Slightly larger than Massachusetts, lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt on the west, Syria and Jordan on the east, and Lebanon on the north. Its maritime plain is extremely fertile.

The southern Negev region, which comprises almost half the total area, is largely a desert. The Jordan, the only important river, flows from the north through Lake Hule (Waters of Merom) and Lake Kinneret (also called Sea of Galilee or Sea of Tiberias), finally entering the Dead Sea 1,349 ft (411 m) below sea level—the world’s lowest land elevation. Israel is a land and a people. The history of the Jewish people, and its roots in the Land of Israel, spans some 35 centuries. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost almost 2,000 years earlier, was renewed.