UA
- The old version of Israel didn't seem to have any focus. It had a bit of culture, a bit of faith. The AI also wouldn't understand that they could use Great prophets as GGs, and it was useless because the effect didn't stack with a normal GG.
- Furthermore, it seemed like the old UA was a rather... poor reading of the Tanakh. They got +1 culture on pastures because.... David was a shepherd? They got Leadership promotion on GPs because.... bringing priests and holy relics into battle worked super well for Israel in the past?
(It didn't.) They got faith on policy adoption because... I don't know.
- These changes focus Israel on faith/GP generation, specifically for GP tiles, and faith-purchasing of GPs, and gives them a bit more defensive flavor.
- Their main victory focus is cultural, but faith-centric civs can be flexible. The UA is relatively weak, but is compensated for by the powerful unique wonder.
- The bonus vs Barbarians and faith is a bit close to Celts, but it is a reference to the conquest of Canaan, where the Israelites conquered their promised land
- The faith on Great works is a reference to the Tanakh, the Hebrew bible, which is the single most influential piece of literature in Western thought. It is also a reference to the Psalms, King David himself was a prominent psalmist.
- This kit guarantees Israel a religion, putting on par with Ethiopia in that respect.
- The most obvious religious tenets for Israel are:
- "Resilience" (GProphets 25% cheaper, bonus on holy sites)
- "Knowledge through devotion" (culture on GWs, bonus on holy sites)
- "to the Glory of God" (buy any GP with faith)
These are enhancer and reformation beliefs, so improving/spreading religion is very high priority for Israel. Paradoxically, this puts heavy pressure for Israel to have high population/food, since its faith output scales with population, but it has no benefits for extra food production. Adopting mandirs as their first tenet would therefore be a strong choice, giving a bit more passive spread, faith generation, and food.
UW
- VP allows for unique national wonder replacements. Solomon's Temple is much more iconic as an aspect of Israelite history than the Kibbutz.
- Removing the construction of temples is a reference to Solomon's temple and the tabernacle. Jewish history describes how the Israelites were banned from the creation of their own centres of worship, and were required to give their offerings at the temple in Jerusalem. This became a major issue when the nation split in two after Solomon.
- Faith generation is much more difficult for Israel without temples, knocking out 5
per city, which is why the wonder gives such massive bonuses to faith. The scaling on population across the entire empire should more than compensate for the lack of temples. Essentially, 10 citizens per city is parity with a temple.
Preventing temples from being constructed also helps keep the Jewish religion's passive religious pressure low, which makes sense, since Judaism puts more emphasis on heritage than proselytizing. It did not necessarily prevent spread of the religion, and God sent messengers to other people as well (see Jonah)
This wonder puts Israel behind Byzantium for faith generation, but only slightly.
UU
The Macabees used to generate faith on kills, which was even more similar to the pictish warrior than moving it to the UA. The bonus to flanking also became redundant with how the shock promotion line has been reworked in VP.
I liked the idea of the unit having relatively limited utility outside defensive wars, and I want to express the idea that the Maccabees successfully fought wars against the Seleucid empire and Rome, much larger entities than themselves.
Kibbutz
- I'm always a fan of a good UI. I especially like the idea of putting a UI as late as this, since no other UIs currently exist past medieval. The yields and scaling have to be incredibly high to compensate for how late this UI is, however.
- The requirement for having them built on a farm also increases the amount of worker turns needed, and restricts them to flat land in VP.
- The kibbutz were secular agrarian communes (hence
) for zionists (hence
) which were started in Mandate Palestine around WWI. They were avowedly marxist until the fall of communism, and Stalin's mistreatment of the Jewish community in the Soviet bloc. Later years saw them rolled into the Israeli Defense Force's military-industrial complex (hence
/
), making Kibbutz important parts of the weapons manufacturing supply chain. Only 5-15% of Israel's population has been living on Kibbutzim on any given year in history, but they have become a central part of the nation of Israel's national identity, making them probably the most emblematic part of Israel's rebirth.
Suffet
- The Shofar is a reference to the battle of Jericho, where the Israelites blew their Shofar, and the walls of the city fell. So it effectively subtracts walls from an adjacent city. This is extremely powerful in the early game, since that can mean more than half of a city's CP, but as the game wears on its value diminishes.
- The Milhemet promotion is a reference to the idea of "holy wars" in Judaism. The Jews conquered the holy land, enlarged its borders and prevailed against invaders at the behest of their God, Yahweh. When the Israelites were defeated and their nation destroyed, it was Yahweh's punishment for their disobedience
Great Merchant points if garrisoned in a Fort or Citadel. Upon declaring friendship, Canada and their friend gain +1 Delegate to the World Congress.
Influence
Movement along Rivers
Gold from Forts
Combat Strength when starting a turn on a Trading Post)
Great General Point per turn if garrisoned in a Fort or Citadel. Upon declaring friendship, Canada and their friend gain +1 Delegate to the World Congress. Forts can be built outside your borders and claim tiles.
Trade Route
need modifier
Happiness (up from 1)
citizen in city
Golden Age Points and 200 
Tourism when completed (up from 300 GAP)
