Is there any difference between an Israeli and an Israelite?
'Bout 3500 years…
There’s no Desmond Dekker song called “Israelis”…
Giving a serious response…
As the terms are usually used, an Israeli is a resident of the current state of Israel, an Israelite the historical state.
I agree with jayjay. I thought it was simply that *Israelite * was the biblical usage and *Israeli * was the modern usage.
I was under the impression that the Israelites were made up of 10 Hebrew tribes distinct from the Hebrew tribes of Judah and Benjamin . The first group formed the Kingdom of Israel, while the latter group formed the Kingdom of Judah.
The Israelites disappeared into oblivion , but some of the descendants of the latter two tribes now call themselves Israeli.
It’s actually the same word in Hebrew - Israeli. For reasons unknown to me, it’s been translated in the Bible as Israelite. A quick glance at the Tanakh shows that this is standard (ie, Zebuloni is translated into English as Zebulunite, and Piratoni is translated as Pirathonite - these examples are from Judges 12.11-12.13, which is where I randomly opened it).
Anyway, Israelite just sounds archaic. But there isn’t really any difference.
-ite denotes descent. The word Israelite can be applied to any descendant of the Biblical patriarch Israel (a.k.a. Jacob). The word is properly applied to the Biblical nation from which today’s Jews are descended, as the word Jew derives from the Kingdom of Judah which was not a distinct entity until a later point in national history, during the events of the first book of Kings.
-i denotes place of residence. The word Israeli is applied to anyone who lives in the State of Israel, regardless of his or her religion or descent (e.g., “Israeli Arabs”).
It’s my impression (although I’ve never read a Tanach in English) that “Israelites” is the common translation of “Bnei Yisrael”, or “Children of Israel.” It refers to the people - as Chaim said, the descendants of Jacob (Israel) - not the country.