Israel (Yael Miriam Cohen)



Israel (イスラエル, Isuraeru) is a fanmade character for the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. She has been given the human name Yael M. (Miriam) Cohen. Both Yael and Cohen are common Israeli names, and Miriam was the name of her aunt, Ancient Israel, and Israeli tradition states that one's middle name is the name of someone who has passed on. Her birthday is formally the 14 of May, when she was declared independent from England, but she celebrates it on the Jewish date, the Fifth day of the month Iyar.

Appearance
Yael is shown to have brown, curly hair, held up in a ponytail, and dark brown eyes. Her skin is fairly tanned, with an aquiline nose.

Her chest is fairly curvy, reresenting the farming near the Jordan river valley, especially tomatoes and citrus fruit.

She has a scar on her right ankle from the Battle of Yom Kippur, and two small burn scars on her left shoulder from the 2010 forest fire.

Her military uniform is the standard IDF army uniform, a green zip-up shirt with an Israeli flag on the left shoulder, over green pants, and black Israeli-style combat boots. Casually, she is found in a tank top or t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. Occasionally, especially when travelling, Yael dons a brown bucket hat.

Her earlobes are pierced, each with a golden stud in them, and she’s never present without a silver Star of David necklace or a gun of some sort-usually an Uzi or an M16.



Personality and interests
The best <span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">way to describe her is with the Sabras, a fruit that grows in Israel. The Sabras is like an Israeli person-sharp and prickly on the outside, sweet and mushy on the inside. Likewise, Israel comes off as short-tempered and unfriendly. But those who are truly close to her know her as kind, caring, and hospitable. Once she get to know a person, she’ll open up to them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Years of war have driven Yael to become unnaturally paranoid, especially near her neighbors, and her explosive temper is something to fear. She has a problem with overreacting to things as well.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Her road skills are very aggressive, and is the type to constantly honk horns on the road and yell at everyone. To this, she prefers walking along the sidewalks.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Music is a very large part of her life, and she plays acoustic guitar very well. Her songs range from serene and melodic, like Yerushalaim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold), to loud and proud, like Hevenu Shalom Alechem (We brought peace onto you). Her holidays also include frequent singing.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Her tastes in food are very Middle Eastern, and she especially loves Falafel, which is fried balls made out of chickpeas stuffed into a pita with French fries, diced vegetables, pickles, and tahini, a sauce made out of sesame seeds. She also loves pita and hummus, Malabi, or Israeli milk pudding, Halva, a snack made out of sesame, and Baklawa, layered pastry sheets filled with honey and chopped nuts. Yael will also enjoy Ruggelach, a pastry with chocolate, shnitzel, and diced vegetable salad.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Although Israel is a strong fighter and believes in self-defense, the truth is that she really despises going to war, and her ultimate goal is to achieve peace. She grows quite tedious of constant attacks on her land.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">She loves sports, even if she isn’t the best. Some favorites of hers are soccer and basketball. She also loves going to the beach and swimming, or playing matkot, a beach variation on ping-pong.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); line-height: 107%; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Yael is what’s called a masortit Jew, meaning that she keeps kosher and holiday rituals, and has a good understanding of the Tanakh, but often skips Synagogue and is lax about many things written in the Torah, such as treatment of Gays (they have significantly more rights in her country than any other Middle Eastern one) or Shabbat (Saturdays are just ordinary weekends).

Relations
<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Akhzivland 

<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Akhzivland is her little brother. His hippie tendencies drive Israel a little insane, but she does gupport his tourist industry.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">America 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">America has been quite supportive of Israel since she was a small nation. Trade between the two is very well, and America has helped her out countless times. On occasion, Israel will drive him to train with her, which, depending on the day, ends up either successful or disastrous, but she still considers him a very close friend.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Israel 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Israel was Israel's aunt. Yael, unfortunately, did not see much of her before she was taken prisoner by Rome. Since then, she's taken on her aunt's name as her middle name, following Jewish tradition, and named the new country she formed after her.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Judea 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Judea was her beloved father, or Aba, as she calls him. She spent many happy years with him, until Rome took him over. Eventually, the Diaspora killed him, and Yael was forced into exile.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Palestine 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Palestine, or Philistine, was her father's enemy, and the mother to her future rival, Palestine. Yael remembers how her father often had to go into battle against her, yet is still reluctant to war with the woman's son.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Rome 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ancient Rome was the one who forced her people into exile, which eventually killed her father. She still feels negatively toward him, despite being on good relations with his grandsons.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Australia 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Australia is another ally of Israel's, and the two fairly enjoy each other's company. She also has a monument dedicated to him in Beersheva.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Canaan 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Canaan was her grandmother. Most of what Yael knows about her is through the Torah, where she's mentioned as the first settlement of the Jews before they left for Egypt. She died after her kingdom split in half.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Canada

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Canada was one of the first to vote in favor of partitioning Palestine and Israel, and recognized Yael as a country a year later. The two enjoy a stable relationship.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">China 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The ROC and Israel were close allies. After China had his revolution, however, it took him a while until he reistablished ties with her. They have a mostly technological relationship, and recently Yao took to start growing blue roses developed by Yael.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Egypt 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Israel and Egypt have ben to war against each other 5 times, the harshest being the Battle of Yom Kippur, where he attacked her on one of her holiest days, and she nearly lost. A short time later, she asked to return the Sinai peninsula she had taken from him in the six-day war in exchange for peace, and he became the first Arab country to form peace with her. Nonetheless, they still feel very awkward in each other's presence, and Israel is very cautious around him.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">England 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A former colonizer of Israel, she always felt wary under his control. After achieving independence, trade between the two has increased, and in modern day, the two get along fairly well.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">France 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In her early years as a country, Francegave much support to the young nation, but sharply withdrew support a little before the Six-day War. The two were very wary of each other, until the 1980's, when the two grew closer. In modern day, France and Israel are good friends, and France refuses to acknowledge anyone who doens't recognize Israel.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Gaza strip 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">During the Six-day War, Israel claimed Gaza, along with Sinai, from Egypt. Later, Israel turned in Gaza to Palestine, along with West Bank. Gaza has a strong hatred to his former caretaker, and constantly attacks her, yet cries out whenever she counterattacks. Those are times when Yael regrets giving full independence to the young Palestinian.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Germany 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">At first, Israel was very reluctant to form ties with Germany, especially because of what he did to her people during the Holocaust. However, he apologized and tried to repay the "damage he did," and soon after, the two formed a strong bond. Yael still feels a little awkward near him, but has overall forgiven him for the damage he did, and Germany is quite supportive of her.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Golan Heights 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Golan Heights was captured by Israel from Syria in the Six-day War, and now lives with Israel as part of her country, although he still feels a little Syrian. He does spend some time with Israel, though, and enjoys farming much like her.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">India 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">India is Yael's lover. The two weren't sure about forming ties, but once they did, they became very close. India is her closest ally in Asia, as well as the most supportive of her. They enjoy working on technology together, and India launches sattelites that she creates. Although he is still fairly supportive of Palestine, Yael understands, seeing as he has the world's second largest Muslim population, and still loves him for who he is.

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Iran 

<p style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Oddly enough, the two used to be on good terms with each other, but after the revolution, Iran has been very distant to Israel. Yael suspects the nation is developing nuclear weapons.