The Law of Return and the Law on Citizenship were enacted by the Knesset, Israel's Parliament in the summer of 1950 (on the Jewish calendar, 20th Tammuz 5710). These two pieces of legislation contain expressions pertaining to religion, history and nationalism, as well as to democracy, in a combination unique to Israel. They do indeed grant preferential treatment to Jews "returning" to their ancestral homeland. The purpose of the Law of Return, like that of the Zionist Movement, was to provide a solution to the Jewish people's problem ...

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Law of Return, Law of Return - The Law, Law of Return - Controversy, Law of Return - Applicability

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Jew - Jews and migrations. Throughout Jewish history, Jews have repeatedly been directly or indirectly expelled from both their original homeland, and the areas in which they have resided. This experience as both immigrants and emigrants (see: Jewish refugees) have shaped Jewish identity and religious practice in many ways. An incomplete list of such migrations includes: The patriarch Abraham was a migrant to the land of Canaan from Ur of the Chaldees. The Children of Israel experienced the ...

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Jew, Jew - Historical background, Jew - Usage note, Jew - Etymology, Jew - Who is a Jew?, Jew - Jewish culture, Jew - Ethnic divisions, Jew - Population, Jew - Significant geographic populations, Jew - State of Israel, Jew - Diaspora outside Israel, Jew - Population changes: Assimilation, Jew - Population changes: Wars against the Jews, Jew - Population changes: Growth, Jew - Jewish languages, Jew - History of the Jews, Jew - Jews and migrations, Jew - Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Jew - Persian Greek and Roman rule, Jew - Beginning of the Diaspora, Jew - Middle Ages: Europe, Jew - Middle Ages: Islamic Europe and North Africa, Jew - Enlightenment and emancipation, Jew - Zionism and immigration, Jew - The Holocaust, Jew - Israel, Jew - Persecution, Jew - Jewish leadership, Jew - Famous Jews, Jew - Notes

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Human migration has taken place at all times and in the greatest variety of circumstances. It has been tribal, national, class and individual. Its causes have been climatic, political, economic, religious, or mere love of adventure. Its causes and results are fundamental for the study of ethnology, of political and social history, and of political economy. In its natural origins, it includes the separate migrations first of Homo erectus then of Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens sapiens) out of Africa across Eurasia, doub ...

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Human migration, Human migration - Overview of historical migrations, Human migration - Earliest migrations, Human migration - Spread of Agriculture, Human migration - Indo-European migrations, Human migration - The Great Migrations, Human migration - Other Old World migrations, Human migration - Polynesian migration, Human migration - Migrations to the New World, Human migration - World War II and post-World War II Migrations, Human migration - Migrations and climate cycles, Human migration - Literature

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The figure of the doomed sinner, forced to wander without the hope of rest in death till the millennium, impressed itself upon the popular imagination, mainly with reference to the seeming immortality of the wandering Jewish people. These two aspects of the legend are represented in the different names given to the central figure. In German-speaking countries he is referred to as "Der Ewige Jude" (the immortal, or eternal, Jew), while in Romance-speaking countries he is known as "Le Juif Errant" and "L'Ebreo Errante"; the English form, probably because derived from the French, has followed the Romance. The Spani ...

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Wandering Jew, Wandering Jew - Origin of the legend, Wandering Jew - Claims of sightings, Wandering Jew - The Wandering Jew in literature, Wandering Jew - The Wandering Jew in film, Wandering Jew - Related legends

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While the term "Hebrew" as a nationality is customarily used to refer to the ancient Israelites, the classical Hebrew language was extremely similar to the Canaanite languages spoken by their neighbors, such as Phoenician; indeed, Moabite and Hebrew are often considered to be two dialects of the same language. Hebrew strongly resembles Aramaic and to a lesser extent South-Central Arabic, sharing many linguistic features with them. ...

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Hebrew language, Hebrew language - History, Hebrew language - Early history, Hebrew language - Later history, Hebrew language - Revival, Hebrew language - Modern Hebrew, Hebrew language - Hebrew language in the USSR, Hebrew language - Dialects, Hebrew language - Languages strongly influenced by Hebrew, Hebrew language - Sounds, Hebrew language - Vowels, Hebrew language - Consonants, Hebrew language - Historical sound changes, Hebrew language - Grammar, Hebrew language - Writing system, Hebrew language - Romanization, Hebrew language - Notes

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In some places where there have been relatively high concentrations of Jews, distinct secular Jewish subcultures have arisen. For example, ethnic Jews formed an enormous proportion of the literary and artistic life of Vienna, Austria at the end of the 19th century, or of New York City 50 years later (and Los Angeles in the mid-late 20th century), and for the most part these were not particularly religious people. In general, however, Jewish artist ...

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Secular Jewish culture, Secular Jewish culture - Origins of secular Jewish culture, Secular Jewish culture - Languages, Secular Jewish culture - Politics and morals, Secular Jewish culture - Jewish professions, Secular Jewish culture - Banking & finance, Secular Jewish culture - Medicine science and academia, Secular Jewish culture - Literary and artistic culture, Secular Jewish culture - Literature, Secular Jewish culture - Theatre, Secular Jewish culture - Film, Secular Jewish culture - Radio and Television, Secular Jewish culture - Music, Secular Jewish culture - Dance, Secular Jewish culture - Humor, Secular Jewish culture - Visual arts, Secular Jewish culture - Food

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Hebrew calendar - Biblical period. Jews have been using a lunisolar calendar since Biblical times, but originally referred to the months by number rather than name. Only four pre-exilic month names appear in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible): Abib (first, literally "Spring"), Ziv (second), Ethanim (seventh), and Bul (eighth), and all are Canaanite names, and at least two are also Phoenician. It is possible that all of the months were initially identifiable by native Jewish numbers or foreign Canaanite/Phoenician names, ...

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Hebrew calendar, Hebrew calendar - History, Hebrew calendar - Biblical period, Hebrew calendar - Babylonian exile, Hebrew calendar - Second Temple era, Hebrew calendar - Roman Era, Hebrew calendar - Alexandrian Jewish calendar, Hebrew calendar - Transition period, Hebrew calendar - When does the year begin?, Hebrew calendar - Modern calendar, Hebrew calendar - Epoch, Hebrew calendar - Measurement of the month, Hebrew calendar - Pattern of calendar years, Hebrew calendar - Measurement of hours, Hebrew calendar - Measurement of lunar conjunctions/molads, Hebrew calendar - Metonic cycle, Hebrew calendar - Special holiday rules, Hebrew calendar - Karaite interpretation, Hebrew calendar - Accuracy

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Persian Jews have lived in the territories of today's Iran for over 2,700 years, since the first Jewish diaspora when Shalmaneser conquered the (Northern) Kingdom of Israel (722 BCE) and sent the Israelites into captivity at Khorasan. In 586 BCE, the Babylonians expelled large populations of Jews from Judea to the Babylonian captivity. Jews who migrated to ancient Persia mostly lived in their own communities. The Persian Jewish communities include the ancient (and until the mid-20th century still extant) communities not only of Iran, but of parts of what is now Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, northwestern India, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, T ...

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Persian Jews, Persian Jews - History, Persian Jews - Cyrus the Great and Jews, Persian Jews - Parthian Period, Persian Jews - Sassanid Period 225-634, Persian Jews - After the Iranian Revolution, Persian Jews - Languages, Persian Jews - Alternative Usages, Persian Jews - Famous Persian Jews

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History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Under Lenin 1917-1924. In March 1919, Lenin delivered a speech "On Anti-Jewish Pogroms"[6] on a gramophone disc. Lenin sought to explain the phenomenon of anti-Semitism in Marxist terms. According to Lenin, anti-Semitism was an "attempt to divert the hatred of the workers and peasants from the exploiters toward the Jews." Linking anti-Semitism to class struggle, ...

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History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Early History, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Tsarist Russia 1480s-1917, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Pogroms and the Pale of Settlement, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Jews and Bolshevism, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - After the October Revolution 1917-1991, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Under Lenin 1917-1924, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Under Stalin 1922-1953, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - After Stalin, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - The Soviet Union and Zionism, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - The collapse of the Soviet Union and emigration to Israel, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Jews in Russia today, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Jewish life, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Anti-semitism in post-Soviet Russia, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Assimilation trends, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Demographic data, History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Footnotes

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The Renaissance starting in the 14th century saw the establishment of protoscience that eventually would lead to the development of modern science through the Scientific revolution. This was a period of great social change. European colonization of the Americas was driven by people fleeing from religious persecution. The later Enlightenment (beginning in the 17th century) saw improvements in communications and economics (see Industrial Revolution) lead to advances in science and improved education. In the United States, due to the Establishment Clause, no church was given government sanction, so Christianity evo ...

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History of creationism, History of creationism - Early history, History of creationism - Greek and Roman times, History of creationism - Renaissance to Darwin, History of creationism - Darwin, History of creationism - Differing beliefs, History of creationism - Early 20th century, History of creationism - Post-war, History of creationism - Intelligent design

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Before the 1930s the majority of the world's Jews who were in a position to express an opinion could loosely be considered anti-Zionist, in the sense that they did not actively support the Zionist project for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine or elsewhere. Nevertheless, the use of the expression "anti-Zionism" to describe their attitudes needs to be heavily qualified. In the 19th and early 20th century, for example, Reform Jews of Germany used the word "Zionism" to refer to a political and social movement which encouraged th ...

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Anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Defining anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Anti-Zionism dictionary definitions, Anti-Zionism - Types of anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Jewish anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Socialist Bolshevik Anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Arab anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Islamist anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Western anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Soviet anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - International anti-Zionism, Anti-Zionism - Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism, Anti-Zionism - Anti-Zionism and Post-Zionism

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Human migration has taken place at all times and in the greatest variety of circumstances. It has been tribal, national, class and individual. Its causes have been climatic, political, economic, religious, or mere love of adventure. Its causes and results are fundamental for the study of ethnology, of political and social history, and of political economy. In its natural origins, it includes the separate migrations first of Homo erectus then of Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens sapiens) out of Africa across Eurasia, doub ...

See also:

Human migration, Human migration - Overview of historical migrations, Human migration - Earliest migrations, Human migration - Spread of Agriculture, Human migration - Indo-European migrations, Human migration - The Great Migrations, Human migration - Other Old World migrations, Human migration - Polynesian migration, Human migration - Migrations to the New World, Human migration - World War II and post-World War II Migrations, Human migration - Migrations and climate cycles, Human migration - Toward an understanding of migration, Human migration - Types of Migrations, Human migration - Laws of Migration, Human migration - Causes of Migrations, Human migration - Literature

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The experience of the Jews varied from country to country and from time to time. Extensive main articles exist about many areas of Jewish history: Jewish history - Africa. Main articles: African Jew, and [[]], and [[]]See also:

Jewish history, Jewish history - Ancient Jewish History through 50 CE, Jewish history - Ancient Israelites, Jewish history - Exilic and Post-Exilic Periods, Jewish history - The Hasmonean Kingdom, Jewish history - The diaspora, Jewish history - Jews in the Middle Ages 50 CE through 1700 CE, Jewish history - Europe, Jewish history - Spain North Africa and the Middle East, Jewish history - The European Enlightenment and Haskalah 1700-1800s, Jewish history - 1800s, Jewish history - 1900s, Jewish history - Jewish history by country or region, Jewish history - Africa, Jewish history - Algeria, Jewish history - Australia, Jewish history - Austria, Jewish history - Canada, Jewish history - Carpathia and Ruthenia, Jewish history - China, Jewish history - England, Jewish history - Egypt, Jewish history - Ethiopia, Jewish history - France, Jewish history - Germany and the Holy Roman Empire, Jewish history - Greece, Jewish history - Holland Dutch Provinces, Jewish history - Hungary, Jewish history - India, Jewish history - Iraq and Babylonia, Jewish history - Ireland, Jewish history - Israel, Jewish history - Italy the Papal States and the Italian Duchies, Jewish history - Latin America, Jewish history - Lithuania, Jewish history - Morocco, Jewish history - The Netherlands, Jewish history - Ottoman Empire, Jewish history - Persia and Iran, Jewish history - Poland, Jewish history - Portugal, Jewish history - Russia and the former Soviet Union, Jewish history - Spain, Jewish history - South Africa, Jewish history - Tunisia, Jewish history - Turkey, Jewish history - United States, Jewish history - Yemen, Jewish history - References and further reading

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Jewish leadership - Biblical leadership Before 70 CE. See related List of Jewish Biblical figures. During the era of the Tanakh, leadership of the Jewish people was governed by Torah principles. There were the heads of the original Hebrew tribes, and then also prophets such as Moses, Jeremiah and Samuel and whose words still as reference points for the believers, judges such as Samson, kings such as David and Solomon, priests of the Temple ...

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Jewish leadership, Jewish leadership - Historic leadership, Jewish leadership - Biblical leadership Before 70 CE, Jewish leadership - Mishnaic Talmudic Middle Ages leadership 70 - 1600s, Jewish leadership - Early modern leadership 1700s-1800s, Jewish leadership - Modern religious leadership after 1800s, Jewish leadership - Decline of rabbinical influence, Jewish leadership - Modern Synagogue leadership, Jewish leadership - Orthodox and Haredi rabbinic leadership, Jewish leadership - Reform Conservative and Reconstructionist leadership, Jewish leadership - Secular leadership, Jewish leadership - Karaite leadership

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The above list is not comprehensive or definitive. Only a few have been given much historical attention. There is much talk currently (after Hurricane Katrina in 2005) of a New Orleans or US Gulf Coast diaspora, but only time will tell how significant a number of those evacuees will indeed not return. During the Cold War era, huge populations of refugees continued to form from areas of war, especially from Third World nations; all over Africa, South and Central America, the Middle East, and east Asia. A Biblical prophecy about ...

See also:

Diaspora, Diaspora - List of notable diasporas

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Most citizens in the State of Israel are Jewish, and most Israeli Jews practice Judaism in some form. While Judaism has always affirmed a collection of Jewish Principles of Faith, it has never developed a fully binding catechism. While individual rabbis, or sometimes entire groups, at times agreed upon a firm dogma, other rabbis and groups disagreed. With no central agreed-upon authority, no one formulation of Jewish principles of faith could take precedence over any other. Judaism's core belief, however, firmly remains a binding principle agreed upon by Jews of all back ...

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Religion in Israel, Religion in Israel - Religious breakdown, Religion in Israel - Religion and citizenship, Religion in Israel - Judaism in Israel, Religion in Israel - The secular-traditional spectrum, Religion in Israel - The Orthodox spectrum, Religion in Israel - The secular-religious Status Quo, Religion in Israel - Role of the Chief Rabbinate, Religion in Israel - Jerusalem Jews and Judaism, Religion in Israel - Islam in Israel, Religion in Israel - Jerusalem and Islam, Religion in Israel - Christianity in Israel, Religion in Israel - Jerusalem and Christianity, Religion in Israel - Religious tensions, Religion in Israel - Marriage and religious authority

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The Mousterian Neanderthals were the earliest inhabitants of the area known to archaeologists, and have been dated to c. 200,000 BCE. The first anatomically modern humans to live in the area were the Kebarans (conventionally c. 18,000 - 10,500 BCE, but recent paleoanthropological evidence suggests that Kebarans may have arrived as early as 75,000 BCE and shared the region with the Neanderthals for millennia before the latter died out). They were followed by the Natufian culture (c. 10,500 BCE - 8500 BCE), the Yarmukians (c. 8500 - 4300 BCE) ...

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History of Palestine, History of Palestine - Prehistoric times, History of Palestine - Canaanite and Israelite Period, History of Palestine - Persian Hellenistic and Roman Period, History of Palestine - Byzantines to the Ottomans Period, History of Palestine - The British Mandate period, History of Palestine - Post-Mandate, History of Palestine - Intifada Separation Barrier Road Map

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The architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. Other local religious buildings and national culture usually influence synagogue architecture. Synagogue - Traditional and Orthodox synagogues. Orthodox Judaism has considered synagogue construction over the last two thousand years as following the outlines of the original Tabernacle, which was also the outline for the temples in Jerusalem until they were destroyed. Every synagogue has at its front an ark, aron, containing the ...

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Synagogue, Synagogue - History, Synagogue - Function, Synagogue - Design, Synagogue - Traditional and Orthodox synagogues, Synagogue - Reform synagogues and temples, Synagogue - Conservative synagogues, Synagogue - Reconstructionist synagogues, Synagogue - Karaite synagogues, Synagogue - Famous synagogues, Synagogue - Synagogue offshoots

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Born Anatoly Borisovitch Sharansky (Анатолий Борисович Щаранский) in Donetsk, Ukraine to a Jewish family, he graduated with the degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. After being denied an exit visa to Israel on the grounds of "national security" in 1973, he worked as an English interpreter for prominent physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, and also became a human rights activist. Sharansky was one of the founders and the spokesman of Jewish and the Refusenik movement in Moscow Helsinki W ...

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Natan Sharansky, Natan Sharansky - Biography, Natan Sharansky - Books, Natan Sharansky - Footnotes, Natan Sharansky - Bibliography

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The Gruzim have traditionally lived separately, not only from the surrounding Georgian people, but even from the Ashkenazi community in Tbilisi. The community, which numbered about 100,000 as recently as the 1970s, has largely emigrated to Israel, the United States, Russia and Belgium. As of 2004, only about 10-20,000 Gruzim remain in Georgia. ...

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Gruzim, Gruzim - Population, Gruzim - Language, Gruzim - History, Gruzim - External link, Gruzim - Resource

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They call themselves "Juhuro", which simply means "Jews" - any Jews, for example "Juhur Eshgenezini" - Ashkenazic Jew, while "Juhur imuni" means "our Jew", i.e. East-Caucasian Jew. They also call themselves "'ivri" and "yehudi", especially older people. In literature they have been referred to as East Caucasian Jews, Mountain Jews, Jewish Tats, Juhur and Dagh Chufut. In Russian, they are known a ...

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Mountain Jews, Mountain Jews - Self-designation, Mountain Jews - Location, Mountain Jews - Population, Mountain Jews - Language, Mountain Jews - Ethnic origins and history

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