History Of Israel For Kids What Your Child Needs To Know

The Ottoman Empire ruled Israel along with most of the Middle East from 1517 up to 1917.In the past, Israel was covered in woodland. However, trees were cut for timber and also for the land to create fields.Israel, officially called the State of Israel, is a West Asian country and one of the oldest countries in the Middle East. Located on the Red Sea’s northern shore and the Mediterranean Sea’s southeastern shore, this country shares its borders with Syria, Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Lebanon. The capital, Tel Aviv, is the technological and economic center of this country. Evidence of the earliest migration of hominids from Africa lies in Israel. Archaeological evidence attested to the Canaanite tribes in Isreal dating back to the Middle Bronze Age, whereas the kingdoms of Judah and Israel emerged only in the Iron Age. The official languages of Israel are Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is spoken by the majority of Israelis, and Arabic is the language of Arab minorities in Israel. This small country has high-quality education. As of 2021, the population of Israel is more than nine million.If you enjoy reading these facts about the history of Isreal for kids, then make sure to read some more interesting facts about the history of Japan for kids and Halloween history facts here at Kidadl.How was Israel formed?The head of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion (later Prime Minister), authorized the formation of the State of Israel.It is commonly believed that the United Nations created Israel, with much of the world favoring this move. The United Nations General Assembly did recommend a separate Jewish state to be created in Palestine. However, this was not implemented by a Security Council. When the Ottoman Empire fell in World War I, the British took control of Palestine. After this, the British issued a declaration for the Jewish nation for Jewish people in Palestine (current Israel, Palestine, and Jordan). However, Arabs or Palestinians opposed this idea.When World War II started, Jewish people were oppressed in Nazi Germany, and these people were only able to immigrate to other places after World War II ended. However, Jewish people who wanted to immigrate were turned down by Palestinians during British rule. Still, Jews were secretly smuggled into Palestine. This issue was later handed to the United Nations. After a lot of discussion and debate, the United Nations recommended a two-state policy in Palestine, one for Arabs and the other for Jews. However, many people rejected this idea. After British rule ended, David Ben-Gurion declared the State of Israel.Many Jews who survived the holocaust were now immigrating to Israel. These Jews needed immediate social and health services and shelter.What is Israel known for in history?Israel is famous in history because the final Hebrew bible edition is believed to have been compiled there and is the originating point of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.Israel is situated at the end of the eastern Mediterranean sea and shares boundaries with Syria (northeast), Jordan (southeast), Egypt (southwest), Lebanon (north), and also the Mediterranean sea in the west. Israel has many Druze, Baha-i-Faith, Christian, and Samaritan sacred sites. As the land of Israel was ruled by many ethnic groups, this land has hosted many religions. Jesus Christ is said to have been born in the land of Bethlehem, located in the southwest of Jerusalem. Jesus was later crucified in the capital of Jerusalem. The Roman Empire adopted Christianity in the 4th-century and even lasted for many centuries, even after the Arab Muslim Empires.Arabic was the dominant language in the land of Israel in the Mamluk Sultanate and Ottoman Empire until the British arrived. During the rule of both the Ottoman Empire and Arabs, Jews were distributed around the world. Today, 43% of Jews around the world are situated in Israel, making Israel the largest Jewish community in the world.In 1600 BC, the forefathers of Jewish people first settled in the Israeli region. In this period, the people of Israel moved down to Egypt, crossing the sea, due to serious famine. Samuel, a Hebrew prophet in the 11th century BC, is considered a religious hero of Israeli history. In the Old Testament, he is represented in every leadership role that was open to any Jewish man, including judge, priest, seer, military leader, and prophet. In 1000 BC, under the rule of King David, Jerusalem became the capital city of the Israel Kingdom. King David would not only defeat Goliath, the enemy champion, but was also able to unite all of the tribes in Isreal under one monarch called the Judaean dynasty (founded by him). Later, in 960 BC, the first temple was built by King Solomon, which became the spiritual and national center for the Jewish religion.The Arab-Israeli WarThe Arab-Israeli wars are military conflicts between several Arab countries (Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria) and Israeli forces.Arab counties like Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan attacked the land of Israel after Israel’s independence in 1948-49. These countries invaded a Jewish quarter located in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israelis were able to take control over most of Jerusalem, from the Negev Desert to the previous Egypt-Palestine frontier, except the Gaza strip. However, by the end of this, there was no peace treaty signed.Also, Israelis were able to gain control over more land than the amount of land assigned to them by the United States. The second conflict was in October 1956. This began when Israel attacked the Sinai peninsula and destroyed the military bases of Arabs located there. This settled in December of the same year. In the year 1967, Israel defeated Syria, Egypt, and Jordan in six days. Israel was able to take control of the West Bank, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. On the Holy day of Yom Kippur, Syria and Egypt launched airstrikes on Israel in 1973. The Yom Kippur war lasted for two weeks. However, Israel won and retained Golan heights.The next war was the Palestinian Infantadas. The first and second ones happened from 1987-2005. Palestinians reclaimed previously occupied territories, leading to the removal of Jewish settlements and troops of Israel in 2005 from the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah is Lebanon’s Shiite Islamic militant group and Israel fought a war against them in 2006. This ended after two months or so with a ceasefire. Israel also faced conflicts with another militant group called Hamas at beginning of 2006.The tension between the occupied territories of Palestine and Israel escalated. The government of Israel accelerated the Jewish establishment in the Gaza Strip and West bank, against rising Arab protests. Riots erupted among the Palestinians occupying the Gaza strip and spread toward the West Bank. This uprising came to an end after Israel and PLO signed interim peace treaties in the year 1993. This allowed Palestine to self-rule in the territories that they occupied.Learn About Israel With Shalom SesameThere is so much to learn about the diverse communities, rich culture, history, Jewish holidays and traditions of Israel today. You can watch videos of Shalom Sesame with your child to learn about the present and past of Israel.You can further extend these lessons by getting involved in activities and discussions with your child. You can start by talking to a child about what you see in the videos. Some questions to start a conversation might include ‘have you seen old buildings?’ If yes, ‘how can you describe them?’ or ‘what does archaeology mean?’ You can then try to picture Israel in its true size with your child. Although a small country, Israel has many landscapes and various climates. If an atlas is too small, you either use a bigger globe or search for Israel on an online map. This allows your child to analyze the size of Israel and also compare it to your current location.Your child can get involved in an activity to explore the origins of your house. Work with your child to dig up the history of your neighborhood, a family member’s home, or your family home. They can answer questions like ‘who built it?’,’ how old is the house?’, or ‘who previously lived here?’ Now that they know how to think like archaeologists, you can take your kids on a virtual trip around Israel. You and your kid can dig up archaeological facts or virtually visit Tel Aviv and the red sea. There are a lot of ways to explore a place without actually going there. So many famous people or communities are known for many reasons. You can explore why they call Israel their hometown.Fun Facts About Israel That Kids Should KnowSome fun facts about Israel that kids should know are that people in Tel Aviv love sushi. Israel lies geographically on the Asian continent, and people in Israel developed cell phones.The current Prime Minister of Israel is Naftali Bennet, and the president is Isaac Herzog. The first female Prime minister was Golda Meir, elected in 1969. The industrial economy of Israel is the 35th largest in the world. The GDP per capita is far ahead of many European countries.The dead sea is 1,312 ft (400 m) below sea level, making it the lowest place in the world. There are clay, phosphate, gypsum, and copper mines in the Negev Desert. The Negev desert is in the south of Israel and is a barren area of mountains, flat plans, and craters. The coastal plain is in west Israel, close to the Mediterranean Sea.You can write a letter to God and post it to Jerusalem. They will open the letter and fix it into the cracks of the Western Wall. The only country to revive a dead language and to make it their national language is Israel. Music has been a vital part of the ancient Jewish community since Abraham. As per Alfred Sendrey, music was a link between the Hebrews and God. So, the Jewish community was closely connected with music. The Hebrew Bible refers to a non-canonical work called the book of the history of the kings of Israel, which gives an overview of the kings of Judah and Israel.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked learning about the history of Isreal, then why not take a look at the history of Thanksgiving or the history of Ireland?

The Ottoman Empire ruled Israel along with most of the Middle East from 1517 up to 1917.