Bear MAXICARD from "The State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat ʾIsrāʾīl)" - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear

State of Israel מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל Medīnat Yisrā'el دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل Dawlat Isrā'īl
Flag Emblem
Anthem:  Hatikvah (הַתִּקְוָה)
Capital (and largest city)		Jerusalem[a] 31°47′N 35°13′E
Official language(s)		Hebrew, Arabic[1]
Ethnic groups		75.3% Jewish 20.5% Arab 4.2% other[2]
Demonym		Israeli
Government		Parliamentary democracy[1]
-	President	Shimon Peres
-	Prime Minister	Benjamin Netanyahu
-	Knesset Speaker	Reuven Rivlin
-	Supreme Court President	Dorit Beinisch
Legislature		Knesset
Independence		from British Mandate for Palestine
-	Declaration	14 May 1948
Area
-	Total 1	20,770 / 22,072 km2 (151st) 8,019 / 8,522 sq mi
-	Water (%)	~2%
Population
-	2011 estimate	7,746,000[2] (95th)
-	2008 census	7,406,900[3]
-	Density	365.3/km2 (30th) 946.1/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$219.431 billion[4]
-	Per capita	$29,531[4]
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$213.147 billion[4]
-	Per capita	$28,685[4]
Gini (2008)		39.2[1]
HDI (2010)		0.872[5] (very high) (15th)
Currency		Shekel (₪‎) (ILS)
Time zone		IST (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	IDT (UTC+3)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		IL
Internet TLD		.il
Calling code		972
1	Excluding / Including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem; see below.
2	Includes all permanent residents in Israel, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Also includes Israeli citizens living in the West Bank. Excludes non-Israeli population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

"The State of Israel (Hebrew:  מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎,Dawlat ʾIsrāʾīl), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, on the eastern shore of theMediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and theWest Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.^[6][7] Israel is defined as a Jewish and democratic state in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.^[8]

Following the 1947 United Nations decision to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization^[9] and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared Israel a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine.^[10][11] Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Since then, Israel has fought a series of wars with neighboring Arab states,^[12] and hasoccupied territories, including the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, beyond those delineated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Portions of these territories, including Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel but the border with the neighboring West Bank is still not formally defined, as a result of the complex and unresolved political situation.^{[13][14][15][16][17]} Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts by elements on both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to solve the problemdiplomatically have so far met with little or no success. Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabinpushed for a two-state solution in the 1990s, but was assassinated by a Jewish nationalist."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel#Geography_and_climate

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