About of Israel

 Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and Arabic are the official languages of the State of Israel. Hebrew (and Arabic too) is written from right to left. It was less than a century and a half ago that Hebrew was still considered a language solely for prayer and completely obsolete on a day-to-day basis. The restoration of Hebrew was a vastly significant factor in the success of the Zionist dream. Updating a “dead” language was a task led virtually in its entirety by one man, Russian-born Eliezer ben Yehuda, and it is a story of extraordinary vision and drama. His biography, Tongue of the Prophets, by Robert St. John, is utterly fascinating and a perfect read for visitors to Israel.

All Israeli school children learn Hebrew, Arabic and English, and good English is spoken by virtually everyone in the country. Israel, a country peopled by many who have come from some 120 countries, is a multi-lingual country, with vast numbers of Israelis also speaking Russian, French, Spanish, Yiddish and tens of other tongues.Almost every highway and street sign is in English as well as Hebrew (and Arabic), and English language newspapers, magazine and books are available everywhere.

Israel – Small and Amazing

Israel is a tiny country­­––only about 29,000 square kilometers––and yet, it is a place of amazing variety, with globally unique contrasts. For example, central Israel is the most populous place on earth, and yet, having planted over 240 million trees, it is the only country that ended the 20^thcentury with more trees than it started with! Israel’s location, bridging Africa, Asia and Europe, has blessed it with four bio-geographical zones––Mediterranean, steppe, desert and African – make it unique worldwide in terms of its combination and variety of climate, flora and fauna. For comparison’s sake, Israel has 2,600 species of wild plants. Great Britain, into which Israel can fit almost 10 times, has a “mere” 1,756. And a whopping 500 million birds fill Israel’s skies on their spectacular semi-annual intercontinental migration.  

Israel has virtually no rainfall for some eight months of the year, which has spurred it to develop alternative water sources. Seventy-five percent of Israel's water is recycled after use, and the world's largest desalination plant is located in Ashkelon. Israel has pioneered arid land agriculture, and has hosted more than 200,000 people from 130 developing countries for training in agriculture and other fields.

Israel’s achievements in hi-tech go back to its early days: In 1954, WEIZAC, one of the world’s first computers, was designed and built at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Twenty-four percent of the members of Israel’s work-force have university degrees, the third-largest number in the industrialized world. It also has the world's highest count of engineers per capita, and 4,000 high-tech startups, the most per-capita in the world.

Israel has produced a number of outstanding sportsmen and women––in tennis, windsurfing, judo and track and field, the latter mainly thanks to the influx of newcomers from the former Soviet Union. In the 2007 Special Olympics, Israel’s team of 39 competitors garnered 42 medals: 11 gold, 22 silver and 9 bronze! 

On the medical front, two out of the top three medications to treat multiple sclerosis were developed in Israel; Israeli microbiologists developed the first passive vaccine against the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, and an Israeli company developed the first ingestible video camera to help diagnose cancer and digestive disorders, so small it fits inside a pill! Israel also developed the world’s first pill to deliver a daily dose of insulin to diabetes sufferers.Perhaps most meaningful of all, some say it is the variety of Israel’s people that makes it unique in so many other ways––only around 7.3 million, but hailing from over 30 regions and countries the world over.