Culture of Israel

The culture of Israel developed long before the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948 and combines the heritage of secular and religious lives. Much of the diversity in Israel's culture comes from the diversity of its population. Originating in the Levant and around the world, immigrants arrived with diverse cultural backgrounds and contributed to the development of Israeli culture, which follows cultural trends and changes across the globe as well as expressing a unique spirit of its own. Israeli culture also reflects Jewish history in the diaspora, especially the ideology of the Zionist movement beginning in the late 19th century.

Israeli traditions are rooted in a synthesis of ethnic and religious Hebrew Israelite traditions, and Israeli artists continually push the boundaries of their art forms. Through their work, Israel's artists provoke self-reflective and communal examination. Their creative and open discussions inspire social change, innovative thinking and multidisciplinary experimentation, while expressing the beauty of the people and the land of Israel.

Zionism is partly based on religious tradition. It links the Jewish people to the Land of Israel where the concept of Jewish nationhood first evolved between 1200 BCE and 70 CE (end of the Second Temple era). However, modern Zionism evolved both politically and religiously. It mostly began as a response to the widespread antisemitism toward European Judaism. It constituted a branch of the broader phenomenon of modern nationalism. Though Zionist groups were first competing with other Jewish political movements, Zionism became an equivalent to political Judaism during and after the Holocaust.