Israel is a sliver of land in the Middle East, but it has a lot more than that going on in the news. The Jewish state has been up and running officially since 1948 and many people still don’t know much about it. Here are some photos and facts to set the record straight – you probably didn’t know these things.
Female Soldiers
Israel prides itself on its immense military capabilities, but there is another factor they’re very proud of. Women play pivotal roles in all branches of their military, including positions as combat soldiers and even as pilots of fighter jets. At the age of 18 they draft into the army and serve for at least 2 years.
Female Soldiers
Life’s A Beach
Isn’t Israel just a desert? No sir, it is not. The small country actually has a 237 kilometer coastline that accommodates 137 (official) beaches, which is more than enough beachline to get you a gorgeous Mediterranean olive-skin tan.
Life’s A Beach
World Record Flight
In 1991, while Ethiopian Jews were suffering from famine and poverty, Israel launched “Operation Solomon”. The clandestine mission managed to rescue thousands of Jewish Ethiopians aboard El-Al planes to make the 4-hour flight back to safety in Israel. The record number of passengers on a commercial flight was set on one of those legs when 1088 passengers flew aboard a Boeing 747.
World Record Flight
Doggy Cemetery
Nobody likes saying goodbye to a pet they love, but at some point we all have to. Not long ago, a cemetery for dogs was discovered in the coastal city of Ashkelon. Archaeologists have concluded that the cemetery must have been built between the 3rd and 5th centuries.
Doggy Cemetery
Einstein For President
The first Israeli Prime Minister was David Ben Gurion, but it was almost someone else. Albert Einstein received the offer to take the job, but gracefully declined.
Einstein For President
Gay Capital
Once a year since 1979, Tel Aviv has hosted the Pride Parade in support of the LGBT community. The massive event has tourists pouring in from around the world, making Tel Aviv the gay capital of the Middle East… by far.
Gay Capital
Tree Treasure
While the world is destroying trees to make way for commerce and industry, Israel is doing something different. At the turn of the 21st century, Israel was one of two countries to enter the new millennium with more trees than it had beforehand.
Tree Treasure
Natalie Portman
Hollywood star Natalie Portman wasn’t just born in Jerusalem, the Israeli capital, she also speaks Hebrew fluently. Sure, she did move to America when she was 3 years old, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t learn Hebrew.
Natalie Portman
Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot is a woman you’d never want to mess with, that’s for certain. Despite the actress/model’s winning smile, Gadot served for two years in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat instructor. Here’s something extra you probably didn’t know – Gadot won the title of Miss Israel in 2014.
Wonder Woman
Underweight Models
We all know that the modelling industry is no flagship for women’s weight and appearance. Israel took steps to tackle underweight models by banning them altogether. Now models in Israel must present a 3-month health report before a shoot which shows their BMI as being higher than 18.5.
Underweight Models
Jews Against Israel
Would you believe that an ultra-orthodox sect of Judaism called “Neturei Karta”, is teaming up with enemies of Israel to “peacefully” dismantle the Jewish state? They’ve frequently met with Israel’s opponents, like former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who personally has called for the destruction of the State of Israel.
Jews Against Israel
Robert Kennedy’s Assassination
It was a tragic day on June 5th, 1968, when Sirhan Bishara Sirhan shot and killed Senator Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The 24-year-old Palestinian killed Kennedy in what he called retaliation for Kennedy’s support of Israel on year earlier during the Six Day War.
Robert Kennedy’s Assassination
Money For The Blind
Israel makes sure to take all their citizens into account, and that includes the blind and their money. Money with braille markings is now a thing in the Jewish state, enabling the blind to identify bank notes in the palm of their hands.
Money For The Blind
Borat In Israel
Now we all know that Borat isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite character. However, for some people Sacha Baron Cohen’s ultra-ego is hilarious. The Israelis seem to have taken a liking to him, and a big reason for this is because of the “Kazakh” language he uses – namely Hebrew.
Borat In Israel
Pakistani Passports
In the Arab world, recognizing Israel as a sovereign state is a pretty big deal. Pakistan, among many other Arab nations, doesn’t recognize Israel and therefore they have printed, “This passport is valid for all countries in the world, except Israel,” in their passports.
Pakistani Passports
High Life Expectancy
Israeli-Arabs have the highest life expectancy in the Arab-Muslim world with a very high 82 years. Nowadays we truly are living longer than we used to.
High Life Expectancy
College Degrees
Where do they find the time? Israelis join the army or national service for at least two years after they finish high school. Afterwards they will go to university and complete their college degree, making them the country with the highest amount of college degrees per capita.
College Degrees
Official Languages
Even though Israel is a Jewish state, it has two official languages. The first is Hebrew and the second is Arabic. English is used, but it isn’t one of the official languages.
Official Languages
The Uzi
Who can argue that the Uzi isn’t one of the most awesome guns out there? The submachine gun was invented by Major Uzi Gaf and it is still being used by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) ever since 1954.
The Uzi
Museum Mania
Israelis seem to have a thing for museums. How do we know this? Well perhaps by the fact that Israel has the most museums per capita in the world. To name a couple, Yad Vashem – the world’s biggest Holocaust museum; Shrine of the Book museum in Jerusalem where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept.
Museum Mania
A Low Point
There’s actually a sea that you can’t sink in, and that’s the Dead Sea that lies on the border of Israel and Jordan. The Dead Sea is the saltiest of all seas and is the lowest point on Earth – 1,315 feet. You can float in the Dead Sea without even trying!
A Low Point
A Spot In The Middle East
Israel’s neighbors aren’t very “neighbory”. Egypt and Jordan have made lasting peace treaties with the Zionist state, but to the north, Lebanon has Hezbollah which is bent on destroying Israel. To the northeast is Syria, and let’s just say they’re not very different from Hamas in Gaza in the south, who have sworn to destroy Israel.
A Spot In The Middle East
Peace Treaties
In 1979, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel which led to the assassination of President Anwar Saddat by Islamic extremists. In 199, Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel at Camp David.
Peace Treaties
Kosher Glue
Observant Jews do not any food that isn’t considered “kosher”. But there are some who are even stricter than just the laws pertaining to food, so the Israeli postal service has accommodated for them. Kosher glue has been created and added to stamps. Score.
Kosher Glue
Kosher McDonald’s
There is only one place you can find kosher McDonald’s in the world, and that is of course in Israel. The “Kosher state” has more than 50 chains that serve kosher meals… just don’t count on getting cheese on your hamburger.
Kosher McDonald’s
Bus Stop Charity
It’s a common sight to see charity boxes at bus stops and along streets. Most of the charity boxes that the public can put money into, aid families in need.
Bus Stop Charity
Leave A Message After The Beep
Where would we be without voicemail technology? Well the Israelis were wondering too and that’s why they invented it. Now we can’t imagine living without it.
Leave A Message After The Beep
Sushi Lovers
They say that Tel Aviv is the city that never sleeps, but it’s also the city that doesn’t stop eating sushi. Tel Aviv has more than 100 sushi restaurants, mmmmm!
Sushi Lovers
Entrepreneurship
For women and citizens older than 55, Israel is the place to be when it comes to entrepreneurship. The reason is that Israel has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among these groups of people.
Entrepreneurship
Transgender Pop Star
Israel has recently relished in the pleasure of winning the Eurovision Song Contest with their contestant, Dana Barzilay. But before her was the competition’s first transgender competitor, Dana International. She won the competition in 1998.
Transgender Pop Star
Good And Bad
Do you know what a shuk is? It’s a market, basically. At Israeli shuks you can find fresh fruit, vegetables, spices, teas, coffee, and lots of sweets. Well, Israelis hold third place for the most vegetables and sweets consumed.
Good And Bad
Golda Meir
Golda Meir became Israel’s fourth prime minister in 1969. This meant that she became the country’s first female prime minister, and only the third female head-of-state in the modern world.
Golda Meir
Bauhaus Movement
Gay Capital, Sushi Capital, City that Never Sleeps, what else? Tel Aviv is also the “White City”. The reason for this last nickname is because of all the Bauhaus buildings in the city. The most Bauhaus buildings record goes to Israel.
Bauhaus Movement
Getting Started
We all know that getting your own business of the ground is a big deal. Israel is all about letting new ideas fly and new companies get air. Even though more than 75% of startups fail to make it, Israelis aren’t afraid of trying their luck. Israel has the most startup companies per capita.
Getting Started
Antivirus Software
Cyber warfare is getting worse and worse, but Israel has got us all covered… mostly. They invented anti-virus technology back in 1979 and it has only gotten better as the years have gone by.
Antivirus Software
Avid Readers
What would we do without books like Harry Potter? The Israelis asked the same question, and their response was priceless. They decided to translate the books we all love into Hebrew, making Israel the leading book translators in the world.
Avid Readers
Chess Masters
In the southern city of Be’ersheva in Israel, you can find the most chess grandmasters in the world per capita. The city is in the middle of the Negev desert, so maybe that has some contributing factor.
Chess Masters
Mini Subway
Are you ready for the cutest subway in the world? It’s a 4-cart train that travels just 1.8 kilometers under the city of Haifa in northern Israel.
Mini Subway
Reviving A Language
As we said, Israel is one the official languages in Israel. It is the language of the Jewish people, but many people don’t know that it is the only ancient language to get an entire revival. At some point it was only used for praying and reading from the Bible, but today it is a thriving language spoken by millions.
Reviving A Language
Still Burying The Dead
Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives cemetery is the oldest cemetery still being used. The cemetery is the resting place of many notable historical and biblical figures.
Still Burying The Dead
The Hoopoe
The beautiful hoopoe bird just happens to also be the national bird of the State of Israel. This is one fact that many Israelis don’t actually know.
The Hoopoe
Jellyfish Repellent
You definitely know about insect and mosquito repellent, but chances are you haven’t heard about jellyfish repellent. During the summer, some of Israel’s shallow waters are plagued by jellyfish, so Israeli scientists came up with a solution.
Jellyfish Repellent
To Space And Beyond
Not many countries can claim that they have satellites in space, but Israel can. They share this feat with other nations like, Russia, USA, France, Japan, China, UK, India, Iran, North Korea, and Ukraine.
To Space And Beyond
Curing Bad Breath
Let’s face it, nobody likes smelly breath, duh! Israeli scientists have jumped to the rescue once again and the word on the street is that they’ve found a cure!
Curing Bad Breath
Female Lawyers
It’s not just the military and the entrepreneur sphere where women thrive in Israel, in law they do to. 44% of Israel’s lawyers are women.
Female Lawyers
Libraries On The Go
We’ve already established that the Israelis are avid readers, so it makes sense that they have set up portable libraries at train and bus stations. Commuters can easily pick up books from these free public libraries and then return them anywhere they find a library, even at a different location from where they picked up their book.
Libraries On The Go
Love Is In The Air
We all celebrate the day of love on February 14th, but Israelis don’t. For them Valentine’s Day is in July. But despite this, Israeli florists fly as many as 60 million flowers to Europe for Valentine’s Day.
Love Is In The Air
It’s Tiny
Israel is one tiny strip of land with a fortune of history and great disputes. It is the 50th smallest country on the planet and makes up only 1% of the Middle East.
It’s Tiny
The Iron Dome
Which country protects their citizens quite like Israel does? The Iron Dome anti-ballistic missile system is Israel’s prized protection tool. The system successfully intercepts rockets and missiles shot at its population, by firing missiles of its own at the incoming projectiles and exploding them mid-air.
The Iron Dome
Blood-Free Diamonds
Not many people actually know where their diamonds come from, but Israel has made sure that they do. They became one of the first countries to implement the “Kimberley process” which ensures diamonds don’t come from conflict zones.
Blood Free Diamonds