Reviews: Atlas of Israel

Summary

This paper presents the first installments of a definitive Atlas of Israel, published by the Department of Surveys of the Ministry of Labour and the Bialik Institute of the Jewish Agency. The atlas adopts a loose-leaf fascicule format (43 × 64 cm) for flexible updating. It covers cartography, physical geography, history, demography, economics, and education. The text is entirely in Hebrew, with an English title page and table of contents, posing an accessibility barrier for non-Hebrew-speaking scholars. The received folders include maps and commentaries on cartography, geomorphology, climate, history, population, agriculture, industry and commerce, and communications. Sections planned on geology, hydrology, botany, zoology, landscape evolution, settlements, and services have not yet been received. Each map sheet bears on its reverse a scholarly essay and a multilingual bibliography. The production and printing quality are excellent. Once complete, the atlas will become an authoritative reference for geographers and other Israel researchers proficient in Hebrew. This review highlights the publication's scholarly rigor and its linguistic limitation.