33 Fascinating Facts About Israel

Israel is a nation located in southwestern Asia on the Mediterranean Sea’s eastern shore. In 1948, Israel became a sovereign state. Israel is the world’s only Jewish state, and Jews from all over the world consider it to be their spiritual home. It is also home to Jerusalem, the holiest city in the world for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The country is also known for its technological expertise. So have a look at these incredible 33 Israel Facts that will astound you.

1. The official name of Israel is the State of Israel or Hebrew Medinat Yisraʾel.
2. Israel is the 12th nation to have the most Nobel laureates per capita in the world.
3. Israel has the 12th highest life expectancy in the world.
4. Some very important inventions took place in the country, which is pen drive, antivirus, computer firewall, the first cell phone, voice mail, world’s smallest video camera, RSA public key authentication, the first Intel processor 8088, laser keyboard, Waze navigation app, camera pill, and world’s smallest DNA computing machine system.
5. The southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva holds the world record of most number of chess grandmasters per capita, with 1 in every 20,000.
6. It is common in Israel and Egypt to eat watermelon with feta cheese.

   

7. In 1952 when president Chaim Weizmann died in 1952, Albert Einstein was asked to be the country’s second president, but he declined
8. Israel shares borders with Lebanon in the north, West Bank and Jordan in the east, the Golan Heights and Syria in the northeast, and the Gaza Strip and Egypt in the southwest.
9. Israeli researchers have developed a lotion that repels the stings of jellyfish. The lotion acts just like sun cream and saves you from jellyfish. The name of the lotion is SafeSea and is developed by the Israeli company Nidaria Technology.
10. From the 2nd century, there was a decline in speaking the national language Hebrew, and there were very few who use to use this language. Then on 13th October 1881, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and his friends decided to use Hebrew as their main conversation language, which resulted in the revival of it. Now the Hebrew language is the mother tongue of the country.
11. Israel is the only country to have a mandate for women to serve in the country’s military. Military service is mandatory for 36 months. However, they are exempted for reasons of religious conscience, marriage, pregnancy, or motherhood.
12. The national tree of the country is the olive tree.

    

13. Israeli Gazelle is the national animal of the country. Whereas the hoopoe is the national bird.
14. The country does have national colors that are blue and white.
15. Anemone coronaria is the national flower of Israel.
16. Mount Hermon is the highest mountain peak with an elevation of 2,236 m (7,336 ft).
17. The religious breakdown of the country comprises 74.2% Jewish, 17.8% Muslim, 2.0% Christian, and 1.6% Druze, with the remaining 4.4% including faiths such as Samaritanism and Baha’iism, and irreligious people with no faith.
18. The country has the most museums per capita on the planet earth.

    

19. About 7.1% or about 154,000 hectares of the total land of Israel is forested.
20. The top 5 exports of Israel are Diamonds ($10.7 Billion), Packaged Medicaments ($4.04 Billion), Refined Petroleum ($2.76 Billion), Integrated Circuits ($2.63 Billion), and Other Measuring Instruments ($1.45 Billion).
21. The top imports of Israel are Crude Petroleum ($7.23 Billion), Diamonds ($6.76 Billion), Cars ($4.54 Billion), Refined Petroleum ($1.8 Billion), and Photo Lab Equipment ($1.79 Billion).
22. Israel is the 19th most complex economy in the world.
23. Israel is one of the 12 countries that can launch their own satellite using their own launch vehicle.
24. The Dead Sea of Israel is famed as the Earth’s lowest point. The sea’s elevation is 430.5 meters below sea level.

    

25. The country has 137 beaches but has a coastline of just 273 km.
26. Arabic is the second and semi-official language of the country. However, English and Russian languages are also common.
27. Cultic’ Temple is the oldest building in the country and is believed to be 10,000 years old.
28. The country is the 9th most expensive country on the planet to live in.
29. Israel gains the 10th spot in the world for technological expertise. Japan earns the top spot in the rankings.
30. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, which is 10 km away from the capital city, Jerusalem.

    

31. There are 23 billionaires in Israel, out of which Roman Abramovich is the richest in the country, with a net worth of 12.6 billion.
32. Israel has 81 national parks and more than 400 nature reserves that protect 2,500 species of indigenous wild plants, 32 species of fish, 100 species of mammals, and 530 species of birds.
33. Taglit-Birthright Israel (Hebrew: תגלית‎), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to Israel for young adults of Jewish heritage, aged 18–32. Taglit is the Hebrew word for ‘discovery’.