Spotlight on Israel

  • The Dead Sea is the lowest geographical place ON EARTH.  
  • Israel has TWO official languages:  Hebrew and Arabic. 
  • The population in Israel was last recorded at 7.2 million people: 75.8 percent are Jews, 19.9 percent are Arabs (mostly Muslim) and the remaining 4.3 percent include Druze, Circassians, and others not classified by religion.
  • Israel is tiny:  It is only 1/6 of 1% of the landmass of the Middle East.
  • Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
  • The currency is the New Israeli Shekel.  Currently, there are 382 NIS to the American dollar. 
  • Israeli bank notes have brail on them so the blind can identify them.
  • Each of Israel’s holy sites is administered by its own religious authority, while protection against desecration and trespassing as well as free access are guaranteed by law.