Israel Culture

Israel, Israel, Israel ... land of my forefathers. Israel is a mixture of immigrant cultures, a cosmopolitan city, people with diverse cultural background come from different countries and bring with them their own way of life. Israel culture not only reflects Jewish history in the diaspora but also reflects religious roots .: Judaism is the official religion, but eighty percent of the population is Jewish, fifteen percent are Muslims, and four percent are Christian and Druze.  Jews believe in the Hebrew Bible or Torah. There are different communities such as orthodox, conservative, reform, and Reconstructionist congregations. Rabbis are the religious leaders of the Jewish community. They are ordinated in Jewish law. The main religious figures in the Muslim community are Muezzins, who are scholars of the Koran. Jews pray in synagogues and Muslims worship in mosques.
 Omar Mosques
Western Wall

Cousin: The variety of culture in Israel is also manifested in Israel´s cousin, which is the fusion of local ingredients with immigrant ingredients from around the world. Jews have to fallow dietary laws called Kashrut, which forbid the consumption of pork and shellfish, as well as the consumption of both meat and milk product at the same time. Some typical Israeli food:

Falafel
Ask folks overseas what Israeli food is all about and chances are the first thing to pop out of their mouths will be falafel. Falafel, the pita sandwich stuffed with fried chickpea-based croquettes, chopped salad, humus and tehina, remains the ultimate Israeli street food.

Humus
If you really want to eat like the natives, grab some pita bread and dip straight into a bowl of humus. That classic chickpea based spread has found its way onto the menus of restaurants as far away as Chicago and Sydney, and even beyond. But the origins of this healthy spread are right here in our own backyard. Humus is served in numerous variations in Israeli restaurants—the best is usually found in tiny dives, often in Arab neighborhoods and towns.
For the “complete” humus experience, order it with a dollop of “ful” (fava beans) and a hard boiled egg.





Shwarma
Want to try the Israeli meat lover’s street food? Then by all means, go for a shwarma. You’ll see these huge revolving skewers of meat (in Israel it’s usually turkey) on nearly every corner of our cities. If you’re really hungry ask for the meat wrapped in a “lafa,” otherwise go for a pita sandwich. And the shwarma tastes great when accompanyied in that pita with humus, tehina and chopped salad. For the most adventuresome, ask them to add a bit of “amba” – a mango chutney introduced to Israel by the Jews of Iraq.