election,
members elected under Yisra'el
Ba'Aliya list), Balad 2, One Nation
2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices appointed
for life by the president)
Political parties and leaders: Balad or National Democratic
Alliance [Azmi BISHARA]; Center
Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic
Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher
[David LEVI]; Hadash [Muhammad
BARAKA]; Labor Party [Binyamin BEN-
ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel
SHARON]; Meretz [Yossi SARID];
National Religious Party [Yitzhak
LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin
ELON] (includes Herut, Tekuma, and
Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan
COHEN]; One Nation [Amir PERETZ];
Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy
LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-
Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah
Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el
Ba'Aliya [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el
Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]
Political pressure groups and Israeli nationalists advocating
leaders: Jewish settlement on the West Bank
and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports
territorial concessions in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler)
Council promotes settler interests
and opposes territorial compromise;
B'Tselem monitors human rights
abuses
International organization BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer),
participation: CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate),
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW
(signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David
IVRY
consulate(s) general: Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York,
Philadelphia, and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 364-3607
telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500
chancery: 3514 International Drive
NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel
US: C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel
Aviv
mailing address: PSC 98, Unit 7228,
APO AE 09830
telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575
FAX: [972] (3) 517-3227
consulate(s) general: Jerusalem;
note - an independent US mission,
established in 1928, whose members
are not accredited to a foreign
government
Flag description: white with a blue hexagram (six-
pointed linear star) known as the
Magen David (Shield of David)
centered between two equal
horizontal blue bands near the top
and bottom edges of the flag
Economy Israel
--------------
Economy - overview: Israel has a technologically
advanced market economy with
substantial government
participation. It depends on imports
of crude oil, grains, raw materials,
and military equipment. Despite
limited natural resources, Israel
has intensively developed its
agricultural and industrial sectors
over the past 20 years. Israel is
largely self-sufficient in food
production except for grains. Cut
diamonds, high-technology equipment,
and agricultural products (fruits
and vegetables) are the leading
exports. Israel usually posts
sizable current account deficits,
which are covered by large transfer
payments from abroad and by foreign
loans. Roughly half of the
government's external debt is owed
to the US, which is its major source
of economic and military aid. The
influx of Jewish immigrants from the
former USSR during the period 1989-
99 coupled with the opening of new
markets at the end of the Cold War,
energized Israel's economy, which
grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But
growth began moderating in 1996 when
the government imposed tighter
fiscal and monetary policies and the
immigration bonus petered out.
Growth was a strong 6.4% in 2000.
But the outbreak of Palestinian
unrest in late September 2000 and
the declines in the high-technology
and tourist sectors led to a 0.6%
drop in GDP in 2001.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $119
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $20,000
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4%
industry: 37%
services: 59% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 2.8%
percentage share: highest 10%: 26.9% (1992)
Distribution of family income - Gini 35.5 (1992)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 2.4 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: public services 31.2%, manufacturing
20.2%, finance and business 13.1%,
commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%,
personal and other services 6.4%,
transport, storage, and
communications 6.2%, agriculture,
forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 9% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (2000 est.)
Industries: high-technology projects (including
aviation, communications, computer-
aided design and manufactures,
medical electronics), wood and paper
products, potash and phosphates,
food, beverages, and tobacco,
caustic soda, cement, diamond
cutting
Industrial production growth rate: -4.5% (2001)
Electricity - production: 38.876 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.89%
hydro: 0.11%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 34.897 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 1.27 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 12 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef,
poultry, dairy products
Exports: $26.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, software,
cut diamonds, agricultural products,
chemicals, textiles and apparel
Exports - partners: US 37.4%, Benelux 6%, Germany 4.8%,
Hong Kong 4.4%, UK 4.3%, Netherlands
2.8% (2000)
Imports: $30.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: raw materials, military equipment,
investment goods, rough diamonds,
fuels, consumer goods
Imports - partners: US 17.8%, Benelux 10%, UK 7.6%,
Germany 7.5%, Switzerland 5.4%,
Italy 4.8% (2000)
Debt - external: $42.8 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: NA
Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS)
Currency code: ILS
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar -
4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057
(2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397
(1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Israel
---------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.8 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.5 million (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: most highly
developed system in the Middle East
although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial
cable and microwave radio relay; all
systems are digital
international: 3 submarine cables;
satellite earth stations - 3
Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1
Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 3.07 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters)
(1995)
Televisions: 1.69 million (1997)
Internet country code: .il
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 21 (2000)
Internet users: 1.94 million (2001)
Transportation Israel
---------------------
Railways: total: 647 km
standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge
(2001)
Highways: total: 15,965 km
paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 708 km; petroleum products
290 km; natural gas 89 km
Ports and harbors: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat),
Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Merchant marine: total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 595,319 GRT/704,544 DWT
ships by type: container 15, roll
on/roll off 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 54 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 29
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 5 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2001)
Heliports: 3 (2001)
Military Israel
---------------
Military branches: Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
(includes ground, naval, and air
components with Air Defense Forces),
Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal),
Frontier Guard, Chen (women); note -
historically there have been no
separate Israeli military services
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,542,835
females age 15-49: 1,499,830 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 1,262,973
service: females age 15-49: 1,223,939 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - reaching males: 51,666
military age annually: females: 49,207 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar $8.866 bilion (FY01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 8% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Israel
---------------------------
Disputes - international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are
Israeli-occupied with current status
subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
Interim Agreement - permanent status
to be determined through further
negotiation; Golan Heights is
Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the
Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights)
Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine
and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in
country from Lebanon and
increasingly Jordan
Powered by Blog Dictionary [BlogDict]
Kindly supported by
Vaffle Invitation Code
Get a Freelance Job - Outsource Your Projects | Threadless Coupon
All rights
reserved. (2008-2024)