what form of government is israel?
Democracy
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 Israel , the Jewish nation @-@ state , is the only country in which Jews make up a majority of the citizens . Israel was established as an independent democratic and Jewish state on May 14 , 1948 . Of the 120 members in its parliament , the Knesset , as of 2016 , 14 members of the Knesset are Arab citizens of Israel ( not including the Druze ) , most representing Arab political parties . One of Israel 's Supreme Court judges is also an Arab citizen of Israel . 

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 There is no single governing body for the Jewish community , nor a single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine . Instead , a variety of secular and religious institutions at the local , national , and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community on a variety of issues . 

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 Hebrew and Arabic are the only official languages of the State of Israel . 

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 The State of Israel faced enormous military and economic challenges in its early years , and the period from 1948 to 1958 was a time of food rationing and austerity , known as tzena . In this decade , over one million Jewish immigrants , mainly from Arab countries , but also including European Holocaust survivors , inundated the new state . They arrived when only basic foods were available and ethnic dishes had to be modified with a range of mock or simulated foods , such as chopped “ liver ” from eggplant , and turkey as a substitute for veal schnitzel for Ashkenazim , kubbeh made from frozen fish instead of ground meat for Iraqi Jews , and turkey in place of the lamb kebabs of the Mizrahi Jews . These adaptations remain as a legacy of that time . 

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 In the early 1990s , Arafat and leading Fatah officials engaged the Israeli government in a series of secret talks and negotiations that led to the 1993 Oslo Accords . The agreement called for the implementation of Palestinian self @-@ rule in portions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five @-@ year period , along with an immediate halt to and gradual removal of Israeli settlements in those areas . The accords called for a Palestinian police force to be formed from local recruits and Palestinians abroad , to patrol areas of self @-@ rule . Authority over the various fields of rule , including education and culture , social welfare , direct taxation and tourism , would be transferred to the Palestinian interim government . Both parties agreed also on forming a committee that would establish cooperation and coordination dealing with specific economic sectors , including utilities , industry , trade and communication . 
