Israel is home to a widely diverse population from many ethnic, religious, cultural, and social backgrounds. A new society with ancient roots, it is still coalescing and evolving today. Of its 8,25 million people, 75 percent are Jews, 20,7 percent are Arabs (mostly Muslim) and the remaining 4.3 percent comprise Druze, Circassians, and others not classified by religion. The society is relatively young and is characterized by social and religious commitment, political ideology, economic resourcefulness, and cultural creativity, all of which contribute momentum to its continuing development.
The diverse populations and religions of Israel:
Culture
Israel is an old-new country, small in size, but with a culturally active, heterogeneous population.
Four thousand years of Jewish heritage, over a century of Zionism, and more than half a century of modern statehood have contributed to a culture which has already created an identity of its own, while preserving the uniqueness of 70 different communities.
A largely immigrant society, Israel’s creative expression has absorbed many different cultural and social influences, as it blends tradition and innovation, and strives to steer a course between Israeli particularism and universalism.
Israel’s international cultural ties
World-wide culture ties focus on cooperation in a broad range of fields, including language, literature, the arts, media, and sports. Based on cultural agreements with more than 70 countries, in addition to links with many others, activities range from student and academic exchange programs and reciprocal tours by dance troupes, theater companies, art exhibits, musicians and orchestras, to participation in book fairs, film festivals and sports competitions as well as the teaching of the language and cultural traditions of both countries.:
The constant search for cultural identity is expressed through creativity in a broad range of art forms, appreciated and enjoyed by a great many people as part of daily life, between the different expressions we have; the culture in:
