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THE LAND: Urban Life   null Jerusalem: View from Mount of Olives (Photo: I. Sztulman)   INTRODUCTION | GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE | WATER | NATURE | ENVIRONMENT | INFRASTRUCTURE | URBAN LIFE | RURAL LIFE About 92 percent of Israelis live in urban areas. Many modern towns and cities, blending the old and the new, are built on sites known since antiquity, among them Jerusalem, Safed, Be'er Sheva, Tiberias, and Akko. Others such as Rehovot, Hadera, Petah Tikva, and Rishon Lezion began as agricultural villages in the pre-state era and gradually evolved into major population centers. Development towns such as Karmiel and Kiryat Gat were built in the early years of the state to accommodate the rapid population growth generated by mass immigration, as well as to help distribute the population throughout the country and to promote a closely interlocked rural and urban economy by drawing industry and services to previously unpopulated areas.   Jerusalem, situated in the Judean Hills, is the capital of Israel, the seat of government and the historical, spiritual and national center of the Jewish people since King David made it the capital of his kingdom some 3,000 years ago. Sanctified by religion and tradition, by holy places and houses of worship, it is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims the world over. Until 1860 Jerusalem was a walled city made up of four quarters - Jewish, Muslim, Armenian, and Christian. At that time, the Jews, who by then comprised the majority of its population, began to establish new neighborhoods outside the walls, forming the nucleus of modern Jerusalem. During three decades of British Mandate administration (1918-48), the city gradually changed from a neglected provincial town of the Ottoman Empire (1517-1917) into a flourishing metropolis, with many new residential neighborhoods, each reflecting the character of the particular group living there. Following the Arab onslaught against the newly established State of Israel, the city was divided (1949) under Israeli and Jordanian rule, and for the next 19 years concrete walls and barbed wire sealed off one part from the other. As a result of the 1967 Six Day War, the city was reunified. Today Israel's largest city, Jerusalem has a population of more than 760,000. At once ancient and modern, it is a city of diversity, with inhabitants representing a mixture of cultures and nationalities, of religiously observant and secular lifestyles. It is a city which preserves its past and builds for the future, with carefully restored historical sites, well-landscaped green areas, modern commercial zones, industrial parks and expanding suburbs attesting to its continuity and vitality.   Jerusalem: View from Mount of Olives (Photo: I. Sztulman)     Tel Aviv-Yafo, a modern city on the Mediterranean coast, is Israel's commercial and financial center as well as the focus of its cultural life. Headquartered there are most industrial organizations, the stock exchange, major newspapers, commercial centers, and publishing houses. Tel Aviv, the first all-Jewish city in modern times, was founded in 1909 as a suburb of Jaffa (Yafo), one of the oldest urban settlements in the world. In 1934 Tel Aviv was granted municipal status, and in 1950 it was renamed Tel Aviv-Yafo, the new municipality absorbing old Jaffa. The area around the ancient port of Jaffa has been developed into an artists' colony and tourist center, with galleries, restaurants, and night clubs. Tel Aviv's "White City," a vast ensemble of buildings from the 1930s-1950s in the Modernist Movement style, has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.   Tel Aviv: Suzanne Dellal Center of Dance and Theater, Neve Tsedek quarter (Photo: Ministry of Tourism)     Haifa, on the Mediterranean Sea, rises from the coastline over the slopes of Mount Carmel. It is built on three topographical levels: the lower city, partly on land recovered from the sea, is the commercial center with harbor facilities; the middle level is an older residential area; and the top level consists of rapidly expanding modern neighborhoods with tree-lined streets, parks, and pine woods overlooking the industrial zones and sandy beaches on the shore of the wide bay below. A major deep-water port, Haifa is a focus of international trade and commerce. It also serves as the administrative center of northern Israel. Haifa at night (Photo: D. Rozen)     Safed (Tzfat), perched high in the mountains of Galilee, is a popular summer resort and tourist site, with an artists' quarter and several centuries-old synagogues. In the 16th century, Safed was the most important center of Jewish learning and creativity in the world - the gathering place of rabbis, scholars, and mystics who laid down religious laws and precepts, many of which are still followed by observant Jews today.   Tiberias, on the shore of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), is famous for its therapeutic hot springs. Today the town is a bustling lakeside tourist center, where archeological remains of the past blend with modern houses and hotels. Founded in the 1st century and named for the Roman Emperor Tiberius, it became a center of Jewish scholarship and the site of a wellknown rabbinical academy.   Be'er Sheva, in the northern Negev, is located at the intersection of routes leading to the Dead Sea and Eilat. It is a new city built on an ancient site, dating back to the age of the Patriarchs some 3,500 years ago. Called the 'Capital of the Negev,' Be'er Sheva is an administrative and economic center, with regional government offices and institutions of health, education, and culture which serve all of southern Israel.   Eilat, the country's southernmost city, is Israel's outlet to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Its modern port, believed to be located on the site of a harbor from the time of King Solomon, handles Israel's trade with Africa and the Far East. Warm winters, spectacular underwater scenery, well-appointed beaches, water sports, luxury hotels, and accessibility from Europe via direct charter flights have made Eilat a thriving, year-round tourist resort. Since the establishment of peace between Israel and Jordan (1994), joint development projects with the neighboring city of Aqaba have been initiated, mainly to boost tourism in the area. Architecture through the Ages The style of urban building in Israel varies greatly, from structures of past centuries, solid edifices inspired by the renowned architects of pre-World War II Europe and apartment blocks hastily constructed to house new immigrants in the early years of the state, to carefully planned residential neighborhoods, high-rise concrete and glass office buildings and modern luxury hotels. **** Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב–יָפוֹ‎ – Tel Aviv-Yafo [tel aˈviv ˈjafo]; Arabic: تَلّ أَبِيب - يَافَا‎ – Tall ʾAbīb - Yāfā), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 460,613, it is the economic and technological center of the country. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second most populous city after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city before West Jerusalem.[a] Tel Aviv is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, headed by Mayor Ron Huldai, and is home to many foreign embassies.[b] It is a beta+ world city and is ranked 25th in the Global Financial Centres Index. Tel Aviv has the third- or fourth-largest economy and the largest economy per capita in the Middle East.[6][7] The city has the 31st highest cost of living in the world.[8] Tel Aviv receives over 2.5 million international visitors annually.[9][10] A "party capital" in the Middle East, it has a lively nightlife and 24-hour culture.[11][12] Tel Aviv has been called The World's Vegan Food Capital, as it possesses the highest per capita population of vegans in the world, with many vegan eateries throughout the city.[13] Tel Aviv is home to Tel Aviv University, the largest university in the country with more than 30,000 students. The city was founded in 1909 by the Yishuv (Jewish residents) as a modern housing estate on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa, then part of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem within the Ottoman Empire. It was at first called 'Ahuzat Bayit' (lit. "House Estate" or "Homestead"),[14][15] the name of the association which established the neighbourhood. Its name was changed the following year to 'Tel Aviv', after the biblical name Tel Abib adopted by Nahum Sokolow as the title for his Hebrew translation of Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel Altneuland ("Old New Land"). Other Jewish suburbs of Jaffa established before Tel Aviv eventually became part of Tel Aviv, the oldest among them being Neve Tzedek (est. 1886).[16][dubious – discuss] Tel Aviv was given "township" status within the Jaffa Municipality in 1921, and became independent from Jaffa in 1934.[17][18] After the 1947–1949 Palestine war Tel Aviv began the municipal annexation of parts of Jaffa, fully unified with Jaffa under the name "Tel Aviv" in April 1950, and was renamed to "Tel Aviv-Yafo" in August 1950.[19] Immigration by mostly Jewish refugees meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced that of Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time.[20] Tel Aviv and Jaffa were later merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the Israeli Declaration of Independence, which was proclaimed in the city. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of International Style buildings, including Bauhaus and other related modernist architectural styles.[21][22] **** Haifa (Hebrew: חֵיפָה‎ Ḥefa [χeˈfa]; Arabic: حيفا‎ Ḥayfa)[2] is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of 285,316 in 2019. The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the second- or third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel.[3][4] It is home to the Baháʼí Faith's Baháʼí World Centre, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for Baháʼí pilgrimage.[5] Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years. The earliest known settlement in the vicinity was Tell Abu Hawam, a small port city established in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE).[6] In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a dye-making center. Over the millennia, the Haifa area has changed hands: being conquered and ruled by the Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, Persians, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, and the British. Since the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, the Haifa Municipality has governed the city. As of 2016, the city is a major seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline in the Bay of Haifa covering 63.7 square kilometres (24.6 sq mi). It lies about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Tel Aviv and is the major regional center of northern Israel. Two respected academic institutions, the University of Haifa and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology the oldest and top ranked university in both Israel and the Middle East, are located in Haifa, in addition to the largest K–12 school in Israel, the Hebrew Reali School. The city plays an important role in Israel's economy. It is home to Matam, one of the oldest and largest high-tech parks in the country; Haifa also owns the only underground rapid transit system located in Israel, known as the Carmelit.[7][8] Haifa Bay is a center of heavy industry, petroleum refining and chemical processing. Haifa formerly functioned as the western terminus of an oil pipeline from Iraq via Jordan.[9] ****Jerusalem (/dʒəˈruːsələm/; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם‎ Yerushaláyim; Arabic: القُدس‎ al-Quds or Bayt al-Maqdis, also spelled Baitul Muqaddas[10][11][12])[note 2] is a city in the Middle East, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.[note 3][13] Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times.[14] The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds.[15][16] In the Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, probably meaning "City of Shalem" after a Canaanite deity. During the Israelite period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 9th century BCE (Iron Age II), and in the 8th century the city developed into the religious and administrative center of the Kingdom of Judah.[17] In 1538, the city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four-quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters.[18] The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger.[19] Since 1860 Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2015, Jerusalem had a population of some 850,000 residents, comprising approximately 200,000 secular Jewish Israelis, 350,000 Haredi Jews and 300,000 Palestinians.[20][note 4] In 2016, the population was 882,700, of which Jews comprised 536,600 (60.8%), Muslims 319,800 (36.2%), Christians 15,800 (1.8%), and 10,300 unclassified (1.2%).[22] According to the Bible, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the united kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple.[note 5] Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous – and later monotheistic – religion centered on El/Yahweh,[24][25][26] These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people.[27][28] The sobriquet of holy city (עיר הקודש, transliterated 'ir haqodesh) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times.[29][30][31] The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint[32] which Christians adopted as their own authority,[33] was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina.[34][35] In Islamic tradition, in 610 CE it became the first qibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer (salat),[36] and Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later, ascending to heaven where he speaks to God, according to the Quran.[37][38] As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi),[39] the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory.[note 6] One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. While the international community rejected the annexation as illegal and treats East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel,[43][44][45][46] Israel has a stronger claim to sovereignty over West Jerusalem.[47][48]     ebay5287