21 Must-Know Facts about Israel
This is my next look at a country in Asia from my list of countries in Asia.
Israel is in the news for all the wrong/right reasons depdending on which side of the fence you sit.
However, did you know these 21 must-know facts about Israel?
1. Israel is just 20,700 square kilometers. This is about the same size as New Jersey or Vermont. It’s also comparable in size to Slovenia or Ecuador. (corrected)
2. Though the same size as New Jersey, Israel has about 2 million less people. – 7,000,000ish. And, more than 12 times the population of Vermont. (corrected)
3. About two in three Israeli Jews were born in Israel. Three/fourths of the country are Jews. One in five immigrated there from Europe or the Americas. The rest came from other parts of Asia and Africa.
4. One in six Israelis are Muslim.
5. Israel has two official languages – Hebrew and Arabic. Most Israelis can communicate in English, too.
6. Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, is at or near the heart of three world-wide religions – Jews, Christians and Muslims. Three out of four Israelis are Jews, one in six are Muslim and less than 2% are Christian.
- Jerusalem
7. Israel has won just seven Olympic gold medals, but representatives from the country have won 100 Paraolympic gold medals.
8. Israel’s neighbors (boundaries) are: Egypt (266 km), Gaza Strip (51 km), Jordan (238 km), Lebanon (79 km), Syria (76 km), West Bank (307 km). There is 273km of coast line. (1.62km – 1 mile)
9. Israel naturally fears sandstorms during spring and summer, droughts and from time to time – earthquakes. They don’t seem to fear much else.
- Sandstorm
10. Israel hurts for natural fresh water, and suffers from desertification, air and ground water pollution.
11. The average age in Israel is 28.9 years. More than one in four are 14-years old or younger. Israeli females have a life expectancy of 82.79 years.
12. Israel spend 6.9% of its GDP on education and 7.3% on its military. Hmm…
13. Israel’s Independence Day was May 14, 1948.
- Israel
14. You can contact Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. at
Ambassador Salai MERIDOR
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500
FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607
15. Israel’s unemployment rate is 7.3%.
16. Israel’s best export partners – US 35%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 5.8%
17. Israels’ best import partners – US 13.9%, Belgium 7.9%, Germany 6.2%, China 6.1%, Switzerland 5.1%, UK 4.7%, Italy 4.1%
18. Almost one in three Israelis are online.
19. Israel’s economy depends on
- Industry: high-technology projects
- Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef
- Exports: machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds
20. All single women in Israel must serve 2 years in the military.
- Israeli Woman Soldier
21. Israel has about 598,000 armed forces personnel. Compare that to 3.8 million armed forces personnel for the combined nearby countries -
- Iraq -1million
- Iran – 900K
- Syria – 700K
- Egypt – 700K
- Saudi Arabia – 160K
- Jordan – 140K
- Lebanon – 68K
- Palestine – 40K
22. Israel has been hated, rightfully or wrongfully for a long long time and it’s not about to change any time soon. Call it a family problem, if you will.
While you are here, Sign My Israel Guestbook.
And if you feel so inclined, please Subscribe to PanAsianBiz and join me on my fact finding in Asia.
source & source & source & source & source
You might also be interested in:
9 best choices for free Christian clipart
3 surprises in heaven
Post a new comment
January 15, 2009
If the Bible didn’t say that God gave the Jews the land of Israel would this war be going on? Why don’t we give/sell them Arizona? We don’t need it. What have we ever got from Arizona? It is the same environment, hot,dry desert. We would get a lot of smart people and they wouldn’t have to spend money on a military. If it wasn’t for the underlying, dogmatic stubborn belief system of everyone involved we might be able to work these problems out. But nobody listens to me…..
January 15, 2009
let the Israelis speak
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/12-4
January 15, 2009
I ‘ve yet to see the truth coming from Israel’s side.
January 15, 2009
I am first a historian second a Christian and third an American. That means reality comes first. A few points of correction are in order:
Roman emporer Hadrian changed the name of the nation Israel to Palestine out of spite. The other people living inthat land were Philistines. By the 1850′s the land in question lied abandoned except a few Palestinian traders. The Islamics circa 1920′s were in Favor of an Isreali state. 1940′s Hitler called Yasser Arafat’s uncle the grand Mufti of Jerusalem the Fuhrer of the Middle east. Same uncle lived in Berlin as Hitlers guest during WWII. Is is any wonder why things are currently?
Going further back into history according to Genesis there is more than ample basis for a long standing family feud between the Descendants of Abraham between the Ishmael and Isaac branches of the family. The Ishmaelites became part of the Arab community which was later to form Islam.
I enjoy two things that factor into this entry a love of truth and a love of history.
Now as for my theological choice lest it becomes a bone of contention. twenty plus years ago God entervened in my life when I came to a dead end and saw no way out. God introduced himself personally forever changing the course of my life. See my web site if you care to know more.
January 15, 2009
Ali,
I agree that there is two sides to the story but I don’t agree with a lot of your points. I could make a long list again explaining why. Like “Iran only started giving money to Gaza in 2006″. Iran have been supplying money and arms for god knows how long. Yes, not officially but everyone knew it was happening. The elections is another point. Regardless of what politions said anyone following what was happening on the ground could see that Fatah were being ousted by force.
Your argument about the media is very weak. So many papers from all over the world publish online now. I read them so why can’t you? I can see you are not trying to promote terrorism or Hamas but you are picking your points very carefully and wording them even more carefully. Such as the argument that Hamas broke the truce. You say Hamas believe Israel didn’t keep up to it’s side of the bargain. That still makes Hamas wrong for firing rockets into Israel which is terrorism. I could go on and on. Whether you mean to or not your argument is weighted on the side of Gaza which is why I felt inclined to answer some of your points. Your argument that Hamas were democratically elected concerns me the most since there were plenty of videos and news reports showing Palestinians saying they had been forced/threated to vote for Hamas. Perhaps one of the biggest problem with this conflict is that people don’t bother to get their hands dirty and look for facts from both parties, Israel and the Palestinians, and end up making comments they believe to be fact but are not. Quoting politicians as you do is never a good way to prove a point. Politicians release statements and twist facts to suit their own ends. And that’s polititians from every country.
January 15, 2009
“And in Israel’s opinion it was Hamas’ who broke it… And I don’t doubt that Hamas started firing first again. but it was for the reason that they perceived that Israel never held up their side of the deal which was to lift the blockade of Gaza. Not really the act of a political party but more the act of a desperate people.”
Bullcrap. The borders were put there in the first place because of the bombings. And there wasn’t a single week during the truce, not a SINGLE week, when a missile didn’t hit Israel.
“And Israel bomb and destroy Palestinian houses and schools and hospitals for the same reason. of course they say it’s to get the Hamas ‘terrorists’. There’s also the other reason of trying to convince the Palestinian people that if they support Hamas then they’ll be killed and injured. That’s terryfying. israel knows what it’s doing. They’ve received training in Psychological Warfare from the US. Who are very good at it. Israel has special forces. they have Mossad. They have spies and intelligence gatherers. They can’t use these people to get to Hamas? They need to use Artillery and Missiles which cause collateral damage.”
Oh my, some more bullcrap.
1) Israel doesn’t threaten to kill people for their Ideology, they are warned that if they harbour arsenal and ACTIVISTS (from the word active, they aren’t been persecuted for THIKING bad thoughts but for following them through) they might get injured.
2) Israel doesn’t traget hospitals and schools. Yeah, there was an incident with an UNRWA school that activists decided to SHOT MORTAR BOMBS from. The attack on Gaza is as precise as possible, being 100% sterile is impossible in these terms. If Israel wanted to target civilians the death toll would be in the tenths of thousands by now.
“And Iran and Syria? Israel wouldn’t let any Aid from there get with in miles of Palestine.
In fact Iran only started giving money in 2006. Other Arab nations, like the West have stopped giving aid to Palestine.”
Iran and Syria won’t let Israeli forces examine their goods and search for weapons. Israel allows truckloads of support each day, it has it’s right to demend that support would enter through land and not through sea, Iran keeps sending ships for some reason. What is that reason? mainly because it knows that the sealine is tightly locked, it’s more concerned about having the world see that the Israelis won’t let their aid through then actually getting it through. Israel has also sent tons of aid on it’s own accord and budget.
3) To conclude, you’re trying to show that this this conflict has two sides – that’s also inaccurate. It has three sides.
– Israel, who has been very patient and peace mongering. And have been making gestures WHILE BEING BOMBED THROUGHOUT A TRUCE.
– Hamas, who denies Israel’s right to exist, and openly declared that the shootings WILL RESUME as long as Israel exists. And has also referred to an international guard force (inteded to keep them from building up arsenal) as a “conquering force”.
– The Palestinian civilians, who shan’t be put in the same front with Hamas, who are forced to live in inhumane terms and be used as human shields. Have their mutilated bodies exhibitioned to the world in order to “show the world” how horrible Israel is. Some of them are Pro-Hamas, a lot of them are against (I don’t have any statistics so I’ll assume they split evenly). You don’t need to ask yourself who is to blame for their suffering, that’s a deep and meaningful question, but right now what’s more importent is who is making the most effort to prevent them from any more suffering. Is it te Hamas who keeps shooting rockets from trenches while being bombed to make a point, or is it Israel, who could have easily flattened entire Gaza city and kill much more – but chose to spend enormous amounts of time and effort in order to bring civilian casualty toll to a bare minimum?
I’m not preaching and you are welcome to form any opinion you see fit. I just see that there are a lot of inaccuracies on your approach and factual data. Please take all that has been said into consideration and try to act as an observer for now, for it’s really hard for an outsider to really understand how the situation really is.
January 14, 2009
J:
To be more accurate, Single women have to serve for two years and males for three years.
But they aren’t obliged for Military service.
There are all kinds of options, such as police or civilian service (which varies a lot, anything from aiding and tutoring kids from poverty stricken neighborhoods to help digging out earthquake victims).
Military service is the most common alternative, people tend to choose it because it has the most career prospects.
January 14, 2009
Dude!
1) Jerusalem IS the capital of Israel. Every country has a right to make a choice of any city within it’s borders to serve as it’s capital. While some (extremist) voices through out the world claim that Jerusalem shouldn’t belong to the Jews, the fact is that right now it does… Moreover, most of the major governmental institutes (the Knesset, the supreme court, the national bank and most of the embassies) are located in Jerusalem. Crossing Jerusalem out is just a sign of ignorance, which is a shame because you seem to make an effort to keep your opinion neutral and that kinda ruins it for you.
2) Israel has only one language, and it’s Hebrew. There isn’t a single word in Arabic on any of the Shekel Bills, or in any official document (other then forms and such, that are translated to other languages too).
Fact: There are more Russian speakers then Arab speakers in Israel.
Yours, A dude who actually lives in Israel and not just reading about it in Wikipedia or (biased) CNN
January 14, 2009
“No, if you read all the media reports in the papers or online the Israelis get much worse press than the Palestinians.”
Physically I can’t. I’ve never read a newspaper from Africa or Russia. I’d assume for every ‘liberal’ or leftist paper that’s pro-Palestinian in the US there’s a Conservative Right-wing paper that’s pro-Israel. Otherwise why would Israel have such great support in the US? I stick by my suggestion that it’s a 50/50 split. Obviously Israel supporters will mention all the pro-Palestinian stories and the Palestine supporters will mention all the support Israel gets.
“Exactly, “in Hamas’ opinion”. They were the ones who started firing rockets first, hardly the actions of a political party and they broke the ceasefire, not Israel. Which brings me onto my next point…”
And in Israel’s opinion it was Hamas’ who broke it… And I don’t doubt that Hamas started firing first again. but it was for the reason that they perceived that Israel never held up their side of the deal which was to lift the blockade of Gaza. Not really the act of a political party but more the act of a desperate people.
“Hamas are terrorists. They fire rockets into Israel for the sole purpose of causing death and injury thus resulting in TERROR.”
And Israel bomb and destroy Palestinian houses and schools and hospitals for the same reason. of course they say it’s to get the Hamas ‘terrorists’. There’s also the other reason of trying to convince the Palestinian people that if they support Hamas then they’ll be killed and injured. That’s terryfying. israel knows what it’s doing. They’ve received training in Psychological Warfare from the US. Who are very good at it. Israel has special forces. they have Mossad. They have spies and intelligence gatherers. They can’t use these people to get to Hamas? They need to use Artillery and Missiles which cause collateral damage.
“After polls closed, officials and observers called the vote “peaceful”; Edward McMillan-Scott, the British Conservative head of the European Parliament’s monitoring team described the polls as “extremely professional, in line with international standards, free, transparent and without violence”. His colleague, Italian Communist MEP Luisa Morgantini said there was “a very professional attitude, competence and respect for the rules.” [12] All polling stations closed on time (7 p.m.) except for East Jerusalem, where voting was extended by the permitted two extra hours. Hamas protested this extension, claiming it only served Fatah; the Central Elections Committee stated that voting hours were “extended upon the approval of the Israeli authorities due to lengthy queues as a result of obstructions by post office workers.”
Yup. That sounds like a corrupt election there. Of course the EU supports terrorism.
in fact here’s the NDI report.
http://www.accessdemocracy.org/files/2068_ps_elect_012506.pdf
You’d might like to read about the free elections.
Most of the aid that goes to Gaza isn’t money. It’s food and supplies. Why send money to a place that doesn’t have banks because it has no infrastructure. Aid in Africa doesn’t get to the poor because the Warlords take the food. the Aid doesn’t get to Gaza because Israel keep a lockdown whenever they feel like it.
And Iran and Syria? Israel wouldn’t let any Aid from there get with in miles of Palestine.
In fact Iran only started giving money in 2006. Other Arab nations, like the West have stopped giving aid to Palestine.
How are my comments misleading? I made my comments using the best research that I have and also using my experience is a History Student. The poitns of my post are not to condone Hamas’ use of violence, but mainly to make people see that there are always two sides. What someone sees as indiscriminate terrorism, the other sees as a a necessary evil of a desperate people. And also to stop the blanket useage of ‘terrorist’ that’s came around recently thanks in no small part to a certain US President.
And if Palestinians and Arabs hadn’t resorted to ‘Terrorism’ and violence then that part for the middle East would be part of Turkey or the continued Ottoman Empire. Dunno about today, depends on the reaction by Israel. What would they do after the Six day war? Would they keep settling the West bank and Gaza to secure their territories? Revenge against the Arab states? Worst case scenario: Official apartheid in greater Israel. Best case: Apartheid is just mostly unofficial. But that’s juse my pessimistic self talking.
January 14, 2009
Alasdair says,
“There is probably just as much pro-Israel bias in the media as there is pro-Palestinian.”
No, if you read all the media reports in the papers or online the Israelis get much worse press than the Palestinians. If the Palestinians kill 10 Israeli kids with a suicide bomber it merits a tiny inch column in the papers. If Israel kill a terrorist in Gaza it gets half a page and makes the Israelis look the bad guys.
“And the cease-fire was broken (in Hamas’ opinion) because…”
Exactly, “in Hamas’ opinion”. They were the ones who started firing rockets first, hardly the actions of a political party and they broke the ceasefire, not Israel. Which brings me onto my next point…
“Hamas’ supporters were and still are mostly secular. They are a political party not mainly terrorist party”
Hamas are terrorists. They fire rockets into Israel for the sole purpose of causing death and injury thus resulting in TERROR. They got elected by killing lots of Fatah members and supporters and terrorising Palestinians into voting for Hamas. This was widely reported on, how could you even suggest Hamas was democratically elected. They got elected through TERRORISM against their own people. Saying they won it “fairly” means you know nothing about what occurred. I suggest you go and talk to the famalies of all the dead Fatah members and the Fatah supporters FORCED to vote for Hamas or FORCED to stay at home and not vote for Fatah.
“Since the US sends billions of dollars of aid and military aid to Israel.”
Don’t forget all the billions of dollars getting funneled into the Gaza by western countries meaning well. Just like in Africa the poor people see very little of this money. This money most likely helps fund Hamas’ arms, (although some subsidies were cut because of Hamas being a terrorist organisation). Oh and lets not forget all the money they get from Iran and Syria to fund their terrorism.
I can’t work out from your missleading comments if you really don’t have a full picture of what is going on and what has happened in the past or if you are in denial. I’m sorry, I really don’t wish to offend you.
Okay, lets throw this out there. What if the Palestinians had never resorted to terrorism. Don’t you think the rest of the world would have intervened and pushed for a Palestinian state. The problem is how could the world give it’s backing to a people who commit terrorist acts such as suicide bombings on school buses etc.