The name "Israel" is
rooted in the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 32:28, where Jacob is renamed
Israel after successfully wrestling with an angel of God. The
biblical nation fathered by Jacob was then called "The Children of
Israel" or the "Israelites".
The modern country was named State of Israel, and its citizens are
referred to as Israelis in English. Other rejected name proposals
included Eretz Israel, Zion and Judea. The use of the term Israeli
to refer to a citizen of Israel was decided by the Government of
Israel in the weeks immediately after independence and announced by
Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok.
