About Israel

The modern state of Israel has its roots in the Land of Israel which has been sacred to Jewish people since the time of the patriarchs, i. e. since the 2nd millennium BCE. The Torah says that the Land of Israel was promised to the Jews as their homeland,and the sites holiest to Judaism are located there.

On May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence. Since then, Israel's boundaries and even the State of israel is very right to exist have been subject to dispute, although Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and efforts are made to reach a permanent accord with the Palestinians.

The State of Israel is situated in Southwest Asia on the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It has borders with Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest. The population of Israel constitutes about 7.2 million, the majority of whom are Jews. Also, other religious and ethnic groups live in Israel: Arab Muslims, Christians and Druze.

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, its seat of government, religious, spiritual and cultural center. Israel is a parlimentary democracy. The state is run by three authorities, the legislative authority - the Knesset; the executive authority - the government; and the judiciary authority.

Israel's official languages are Hebrew and Arabic. Standard of living index is ranked 22nd in the world. Israel is located in a sub-tropical region which is characterized by two main seasons; a dry, hot summer and a cool rainy winter. The climate in Israel is diversified and in the winter, tourists can choose between skiing in the snowy Hermon and sunbathing in the Eilat Bay.