A native or inhabitant of the (1) united nation of Israel (under the Judges, and then kings Saul, David and Solomon), or (2) the later northern kingdom centered in Samaria, distinct from kingdom of Judah centered in Jerusalem
someone who lived in Israel in the past when it was ruled by kings, or relating to this country or its people. In early Jewish history, a member of the 12 tribes of Israel. After the establishment (930 BC) of two Jewish kingdoms (Israel and Judah) in Palestine, only the ten northern tribes constituting the kingdom of Israel were known as Israelites. When Israel was conquered by the Assyrians (721 BC), its population was absorbed by other peoples, and the term Israelite came to refer to those who were still distinctively Jewish the descendants of the kingdom of Judah. In liturgical usage, an Israelite is a Jew who is neither a cohen nor a Levite (see Levi)