Middle East and North Africa

Far more Americans continue to sympathize more with Israel (54%) than with the Palestinians (19%) in the Middle East dispute, according to our recent foreign policy survey. And half of Americans (50%) think a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully, while 42% say this is not possible. […]

Israeli Muslims actually place less emphasis on religion and some of the key pillars of their faith than do Muslims in neighboring countries.

A Pew Research Center survey of Israel provides a rare window into the religious beliefs and practices of this close-knit group.

While significant shares of Israeli Arabs and Jews are optimistic about the prospect of a two-state solution, those who would live in this new independent state – the Arabs currently in the Palestinian territories – are less optimistic about it.

They come in several basic styles, with some more favored by particular Jewish subgroups than others.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Israel’s largest wave of Jewish immigrants arrived from Russia and other former Soviet republics. These Soviet Jews brought a secular mindset to Israel, and more than two decades later, Jews who were born in the former Soviet Union continue to be noticeably less religious than Israeli Jews overall.

Fully 18% of U.S. social media users say they have changed their profile pictures to draw attention to an issue or event.

In the wake of attacks in Brussels and in Lahore, Pakistan, some social media users are changing their profile pictures to express solidarity with victims and the people of these countries. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become a common way for Americans to get news, but they also can provide a way for […]

Israeli Druze make up roughly 2% of the country’s population and live mostly in the northern regions of the Galilee, Carmel and the Golan Heights. Their tradition dates back to the 11th century and incorporates elements of Islam, Hinduism and even classical Greek philosophy.

In 2015, more than 1.8 million people crossed the European Union’s borders illegally, up from 280,000 detections of illegal border crossings in 2014.