What will not be told about Israel. ♥ ღ ♥ 10 Things You Didn't Know About Israel ♥ ღ ♥

All printed publications: newspapers, books, brochures and even menus in restaurants open and read not from left to right, but from right to left.

Only in Israel there are two road warning signs about the danger of animals crossing the road: in the south of the country on road sign depicts a camel, in the north of the country - a roe deer.

In Israel, traffic radars take pictures of the rear car number cars, not the front.

Only in Israel, the Dead Sea is called the "salt sea" (translated from Hebrew yam-ha-melach - salty sea). Worldwide and in all languages, this sea is called the Dead Sea.

In Israel, in front of the entrance to public institutions, metal detectors and arches are installed. Upon entering the premises, you will be asked to show the contents of the bag. This is how Israel approaches the security of its citizens.

In Israel, there is only one day of the year when nothing and no one works - Yom Kippur (Doomsday). On this day, you will not see a single car on the streets of the country (the exceptions are special vehicles: police cars, ambulances).

The national dish of Israeli cuisine is hummus - a chickpea puree appetizer seasoned with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and other spices.

Only in Israel, even girls undergo compulsory military service in the army. The service life of the guys is 3 years, the service life of the girls is 2 years.

Only in Israel can you find a person dressed in night pajamas and slippers in the middle of the day, who just walks around the city.

There is a "pajamas" holiday in Israel - this is one of the most beloved children's holidays. On this day, children walk around the city in pajamas and slippers. In this form, they also attend educational institutions.

In Israel, the cost of 1 liter of gasoline is about $ 2.

The waiting time for a doctor's appointment can be up to several months.

Arriving for permanent residence in Israel, you will be handed your passport right at the airport.

Only in Israel it is customary to celebrate the New Year in the month of September. New Year's Day, which is celebrated on December 31, is called "Sylvester" in Israel and is not a public holiday.

The standard of living in Israel is one of the highest in the world.

In Israel, any conversation is accompanied by quite emotional gestures.

is at a fairly high level.

Hebrew is a very easy language, but at the same time, there are absolutely no vowels in Hebrew.

Week starts on Sunday. On Saturday () everything dies out.

All establishments in Israel are divided into "kosher" and "non-kosher"

The official capital of Israel is, and not, as many believe, Tel Aviv. Is a business, cultural and Entertainment Center country.

In Israel, it is forbidden to use physical force in relation to children, in any form. If this fact becomes clear, you will face long proceedings with social services, courts, lawyers and attorneys, the police.

In Israel, guests entering an apartment do not take off their shoes. It is so accepted here.

In Israel, a mezuzah, a scroll of parchment containing a prayer, hangs on the front door of an apartment or house.

There are no registries in Israel. Only representatives of one religion have the right to sign here. Everyone else will be fascinated Honeymoon to Cyprus, to the Czech Republic, to the Dominican Republic.

In Hebrew, there is no standard reference to "you". All communicate with each other only on "you".

In Israel, in winter and early spring, all deserts turn green.

Many educational institutions in Israel are subdivided into male and female.

In Israeli kosher restaurants, you will not be able to order meat and dairy dishes. According to the kashrut rules, this is prohibited. Therefore, in Israel there are separate meat and milk restaurants.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, air defense sirens sound throughout the country. People on the streets stop, cars in cities and even on highways stop moving. While the siren sounds, absolutely everything stops in Israel. As soon as it ceases, the Israelites return to their normal rhythm of life.

1. On May 14, David Ben-Gurion announced the creation of the State of Israel, and the members of the Provisional Council of State who were present were invited to sign the declaration read by Ben-Gurion. But here's the bad luck: since everything was being prepared in a hurry, the organizers did not have time to put the text of the declaration of independence on a specially prepared scroll, which had to be sealed with the signatures of 37 of the most important representatives of the Jewish population of Eretz Yisrael. I had to improvise - the members of the council signed ... an absolutely blank scroll, and only a few days later they issued the text on it.

2. Immediately after the declaration of independence, the Jewish state was attacked by the armies of neighboring Arab countries. On May 15, Egyptian aircraft bombed Tel Aviv, and the Israeli air defense chalked up the first success: one Egyptian plane was shot down, and its pilot ejected and landed on a citrus plantation near the town of Nes Ziona. He will go down in history as the first enemy soldier captured by the Israeli army, and - to his great surprise - he was taken prisoner by two soldiers who were the first to arrive at the scene.

3. Incidentally, on the wreckage of the Egyptian pilot's plane were the emblems of the British Air Force - it was one of the aircraft transferred by the British to Egypt. This did not exhaust Britain's hidden (and sometimes overt) aid to Israel's enemies. Few people know that on January 7, 1949, Israeli pilots had to engage twice with British Air Force planes that invaded Israeli airspace. As a result, five British planes were shot down, and this taught the United Kingdom a new reality: the Jewish state is no joke.

4. David Ben-Gurion seriously considered the possibility of initiating a massive conversion of the Bedouins to Judaism, since he believed that they had practically no connection with Islam. With the creation of the state, representatives of the Bedouin tribes El-Kheib and Khuzeil voluntarily joined the ranks of the Israeli army, but the matter never came to conversion - full-fledged unification with the Jewish people.

5. During the War of Independence and in the first years after it, Israel lived modestly and even poorly. Many products were sold by ration cards, and sometimes they were not enough. For example, the increased monthly rates for one person, established in the second half of 1952, when there was more food: 150 grams of vegetable oil, 100 grams of tomato paste, 450 grams of jam, 56 grams of chocolate, 1 kg of sugar. A child less than 12 years old also relied on 250 grams of rice.

6. At this time, only a few could afford large purchases. It was believed that such wealthy citizens by means of taxes should help those who are poorer. For example, in 1953 the government decided to impose a special "luxury tax" on shoes, refrigerators, nylon stockings and ... playing cards.

7. It is all the more surprising that during these years in Israel, automobile production was established. In the early 1950s, a plant was built near Haifa, which assembled cars of various brands - "Studebakers", "Willis", "Kaiser Fraser", "Renault" and "Hino". In just 18 years, about 56 thousand cars were produced with the proud inscription Made in Israel, a third of which were even exported to European countries.

8. In 1956, two Arab terrorists who entered Israel from Egypt and killed several civilians were sentenced to be hanged by a military court. However, the sentence was never carried out. The fact is that there was no hangman in Israel.

9. In 1961, the Jewish state faced another shortage. After Israeli intelligence agents found the fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and kidnapped him for trial in Israel, it turned out that there was no armored glass in the country from which to build a cage to contain the accused in the courtroom. There was a serious fear that someone would simply kill the organizer of the Holocaust right during the trial, and therefore had to urgently order such glass in Belgium, and then test it with machine-gun bursts. The court sentenced Eichmann to death penalty, and this time the hangman, fortunately, was found.

10. Even before the creation of the state, the Zionist movement made the greening of Eretz Yisrael a national goal for everyone. Since 1948, 240 million trees have been planted in the small country! As a result, Israel is the only territory in the world where over the past century the number of forests has not only not decreased, but on the contrary - increased.

11. The dream again, as in ancient times, to make the country flourishing, captured foreigners as well. Who was honored to plant a tree in the Land of Israel? Here is just a short list of world celebrities who have decided to take a direct part in the greening of the Holy Land: Albert Einstein and Frank Sinatra, Jacqueline Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk and Michael Douglases, Brooke Shields and Sharon Stone. Elizabeth Taylor didn't stop at just trees. In the midst of the Yom Kippur War, when Israeli soldiers heroically held back the onslaught of the advancing Arab armies, she went on a tour of European capitals to collect donations for the recovery of wounded IDF fighters.

12. Ben-Gurion was not only the country's first prime minister, but also its symbol. If in those years the media were as indifferent to privacy as they are today, then his wife, Paula, would certainly become a symbol. She herself prepared food for him for the whole day, and then invariably came to the prime minister's office or parliament to make sure that this food was served to her husband exactly at her appointed hour, and that he completely eats it, leaving nothing behind.

13. In the early years of Israel's existence, it was accepted that a person holding a high state office should change his foreign-language surname to Hebrew. So, Shkolnik turned into Eshkol, and Chertenko - into Tsura. Someone willingly obeyed this unspoken rule, and someone tried to evade. Isidor Roth showed the greatest ingenuity: when appointed to the post of head of Shabak, the Israeli Security Service, he changed both his name and surname and announced that he was now Izi Dorot. Thus, the rule of Hebrew was followed, but the sound did not change at all.

14. Israel's ninth independence celebration was marked by a soccer match between the IDF and the French army. The victory of the Israelis with a score of 3: 1 was witnessed by 38 thousand spectators, among whom was David Ben Gurion (by the way, this was the first time he came to football). However, the ingenuity inherent in the Israeli army was not without: the IDF team actually consisted of the country's national team players, who were called up for urgent army training before the fight with the French military.

15. A year later, in April 1958, France sent a completely different delegation to Israel - fireworks specialists. The fact is that I wanted to celebrate the decade of independence on a grand scale, but there were no real experts in pyrotechnics in the country. This problem was solved with the help of 12 specialists from the French "Ruggieri" - the oldest and largest pyrotechnic company in Europe, dating back to 1739. It was they who, distributed in different cities of Israel, presented the grateful spectators with world-class fireworks and managed to draw the blue and white coat of arms of the state in the night sky. But by the next holiday, Israeli specialists had already mastered the art of fireworks, and the country became independent even in pyrotechnics.

16. In 1959, Israel acquired the first underground transport: Carmelit began operating in Haifa. Interestingly, the initiators of this venture borrowed the idea from Herzl's futuristic and prophetic book Altneuland - among other future achievements of the Jewish state, the founder of political Zionism described in it the Haifa "suspended electric train that will connect the port with residential areas on the Carmel ridge." Contrary to popular belief, "Carmelite" is not a metro, but a funicular, which is also considered the shortest underground system in the world. public transport.

17. In the summer of 1961, Israel signed an agreement with the Netherlands to supply 80,000 Israeli Uzi machines there. The deal, modest in monetary terms, was a real breakthrough: before that, the Jewish state itself was looking for where to buy weapons, and now it got on its feet and could already think about military aid other countries.

18. On January 2, 1963, the Israeli parliament decided to increase the salary of the country's president from 540 to 1,500 lira per month. President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi strongly opposed this step, and when parliamentarians did not listen to him, he decided to donate half of his salary to the Research Foundation for the Study of Eretz Yisrael.

19. In 1960, two retired American military personnel began searching for the remains of the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomora, destroyed by the Almighty almost four millennia before. These attempts did not bring success. The Americans were convinced that the purpose of their search was at the bottom. Dead sea, but quickly became convinced that it was impossible to dive deep in salt water.

20. In November 1987, another colorful American Sylvester Stallone arrived in Israel to shoot the third film in the epic "Rambo". As befits a superstar, he demanded to provide him with an armored car and was quite surprised to learn that there are none in Israel. In response, Stallone (an ardent supporter of the aforementioned Uzi machine gun) announced that he was ready to rent the world's best Israeli tank Merkava for his movements, but even this request was politely refused.

On the eve of the celebration of the 67th birthday of the Jewish state, we have collected 10 little-known facts from its difficult history.

1. EL AL Airlines had flights to Tehran


Relations between Iran and Israel as a whole developed quite warmly until the Islamic revolution, as a result of which in 1979 Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was overthrown. In 1950, Iran became the second Muslim country after Turkey to recognize Israel. Iran supplied Israel with oil during the OPEC oil embargo, and Israel sold it weapons. At that time, active trade was going on between the countries, from the capital to the capital they regularly flew civil aircraft... A week after the Shah was removed from power, Iran cut off all ties with Israel, and an office of the Palestine Liberation Organization was opened at the site of the Israeli embassy in Tehran. Today, even after 35 years of hostility, Iranians feel less negativity towards Jews than other Muslim peoples in the Middle East. In 2014, an international anti-Semitic poll conducted by the Anti-Defamation League found that 56% of Iranians share anti-Jewish views, compared with 80% of Moroccans and 93% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The 2014 documentary "Before the Revolution" tells about the relationship between Israel and Iran.

2. Descendants of the Nazis moved to Israel


At least 400 descendants of the Nazis converted to the Jewish faith and moved to Israel - the creators of the documentary released in 2013 are sure of this. Quite a few former Nazis also became Jews or married Israelis, but do not live in Israel. For example, the great-niece of Heinrich Himmler, who married an Israeli Jew and now lives on another continent. In the early years of Israel's existence, there were heated discussions whether to accept the reparations of Germany for the Holocaust or not (in the end, they were accepted). And Germany itself, like everything connected with it, for a long time remained an extremely acute controversial topic - from 1956 to 1967, films made in Germany were banned in Israel.

3. Ben-Gurion invented a la couscous


Tiny flour balls of Israeli couscous - ptitima - appeared in the 50s. Then Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion asked food manufacturer Osem to develop a local product made from wheat as an alternative to rice, which does not grow in the country and which the country simply did not have the money to purchase in the face of austerity. Ptitim, which was called "Ben-Gurion rice", immediately won the love of the population.

4. There was no television in Israel until the late 60s


This 1958 photograph of the family sitting in front of the TV could not have been taken in Israel, because there was no television there until 1966.

The first Israeli television appeared in 1966 - primarily as an additional educational tool for schools. Regular public service broadcasting began on Israel's Independence Day in 1968. For the next two decades, Israel had only one channel, and broadcasting was limited to a few hours a day. A second channel appeared in 1986, and cable television entered the country in 1990. Today Israeli TV is a real source of inspiration for Hollywood. Homeland (Showtime), Patients (HBO), Your Family or Mine (TBS), Devotion (NBC), Tyrant and Boom (Showtime) are all remakes of Israeli projects.

5. Elizabeth II's mother-in-law was buried in Jerusalem


Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice Battenberg, was born in 1885. The girl was born with a diagnosis of deafness, however, she learned English and German in the language of the deaf and dumb and even married the Greek and Danish Prince Andrew. During the Nazi occupation of Greece, Alice hid a Jewish woman with her children, for which Yad Vashem recognized her as one of the "Righteous Among the World", and the British government - a "Hero of the Holocaust." In 1967 she moved to London and settled in Buckingham Palace with his son and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II. Two years later, the princess died, and her body was placed in a tomb at Windsor Castle. In 1988, her remains were transported to the monastery at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives (Olive) - before her death, she expressed a desire to be buried there. One of the oldest cemeteries in operation today is located on this mountain.

6.Alaska Airlines airlifted thousands of Jewish Yemenis to Israel


After Israel's victory in the 1948 War of Independence, anti-Semitic riots erupted in Yemen, and local Jews decided to move en masse to historic lands. James Wooten, President of Alaska Airlines, was imbued with their difficult situation and ordered to organize flights for repatriates. From June 1949 to September 1950, under Alaska Airlines' covert Operation Flying Carpet, twin-engine C-46 and four-engine DC-4s made about 430 flights, transporting about 50,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel. The pilots had to overcome many difficulties: lack of fuel, sand storms, enemy shelling, one of the planes barely even landed due to the loss of an engine. Despite all the difficulties of flights, all passengers were safely transported to Israel.

7. Golda Meir was the world's third female prime minister


Meir (née Meerson) became prime minister of Israel in 1969. Prior to that, in world history, two women had already held such a high post - Sirimavo Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka (1960-65) and Indira Gandhi (1966-77) in India. Meir was born in Kiev, raised in Milwaukee, and after her marriage she moved to Mandatory Palestine. She and her husband settled in a kibbutz, and Golda almost immediately began to be active in the Federation of Workers. Despite Meir's immense popularity among American Jews, her policies are still widely criticized in Israel, primarily because of the obvious mistakes they made during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when Meir decided not to launch a preemptive attack on the Arab forces on the Israeli border with Syria.

And although the state investigative "Commission of Agranat" established that Meir was not directly responsible for what had happened, she very soon left her post. It was replaced in 1974 by Yitzhak Rabin, who held him until 1977. He was appointed prime minister again in 1992.

8. According to Israeli law in 1980, solar water heaters must be installed on all new homes.


The law was adopted as a measure to combat the energy crisis of the late 70s - thanks to it, Israel became the first country in the world in terms of the volume of solar energy use per capita. According to official estimates, 85% of homes today use solar energy to heat their water - that's 3% of the country's electricity consumption. But at the same time, Israel is lagging behind other countries in the field of solar energy for other purposes, and more and more developers and homeowners use loopholes in the law to bypass the need to install just such a boiler system.

9. Jerusalem Mount Scopus is not actually part of the west bank of the Jordan River


Despite the fact that Mount Scopus is located in east Jerusalem, where the Hebrew University campus and Hadassah Medical Center are located, it has been Israeli since the very foundation of the state. After the end of the War of Independence in 1949, the hill was controlled by Israeli forces, although it was located in the territory of Jordanian east Jerusalem. Every two weeks, under the auspices of the UN, Israel transported military forces and supplies to this enclave. The convoy often came under fire from Arab forces, and in 1958 it was attacked, as a result of which 4 Israeli soldiers and one UN military were killed. Mount Scopus became part of the Jewish territory of Jerusalem as a result of the Six Day War in 1967.

10. Albert Einstein was offered to become the president of Israel


Einstein received this offer from David Ben-Gurion in November 1952, a few days after the death of Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann. Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Ebman wrote to the genius scientist that the Prime Minister's proposal is "a gesture of the greatest respect that only the Jewish people can have for any of their sons." Enstien replied that he was "deeply moved by the proposal of the State of Israel, but must reject it with regret and regret." Einstein did not accept the post, but did not stop worrying about the country. “My connection with the Jewish people has become my strongest human connection since I began to fully understand our dangerous situation among the peoples of the world,” he admitted. It is noteworthy that Ben-Gurion officially denied press reports that it was he who offered Einstein such a post. The scientist died three years later.

I have been living in Israel for several years, and now I have a desire to introduce you to this amazing country... I'll start with an overview of the simple facts. From them it is already clear how this country differs from others.))

1. The working week in Israel starts on Sunday. Many also work half a day on Friday.
2. The shops, shopping centers and other establishments close on Friday afternoons until the end of Shabbat (Saturday night). Transport also stops walking. So, it is advisable to buy groceries in advance.
3. In Israel, there is no change of seasons that most people are used to. For example, I do not have enough colorful autumn foliage, snow before the new year. Although it is not a matter of precipitation, but of the mood that every season brings. It's warm here all year round, which certainly pleases. The best time for beach holiday- May-June and September-October. It is very hot in August. In winter, it rains heavily for several days, and sometimes it even snows in the north. Then the Israelis go in droves to watch this miracle and play snowballs with the children.
4. There is no central heating in Israel and there are tiles on the floor in the apartments. All because of the almost year-round heat. The problem is that it is very cold at home in winter. However, it can be hot outside during the day. We literally go for walks more often to keep warm.)) In addition, there is no hot water - it heats up only from solar boilers.
5. Israel has three seas: the Mediterranean - along the western coast of the country, the Red - in the south in Eilat and the Dead - a famous health resort.
6. - the most low point the world. Due to the high concentration of salt, it is easy to float on it, but it will not be possible to swim in a standard way. In addition, you should not be in it for more than 10 minutes. On the coast there is a whole tourist town with hotels and spa.
7. Eilat is a famous Israeli resort in the south of the country, located on the Red Sea on the border with Egypt. As a tourist, here you can go diving and observe the underwater world of colorful fish and corals. Also from Eilat there are excursions to the city of Petra (Jordan), which is one of the new wonders of the world.
8. - the most big lake in the country, the lowest on the planet, a place of natural "forays", as well as the only source until recently fresh water in Israel. Now the country has already developed its own seawater desalination system, but locals all the same they are economical about its use.

Favorite photo: the shores of the Dead Sea and infinity. Yes, on the left - salt!
This is what swimming in the Dead Sea looks like.))
On the shores of Lake Kinneret (Sea of ​​Galilee).

1. Israel does not mark the standard New Year... It has its own holiday - Rosh Hashanah, which begins on different dates each year according to the Jewish calendar. This is usually September-October.
2. There are a lot of holidays and weekends in Israel. This year, almost all of October consisted of non-working days: from Rosh Hashana to Sukkot. During Catholic Christmas this year, it will be Purim in the spring, when everyone is wearing carnival costumes, and then, practically at the same time as Orthodox Easter.
3. On Yom Kippur (Doomsday) in Israel, all roads are blocked, transport stops going. The whole day you can freely ride on rollers, bicycles and just walk along any streets of the country.

1. Despite the fact that half of the country remains so, Israel has a huge number of parks, trees, flowers. Everything was planted by human hands, and a water supply system was installed to each bush. Also in the center there is a gorgeous park of rare plants and orchids.
2. The currency of Israel is the new shekel (previously there were Israeli lira).
3. The official capital of Israel is not Tel Aviv, as many believe, but Jerusalem. Although the former is certainly cultural, economic and tourist center country.

View of Tel Aviv from old Jaffa.
Observation deck in Jerusalem.

1. Israel has 2 official languages ​​- and Arabic. At the same time, many local residents know English well. revived from a language that was considered bookish for several centuries.
2. Israel is a country with more startups than anywhere else in the world and a huge number of entrepreneurs.
3. One of the oldest Israeli universities, the Technion, is located in Haifa. It has the highest rankings among technical universities in the world.
4. Anyone with Jewish roots from 18 to 26 years old has the right to a free 10-day trip to Israel to get acquainted with the country, culture, traditions.
5. Haifa is one of the most important cities in Israel on the coast Mediterranean Sea... The city is located on Mount Carmel and is famous for its seaport.
6. The world's smallest metro, 2 kilometers long, is also located in Haifa. Its name is "Carmelite". These are 6 stations and a train of 4 carriages that pass through a mountain tunnel by a cable car. Thus, from the lower city you can get upstairs in literally 10 minutes.
7. Since there are many Christians living in Haifa, before Christmas and New Year, a Christmas tree and a menorah (a symbol of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah) are erected on the main square of the city, and the street is decorated with garlands and ornaments. We even have a tradition - to walk here every year on December 31st. You feel as if you are in pre-holiday Europe!

View of Mount Carmel and the Mediterranean Sea in Haifa.
Walk through the Bahai Gardens in Haifa.
View on sea ​​port and the lower town in Haifa.

1. In Israel, one of the longest life expectancies is 82 years.
2. In Israel, not only men, but also women are liable for military service.
3. Israeli cuisine is something special! Falafel, hummus, pita bread, sesame seeds, olive oil, Sufganiyet donuts for Hanukkah ... If you order breakfast or dinner at the cafe, you will be served a huge portion, and even with additional goodies.

Officially, there are 26 Muslim states in the world, and 18 Christian ones, but there is only one Jewish state.

Israel is the only country to have revived a sacred language.

Israel has no constitution and no declared state borders.

In Israel, in addition to Jews, representatives of about 70 other nationalities live.

Unlike most peoples of the world, Jewish nationality is determined not by the father, but by the mother. Kabbalah explains this by the fact that the soul of a Jewish woman at the moment of conception "attracts" the Jewish soul. The "Law of Return" of the State of Israel currently states: "A Jew is one who is born of a Jewish mother and has not converted to another religion, as well as a person who converted to Judaism."

Israel ranks 8th in the world in terms of life expectancy - an average of 81.5 years. This is more than in the UK, USA and Germany.

Today in the world, the Israelis are considered one of the most optimistic peoples, and peoples who are satisfied with their lives.

Scientists analyzed Wikipedia in 10 languages, including English, Spanish, Czech and Arabic (based on 2010 data). The first of the most controversial topics was Israel!

The most common Jewish surnames in Israel are: Cohen (Kogan), Levi, Mizrahi, Peretz, Biton, Dahan.

Most ancient city in Israel - Jericho (Jericho). At the same time, Jericho is the oldest excavated city in the world; it has about 10 thousand years of almost continuous settlement. It is also the lowest city in the world, more than 350 m below sea level.

An interesting fact: a week in Israel begins on Sunday (therefore, the catch phrase “Monday is a hard day” is not valid in Israel). And on Saturday (Shabbat) everything dies out (almost). According to Jewish customs, the day begins in the evening, so the weekend is almost 1.5 days: from mid-Friday (since Friday is a short working day) to Saturday evening 🙂

It is believed that the three main holidays of the Jewish people - Passover (Easter in Russian), Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and Shavuot (Feast of the giving of the Torah) - are dedicated to the same theme of getting out of slavery and gaining freedom.

Tu be-av is a day of joy and love; in modern Israel, this holiday is celebrated as Valentine's Day.

anemones bloom Israel's spring begins early: in February, anemones (Anemone coronaria) bloom in the Negev, covering all visible space with a bright scarlet carpet. This flower is like from the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower", it is one of the most common types of wildflowers in Israel, and according to the Nature Conservation Department, the most beloved by the Israelis.

The area of ​​forests in Israel is increasing every year. Israel is the only country that has met the 21st century with a record growth of green spaces, mostly in the desert.

The “route” of 500 million migratory birds (from Europe and Asia to Africa and back) passes through Israel's skies.

Israel is recognized as the 2nd in space exploration. It is one of 8 powers in the world that launch their own satellites into space.

Israeli research institutes are ranked third in the world.

Almost everyone knows that Israeli medicine is one of the best in the world.

Israel is the leader in the number of patents for medical equipment.

Israel ranks 1st in the world for such a specific but important indicator as the survival rate of cancer patients.

People in Israel will always come to the rescue in case of trouble.

Israel has the highest percentage in the world of university graduates, scientists and registered patents per capita. There are more award winners in Israel than in China, Mexico or Spain.

Since the founding of the state, Israel has received more Nobel Prizes per capita than any other country.

In 2013, Israel took 2nd place (after South Korea) among 60 countries in the field of science and technology according to the "global dynamic index" of the international expert network Grant Thornton.

It is noteworthy that in just 10 years - from 2003 to 2013 - Israeli GDP per capita grew from $ 15.600 to $ 38.310 - 2.5 times!

Israel attracts more investment per capita than any country. 30 times more than in Europe.

There are many museums in Israel. In terms of the number of museums per capita, Israel is the first in the world.

If you are in Jerusalem, take some time to stroll through the quiet streets of the German Quarter (Moshava Germanite) and take a look at the Museum of Nature (which is usually not included in the tour package for exploring the Israeli capital) with its interesting exhibits and unique history. You will be able to get to know and feel the country better.

In Israel, you can easily find a girl in sandals and a fur coat, or, conversely, in short shorts and a T-shirt, but in fur boots.

More than 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy to heat their water - more than anywhere else in the world.

The first antivirus was developed in 1998 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by three computer scientists after a virus infected university computers. Antivirus consisted of 2 parts - “immunity”, which informed users that the computer was infected, and an-virus, which provided “cure” for infected computers.

Interesting fact: the @ sign is called "strudel" in Israel.

ICQ instant messaging technology was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.

The Pentium-4 and Centrino microprocessors were completely designed, engineered and first produced in Israel.

The flash drive (Disk-on-key) is an Israeli invention! The first commercial product was released by the Israeli company M-Systems in 2000 and was 1 mb in size. The invention was an instant commercial success.

Quicktionary - a pen scanner with a built-in dictionary was invented in Israel. With this device, you can scan a word or phrase and get an instant translation into another language, or save them in the memory of the device for later transfer to a PC.

The cell phone was developed by the Israelis in the Israeli branch of Motorola - the most research center Israel.

Babylon is a multilingual translator program that, using OSR (optical character recognition) technologies on a certain area of ​​the monitor, allows you to get a translation of text from any source with one click of the mouse, developed by Amnon Ovadia in 1995.

Interestingly, no country in the world is addicted to social media as much as Israel.

Hebrew alphabet Hebrew (the official language of Israel) is a simple and very logical language. It uses the Hebrew alphabet, consisting of 22 letters, which are written in a special "square type". You just have to get used to Hebrew, especially to the fact that there are no vowels in the alphabet and that they write from right to left.
/ And here is Russian folklore: “I live in a hole, I bathe in a hole”, which in translation means: “I live in an apartment, I bathe in the sea”. Apartment in Hebrew - dira, sea - yam 🙂

There are about 8 million Hebrew speakers in the world.

An interesting fact - in Hebrew, as well as in English, there is no habitual reference to you.

One of Israel's most famous writers, Aaron Appelfeld, acquired his first book in Hebrew only at the age of 25 and read it with a dictionary.

The word "stork" from Hebrew ("Hasid") is literally translated as "piety".

“Don't live in a city where you can't hear the barking of dogs,” says the Talmud, one of the most important books in Jewish tradition.

TANAKH - Book of books. The traditional International TANAKH Knowledge Olympiad is held on Israel's Independence Day.

In Israel, it is forbidden to marry persons of the same sex, but such marriages contracted abroad are recognized The Supreme Court Israel.

Menorah is a seven-branched candlestick, oldest symbol Israel.

Mezuzah is a parchment scroll with a prayer. It is attached to the jamb of the front door to protect the house from evil forces.

IDF - The Israel Defense Forces are the special pride of all Israelis. Serving in the IDF is actually an honorable duty of every citizen. The whole future fate of a person (as a rule) depends on service in the Army.

Israel has the highest (after Sweden) taxes.

Almost every city in Israel has a street named after Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (translated into Russian - “son of Judea”) - the father of modern Hebrew.

A popular street name in Israel is Olive Street. There are about 124 of them in Israel.

In the north of Israel, there are olive trees that are the same age as the Roman Empire - they are 2000 years old.

There are approximately 100 ancient synagogues (II-VI centuries AD) and approximately 100 medieval castles in Israel.

In Israel is the Valley of Armageddon - at the foot of the Tel Megiddo hill.

Tel Aviv is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the thousands of buildings in the unique BAUHAUS style (mid-1930s style).

At Mini Israel Park, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a quarter hour drive from international airport"Ben Gurion", models of 380 Israeli landmarks are presented. There you can feel like Gulliver among the colorful Israeli models of courtyards, embankments, mosques, fortresses.

Trains in Israel are 2-storey.

Interestingly, the glue on Israeli postage stamps is kosher.

The most popular sports in Israel are football, basketball, and chess.

The Jews call the ladybug the ladybug of Moses.

The Dead Sea only in Israel is called “ By the salty sea”(Translated from Hebrew“ yam-ha-melah ”means“ salty sea ”). This salty closed lake is perfect for medical tourists. It's good to learn to swim here - the dense water itself holds the body. The healing properties of the mineral-rich waters and muds of the Dead Sea are well known. Its vapors saturate environment useful salts and create a kind of dome that absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays, so you can safely sunbathe. But don't taste the water from the Dead Sea better, because the human body does not perceive it in this form at all.
Hot hydrogen sulphide springs flow in Hamey-Ein-Gedi. You can visit the Ahava factory, where excellent cosmetics are made using local natural ingredients.