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Fast Facts about Israel

Israels currency is the Shekel.
The flag of the State of Israel is based on the design of the Jewish prayer shawl (tallit), with a blue Shield of
David (Magen David).
The official emblem of the State of Israel is a candelabrum (menorah). The olive branches on either side
represent Israels yearning for peace.
Israeli students start studying English in third grade.
The Israeli National Anthem is Hatikvah which means The Hope.
The olive tree is Israels national tree.
Israels bank notes have Braille markings on them so that the blind can identify them easily.
In many Israeli bus stops, you can find a box for tzedakah charitable giving.
The glue on Israeli stamps is kosher.
Israel has 137 official beaches.
Israel has the worlds second largest output of new books per citizen.
Israel has won five bronze Olympic medals, one silver and one gold.
In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews to safety in Israel.
Nine Israelis have won a Nobel Prize.
Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth.
Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies
diamonds as conflict free.
According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industrys most impenetrable flight security. U.S.
officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
Israels Maccabi basketball team won the European championships in 2001.
Israeli tennis player Anna Smashnova is the 15th ranked female player in the world.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was produced by Haim Saban, an Israeli whose family fled persecution in Egypt.
In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud
missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv.
Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute
terms, Israel has more startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies
mostly in hi-tech).
Israel is also the only country in the Middle East with a free Arabic press.
Israelis consume the most fruits and vegetables per capita of any people in the world.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin -109 per 10,000
people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
Israels $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over
55 - in the world.
Immigrating to Israel is called Aliyah. Aliyah means ascension, or going up.
Morocco and Russia are the two countries fromwhich the largest number of new immigrants to Israel have come.
Teva, an internationally well-known shoe wear company, received its name from the Hebrew word for nature.
The only research and development center for Microsoft outside of the USA is located in Haifa.
Intel has their largest plant outside the USA in Israel.
Albert Einstein was offered to be Israels 1st president but did not accept.
The Druze community, representing 8.3% of the Israeli-Arab population, serve in the Israel
Defense Forces.
There are more than 40 kosher McDonalds in Israel.
An estimated million notes are left in the Western Wall each year.
Over the past 50 years, Israel is the only country in the Middle East in which the Christian
population has grown.
Israel is the only country in the world to revive an unspoken language.
Israel has two official languages Hebrew and Arabic.
Street signs in Israel are written in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Israel requires all fashion models to meet a normal BMI (body mass index).
Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed
companies.
Three in ten Israelis are immigrants from over 100 different countries.
Omri Casspi was the first Israeli basketball pro to be drafted to play on an NBA team
(the Sacramento Kings.)
Yiytish Aynaw became Israels first Ethiopian Miss Israel in 2013.
Hebrew is read from right to left.
David Ben-Gurion
(1948-54)
David Ben-Gurion
(1955-63)
Levi Eshkol
(1963-69)
Golda Meir
(1969-74)
Yitzhak Rabin
(1974-77)
MenachemBegin
(1977-83)
Yitzhak Shamir
(1983-84)
Shimon Peres
(1984-86)
Shimon Peres
(1995-96)
Ehud Barak
(1999-01)
Ariel Sharon
(2001-06)
Ehud Olmert
(2006-2009)
Benjamin Netanyahu
(1996-99)
Benjamin Netanyahu
(2009-Present)
Yitzhak Shamir
(1986-92)
Yitzhak Rabin
(1992-95)
Moshe Sharett
(1954-55)
*Yitzhak Rabin was Israels only Prime Minister to be assassinated. He was murdered on November 4, 1995 at a large peace rally in Tel Aviv.
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTERS
Geography and Population
Israel lies at the junction of three continents:
Europe, Asia and Africa.
Israels direct neighbors are Lebanon and Syria
to the north, Jordan to the east and Egypt to the
West. Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the landmass of
the Middle East. Israel is surrounded by 22 Arab
countries, with 300 million people.
Israel has less than 1/1000th of the worlds
population. The United States has 40 times
Israels population. Israels population is
8,018,000. Israels population has almost
doubled since 1990 when it was 4,821,700.
75% of Israels population is Jewish, 17.3%
Muslim, 2% Christian and 1.7% Druze.
Israel is the 100th smallest country in the world.
Israel is about 290 miles in length and 85 miles
in width at its widest point. To put this into
perspective:
Israel would fit into the United States
(Alaska & Hawaii included) 768 times.
Israel could fit into Texas 33 times.
Israel is approximately the size of New Jersey.
The Establishment of the
State of Israel
The Proclamation of the Establishment of the
State of Israel was signed on May 14, 1948.
The United States of America was the first
country to recognize the State of Israel. President
Harry S. Truman recognized the State of Israel
eleven minutes after it declared itself a nation.
Israels Government
Israel is a parliamentary democracy with
legislative, executive and judicial branches.
The head of the state is the president, whose
duties are mostly ceremonial and formal; the
office symbolizes the unity and sovereignty of
the state. Israels President is Shimon Peres.
The Knesset, Israels legislative authority, is
a 120-member unicameral parliament which
operates in plenary session and through 12
standing committees. Its members are elected
every four years in universal nationwide
elections.
The government (cabinet of ministers) is
charged with administering internal and foreign
affairs. It is headed by a prime minister and is
collectively responsible to the Knesset. Israels
Prime Minister is Benjamin Netanyahu.
34 political parties participated in Israels
2013 elections.
When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of
Israel in 1969, she became the worlds second
elected female leader in modern times.
The Knesset
Israels President Shimon Peres with Pastor John and Diana Hagee
Benjamin Netanyahu - Israels Prime Minister
Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
The IDF, founded in 1948, ranks among the
most battle-tested armed forces in the world,
having had to defend the country in six major
wars.
The IDFs security objectives are to defend the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State
of Israel, deter all enemies, and curb all forms
of terrorism that threaten daily life.
To ensure its success, the IDFs doctrine
at the strategic level is defensive, while its
tactics are offensive. Given the countrys
lack of territorial depth, the IDF must take
the initiative when deemed necessary and, if
attacked, quickly transfer the battleground
to the enemys land. Though it has always
been outnumbered by its enemies, the IDF
maintains a qualitative advantage by deploying
advanced weapons systems, many of which
are developed and manufactured in Israel for
its specific needs. The IDFs main resource,
however, is the high caliber of its soldiers.
Compulsory Service: All eligible men and
women are drafted at age 18. Men serve for
three years, women for two years. Deferments
may be granted to qualified students at
institutions of higher education.
Reserve Duty: Upon completion of compulsory
service, each soldier is assigned to a reserve
unit and may serve up to the age of 51.
Israel spends more money per capita for
security than any other country in the world.
With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel
has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of
the US.
Source- Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Omri Casspi Kosher McDonalds
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Yiytish Aynaw became Israels rst
Ethiopian Miss Israel
Teva - Shoe Company Street signs
Israels Major Cities
Jerusalem, Israels capital has stood at the center
of the Jewish peoples national and spiritual
life since King David made it the capital of his
kingdom some 3000 years ago. Today it is a
flourishing, vibrant metropolis, the seat of the
government and Israels largest city.
Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four
major sections the Christian Quarter, Armenian
Quarter, Muslim Quarter and the Jewish Quarter.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as the first Jewish
city in modern times. Today it is the center of the
countrys industrial, commercial, financial and
cultural life. The United States has our embassy
in Tel Aviv. Many of Israels cities start with the
word Tel. Tel means hill.
Haifa a known coastal town since ancient times,
is a major Mediterranean port and the industrial
and commercial center of northern Israel.
Beer Sheva named in the Bible as an
encampment of the patriarchs, is today the
largest urban center in the south. It provides
administrative, economic, health, education and
cultural services for the entire southern region.
Jerusalem
Haifa
Beer Sheva
Tel Aviv
The Six Day War
The Six Day War started the morning of June 5,
1967 when the Israeli Defense Forces launched
a pre-emptive strike against Egypt. Over the
course of six days, Israel fought Jordan, Egypt,
Syria and Lebanon. At the end of the Six Day
War, the IDF took control of Jerusalem and the
West Bank from Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and
the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the Golan Heights
from Syria. The Six Day War is the second
shortest war in history.
Our airmen, who struck the enemies planes so
accurately that no one in the world understands
how it was done and people seek technological
explanations or secret weapons; our armored
troops who beat the enemy even when their
equipment was inferior to his; our soldiers in
all other branches... who overcame our enemies
everywhere, despite the latters superior numbers
and fortifications-all these revealed not only
coolness and courage in the battle but...an
understanding that only their personal stand
against the greatest dangers would achieve
victory for their country and for their families,
and that if victory was not theirs the alternative
was annihilation. Yitzhak Rabin three weeks
after the war ended on the reasoning behind
Israels success.
Paratroopers at the Western Wall Israeli civilians dig trenches in
anticipation of attack at Sde
Warburg
Israeli troops examine destroyed
Egyptian aircraft.
Israeli women and children in
a bomb shelter at Kfar Maimon
near the Egyptian border.
Israeli War of Independence
May 1948-July 1949
On May 19, 1948, less than 24 hours after Israel
declared Independence, she was attacked by
6 Arab armies- Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon,
Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Israel defeated all 6 Arab
armies, but lost 1% of their population (6,000
Israelis.)
Let us not be intoxicated with victory. Too
many people and not only among ourselves, it
would appear to be a miracle: a small nation of
700,000 persons (at the outset of the campaign
there were only 640,000) stood up against six
nations numbering 30 million. However, none
of us knows whether the trial by bloodshed has
yet ended. The enemy forces in the neighboring
countries and in the world at large have not yet
despaired of their scheme to annihilate Israel in
its own land or at least to pare away its borders,
and we do not yet know whether the recent war,
which we fought in the Negev and which ended
in victory for the IDF, is the last battle or not,
and as long as we cannot be confident that we
have won the last battle, let us not glory.- Prime
Minister Ben Gurion Five days after the War of
Independence ended.
Captain Avraham Bren Adan
raising the Ink Flag (handmade
Israeli ag) in Eilat, marking the end
of the War of Independence.
Courtesy of Israels Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Jewish residents
of Jerusalem eeing during the
Jordanian offensive.
An Egyptian artillery piece captured
by battalion 53 of the Givati Brigade
Yom Kippur War
On Yom Kippur (the holiest day of the Jewish
year) in 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a
surprise attack. The Yom Kippur War lasted
three weeks and claimed 2,688 Israeli lives.
Initially Syria and Egypt were winning the war,
but by the end Israel advanced to the western
side of the Suez Canal and came close to
Damascus. Israel withdrew from parts of the
territories they captured during the war.
An Israeli M60 Patton tank destroyed in the Sinai.
Abandoned Syrian T-62 tanks on the Golan Heights
Egyptian forces crossing the Suez Canal on October 7.