Some Israel Facts

1.       Arabic is an official language in Israel along with Hebrew.

2.       Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel which he politely declined.

3.       Israel is the only country in the world to draft women into Military service.

4.       Underweight models are banned in Israel to fight against anorexia.

5.       Israel is so small, you can run through it from west to east in 2 hours and from top to bottom in 9 days.

6.       In 1997, an Israeli court charged and prosecuted a Jew for depicting Islam's prophet Muhammad as a pig.

7.       A Muslim family that saved Jews during the Holocaust, was later saved by Israel during the genocide in Bosnia, and converted to Judaism.

8.       A Jewish sect, Neturei Karta, supports Palestine and calls for a peaceful dismantling of the State of Israel.

9.       Robert F. Kennedy was shot by a Palestinian because of his strong support for Israel.

10.   The Jerusalem syndrome is a group of psychological phenomena triggered by a visit to Jerusalem, Israel.

11.   Every year, 1,000 letters arrive in Jerusalem, Israel, addressed to God.

12.   2,000-year-old seeds were discovered in 1963 inside an ancient jar in Israel. They were planted in 2005 and a tree that had been extinct for over 1800 years sprouted.

13.   In Canada, Mexico, India, Russia and Israel, bank notes have Braille-like markings on them for the blind.

14.   The world record for the most passengers on a commercial flight is 1,088, by El Al, Israel's national airline.

15.   You can buy hummus flavoured ice cream in Israel.

16.   At least 400 descendants of Nazis have converted to Judaism and moved to Israel.

17.   The primary founder and the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, was an atheist.

18.   The movie "Borat" was a huge hit in Israel, in part because Borat's "Kazakh" lines were all actually in Hebrew.

19.   Jerusalem, Israel, has been destroyed twice , besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times and it's one of the world's oldest cities.

20.   All Pakistani passports bear the inscription "This passport is valid for all countries of the World except Israel."

21.   Anwar Sadat made Egypt the first arab nation to achieve peace with Israel in 1979. For this, Sadat won the Nobel Peace prize, Egypt was suspended from the Arab League and Sadat was assassinated.

22.   All Jewish people who are between 18 and 26 years old are entitled to a free 10-day trip to Israel.

23.   Dr. Ruth, the famous sex therapist, was once a sniper in the Israeli army.

24.   There's a 9/11 Memorial in Israel constructed of steel from the remains of the WTC.

25.   Prostitution is illegal in Israel, yet 12,000 women work in the sex trade, along with roughly 1,000 men.