In this Field Note, I will incorporate the social action component from the UPLift program as I tell you about the people living in Israel and the differences they need to overcome in order to live harmoniously. As I have explained a little bit before, Israel is the world's only Jewish state. Israel has 9,021,000 inhabitants, and 74% of them are Jewish. After that, the next largest group consists of Arabs, who make up 20% of the population. However, it's important to note that "Arab" does not confer any particular religion! So these people can be either Muslim or Christian, and Arab Muslims have lots of smaller groups, with Bedouins, Druze, Sunni and Shia comprising meaningfully distinct religious groups. 5% of the Israeli population is neither Jewish nor Arab, and this section of the population is incredibly diverse. There are non-Arab Christians, Bahá'ís, people who immigrated from the former Soviet Union, as well as people who have come to work from countries with economies that are not as strong as Israel's. In addition, in Israel's 71-year history, the country has provided a safe haven for people fleeing civil wars and other conflicts within their own countries. This has included people from Vietnam, Sudan, Ethiopia, North Korea, Eritrea, Bosnia, Iraq and more.
