Israelis
Israelis (Hebrew: יִשְׂרְאֵלִים, romanized: Yīśreʾēlīm; Arabic: إسرائيليين, romanized: Isrāʾīliyyīn) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure; followed by other ethnic and religious minorities, who account for 5 percent.[17]
This article is about the pan-ethnic populace of the modern State of Israel. For the ancient people, see Israelites. For a demographical overview, see Demographics of Israel.
Early Israeli culture was largely defined by communities of the Jewish diaspora who had made aliyah to British Palestine from Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Later Jewish immigration from Ethiopia, the states of the former Soviet Union, and the Americas introduced new cultural elements to Israeli society and have had a profound impact on modern Israeli culture.
Since Israel's independence in 1948, Israelis and people of Israeli descent have had a considerable diaspora, which largely overlaps with the Jewish diaspora but also with that of other ethnic and religious groups; it is estimated that almost 10 percent of the general Israeli population lives abroad, particularly in Russia (with Moscow housing the single largest Israeli community outside of Israel), India, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and throughout Europe.[18]