15 Things You Didn't Know About Israel
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Welcome to Countries Facts are you ready to get inspired regarding your next holiday destination hold tight because we're about to reveal to you the wonders of no ordinary country israel the state of israel by its official name is a Middle Eastern country with access to both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea the country offers a rather small area with tel-aviv the country's capital being the center of all economic and technological activities despite all the wars and conflicts happening in the area the country continues to flourish and give valuable people to the world if you're new here welcome be sure to subscribe and follow us on instagram but let's just cut to the chase shall we today we're bringing you the 15 things you didn't know about the interesting and mesmerizing country of Israel
1 Israel is the Holy Land if you didn't know already the Bible is an all-time bestseller and if you've read it you probably heard well about Israel being pictured as the Holy Land this is due to the area's association with the birth ministry crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and as a result it's the one pilgrimage destination that Christians don't want to skip visiting at least once in their lifetime this is also an extraordinary business opportunity for locals whose incomes are around and plenty because of religious tourism the services you have access to here include all sorts of tours trips and sightseeing and you can pick and choose all kinds of religious souvenirs as well so want to give it a go.
2 Wix the famous website platform is from Israel why of course you've heard of Wix calm the cloud-based web development platform that all YouTube ads tell you about what you might not know however is that it was popular by the Israeli company with the same name a company that was founded in 2006 and whose initial owners were IV shy Abraham e Nidal Abraham II and juror Kaplan its headquarters are settled in Tel Aviv but it also has offices in Barre Sheva New York San Francisco Kiev and Vilnius wondering what Wix does well it basically allows you to create html5 websites and mobile sites through the use of online drag and drop tools with several interesting features including plugins ecommerce online marketing and others it's worth giving it a shot if you're thinking about creating your own web site.
3 Over 75% of the population is Jewish now we'd like to talk a bit about Israel's Jewish population without getting too much into politics if that's actually possible the struggle is real first thing first you need to know that the worldwide Jewish population is approximately fourteen point three million people and only about 43% of those reside within Israel Israel's population is over eight million inhabitants 75 of which or about six million five hundred and fifty five thousand six hundred people are Jews the remaining 25% is comprised of Arabs around twenty one percent and those identified as others including non Arab Christians the highs and so on this is quite something if you think about the fact that in 1948 when the state was established it only had about eight hundred and six thousand residents what's more according to experts Israel's population will reach ten million by 2025.
4 They say Israel is the Silicon Valley of the Middle East one of the most common stereotypes concerning Jewish people relates to their ability to make money but how true is it oh well it seems that there is an entire area in Israel that imitates the capital and networking potential of Silicon Valley the less famous Silicon Wadi this is an area with high concentrations of high technology companies located in the coastal plain of Israel and it looks like Israel got the nickname of start-up nation because of it because seems plausible if we take into consideration that there are currently more than four thousand startups operating in Israel and about 2900 of these are located within a ten-mile radius a rate of development ii and intensity only to Silicon Valley itself.
5 Al Ophir is the richest person in Israel with a net worth of 9.1 billion dollars keeping it cool and expensive as you might expect we'd like to introduce you to a a loafer whose net worth is 9 point 1 billion dollars this man's fortune was partly inherited from his late father's shipping Empire in 2011 wonder who his father was none other than Sami Ophir who used to be himself Israel's richest men however al managed to expand the holdings significantly as he used to be found in the forbes spotlight we found out that he owns Global Holdings an international real estate firm as well as the zodiac group which is a shipping company furthermore he's the owner of several properties in Manhattan.
6 You can buy hummus flavored ice cream in a shop in Jaffa there is common knowledge that when we say Israel you say hummus as you know the country is a massive hummus consumer and apparently it can't get over it this might be the reason why they got to the point where they created a hummus flavored ice cream all topped with olives and pine nuts and everything as you might have guessed the flavour is unique in the world and only can be found in one place in Israel in Jaffa at legend of ice cream if the Venezuelans have spaghetti and cheese flavor and the Brits have breast milk flavored ice cream the Israelis have their intriguing hummus ice cream that thanks to honey and vanilla somehow tastes like vulva feeling curious yet.
7 The fight over the Gaza Strip is still not over try as you might this politics related topic is the one you can't put on fast-forward as you know Gaza is a region or a strip of land that is populated exclusively by Palestinians but surrounded by Israel who currently has it under blockade until 2005 Ezreal even used to have a military presence around it but its withdrawal never meant the end of tensions in the area the public opinion is split when it comes to believing whose fault it really is that even today there are sporadic rocket fires in the area the most significant of which having hit Israel in the past 15 years on the other hand Palestine is taking steps toward being recognized as an independent state but one major impediment is the fact that Gaza is controlled by Hamas the Islamist fundamentalist party which doesn't exactly guarantee the respect of the rule or law.
8 Jerusalem is torn and shared between Palestine and Israel if you live on planet Earth you couldn't have possibly missed President Trump recently reopening the debate about Jerusalem as he declared it to be Israel's capital also saying that the US would open an embassy there situated exactly on the border with Palestine the city of Jerusalem isn't fully recognized as belonging to Israelis or Palestinians therefore it's currently ruled by both the ongoing conflict between the two peoples has both ancient and modern roots and the city's atmosphere is still prone to anti-semitism and extremism while it remains a key point for geopolitics it's still definitely a destination you should check out as it seems that tourist attractions are not often targeted by dangerous intentions.
9 Some women in Israel have to wear a burqa even though burkas are known as being specific to Muslims it symbolizes more than that it's a manifestation of modesty that aims at saving men from themselves at least according to Berea Karen an Israeli religious leader who taught a strict interpretation of Jewish Scripture for female adherents no less than 600 Jewish women followed her initiative of wearing the veil in order to discourage men from sinning most members of the Haredi burka sect are said to be found in jerusalem beit shemesh and Safed one of the sects most important claims is that quote women who dress in this way will receive salvation also taking into consideration that be holy mothers of the jewish people had a story we covered themselves some 3,500 years ago.
10 The most expensive penthouse in Israel is worth thirty five million dollars yes we're talking about Adams Tel Aviv beachfront penthouse apartment which was the most expensive house ever sold in Israel at the price of one hundred and twenty million which means about 35 million u.s. dollars it was designed by Israel's superstar architect Irma Ornstein and it's a part of the luxury development our laser off 17 interestingly enough one of Sylvan Adams the honorary president of the giro d'italia requirement was for the penthouse to include a hermetic training room that replicates high-altitude cycling oho can you imagine anyways if you're considering investing in real estate in Israel you might want to be aware of this one according to the 2018 worldwide cost of living survey consumer costs were driven up by the shekels appreciation want to discover more impressively expensive penthouses that will make your jaw drop go check out our ten most expensive penthouses in the world and it'll definitely inspire you if you have the money.
11 Almost thirty percent of its population is gay the fact is that while some women cover their bodies completely others live their lives the most open-minded way they can which makes Israel and inexhaustible source of delight according to several studies Tel Aviv is considered to be the most gay friendly place in the area and not only do they tolerate it in a country that's famous because of religious references but every year they also throw one of the world's biggest gay pride parades the March for pride is itself a massive tourist attraction that gathers creative open-minded liberal and daring people every year this is nothing if not an extra opportunity to explore the city's controversial and artistic potential and learn once again the lesson of acceptance.
12 Women also have to serve mandatory military services the one thing we know for sure is that Israel has a particular way of building up citizens military service is compulsory women included women first served in ground forces in nineteen which was one year before Israel was actually even a state the length of the military training is shorter for women were only required to serve for two years while men have to serve for three years another interesting fact is that women were not allowed to work as military administrators or medical staff until 1995 when Alice Miller petitioned for female access to pilot training school thanks to her win male and female soldiers are now able to serve side-by-side in everything but combat duty but let's all hope they'll never have to.
13 Israeli banknotes have Braille on them just think of how respectful it is to print your banknotes in a way that allow the blind to identify the accurate amounts of each absolutely cool it's a well-known fact that the Bank of Israel attaches a great importance to accessibility and this is why they work to improve it in various ways Israel's shackle was named as such back in 1988 as a result of a legislative election and it was previously known as the Israeli lira but you know what why don't you go over there and spend some money so you get a chance to touch it and see it for yourselves.
14 Natalie Portman is half Israeli Natalie Portman is one of Hollywood stars who catches your eye not only thanks to her beauty and talent but also because of her intelligence and impressive education but did you know the star was born in Israel when she was very young she moved to the United States which allowed her to evolve from a child actress to the acclaimed personality she is today she's the winner of the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in the movie Black Swan but you definitely shouldn't miss her extraordinary film Leone the professional from when she was much younger aside from her acting projects Portman is also interested in cinematography and psychology for which she has a degree from Harvard.
15 You can use any currency in Israel if you find yourself in Israel and don't fancy the famous new Israeli shekel that were previously telling you about here's your silver lining our favorite merchants in the world seem to have implemented an interesting system in touristy points they're willing to accept any payment in any currency it's actually the shopkeeper will calculate the money you owe them and you'll be able to negotiate a bit which is definitely a lifesaver on a hot day in between visiting sites when you're craving some hummus flavored ice cream but you've run out of shekel change the safest way to avoid paying much more than the products real price is paying in euros or dollars now that was it for today my dear a lack serious thanks for watching until the end don't forget to hit the thumbs up button if you liked what you saw now today's question for you is what's the most interesting or controversial thing you heard about Israel do you believe it's real and why is that let us know down in the comments still here of course you are and as a thank you for sticking with us all the way to the end you know it here's your bonus fact.
16 People work on Sundays and have Friday's off Israel is one of those places that might seem to be a bit upside down especially if regarded by a westerner they right from right to left and their weekends start on Friday and end on Saturday this is thanks to the Jewish tradition of celebrating the Sabbath which starts Friday at sunset and lasts until Saturday at sunset another interesting thing is that Israel progressively moved from a six day workweek to a five day work week also because of the Jewish tradition which is quite respectful of their Nationals keep it up Israel.
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