Israel is a parliamentary democracy, based on a number of Basic Laws. It has no formal constitution. Religious political parties have in the past blocked all efforts to create a constitution. They hold the opinion that the Jewish state’s constitution must be based upon the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) and the Jewish law (halakhah) that arises from it.

Critics of Vanunu’s treatment claim that he is being held indefinitely so that Israel can avoid political embarrassment and financial complications with the United States (US). If Israel admits to having weapons of mass destruction, it would not be eligible for a $2 billion aid package from the US.

Israel has a technologically advanced free market economy. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment and pharmaceuticals are among its leading exports. Its major imports include crude oil, grains, raw materials and military equipment. Israel usually posts sizeable trade deficits, which are offset by tourism and other service exports, as well as significant foreign investment inflows.

Fanack’s Israel country file provides a comprehensive overview about Israel, its history, politics, culture, economy and much more.

Throughout the political upheaval of the past seven years, el-Tayeb has succeeded in maintaining al-Azhar’s key role in Egypt’s power dynamics, by strongly supporting the regime and the army, preventing major internal changes at al-Azhar and ensuring Islam retains a central role in public policies.

Since winning the Arabic Booker in 2009, he has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of religious extremism and cultural decline in Egypt. His voice is one among a growing number in Egypt calling for cultural change, change that can only happen if Egyptians begin to question dearly held beliefs, especially religious ones.

During the first week of the harvest, when several incidents were reported in Palestinian media outlet WAFA, 30 masked armed settlers attacked farmers and several volunteers on 16 October. Two volunteers were injured, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from Rabbis for Human Rights.

Education is highly valued in Israel, as Jeffrey Geri’s book Israel – Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture will tell you. As such, primary and secondary schooling is free and compulsory up until the last year of secondary school, with most lessons taught in Hebrew or Arabic. The literacy rate is 91.75 per cent, according to UNESCO, and expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of the gross national product is above the average of member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Also in 2019, the International Crisis Group (ICG) raised concerns over new Israeli policies that would entrench its de facto annexation of parts of occupied East Jerusalem. These include cataloguing all of East Jerusalem’s lands in the Israel Land Registry and inducing schools in the area to adopt the Israeli curriculum.

If Turkey is forced to drastically up its military commitment to Libya to combat Egypt’s support (beyond the recently agreed bill to deploy troops to Libya), then Ankara may come to regret its rush to secure its maritime rights.