Israel is home to the Holy Land of Jerusalem, located between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is an area in the Middle East where many events of the Bible took place. On 14 May 1948, Israel proclaimed its independence. In 1980, Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital city, under the Jerusalem Law. It is one of the oldest countries in the world known to have an organised government as early as 1300 BCE. With many civilisations developing there and various politics and conflicts taking place in the land of Israel, it is a country with several interesting facts for kids.
Some Interesting Numbers On Israel
As of January 2024, Israel has a whopping population of 9,842,000. Breaking down the number, the Israelite population has some 7,208,000 Jews (73%) as its majority, 2,080,000 Arabs (21%), and 554,000 (6%) from other ethnic groups. With family as central to Israeli life, Israel has a high fertility rate of close to three births per woman. Israel’s fertility rate is well above the world’s average of 2.3.
30 Interesting Facts about Israel for Kids
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- Israel is where you can find the world’s lowest lying land called the Dead Sea. Its salt intensity is ten times that of ordinary seawater! It is called “dead” because no plants or fish can live within this super salty landlocked lake.
- Israel’s official languages are Modern Hebrew and Arabic. The Hebrew alphabet (called the Aleph-Bet after the first two letters, aleph and bet) has 22 letters. Hebrew is read and written from right to left.
- The longest Hebrew word isוכשלאנציקלופדיותינו (u’chshelentsiklopediotenu) which stands for “and when to our encyclopedias”. It is 19 letters long including vowels.
- Israel was divided into twelve tribes in the past and they are named after the sons and grandsons of Jacob. The tribes are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher and Benjamin, as well as the two half-tribes from Joseph: Ephraim and
- Israel is the birthplace of Jesus and Christianity, which stands as the world’s most widely practiced religion.
- Passover is the annual celebration of God freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt as recorded in the Biblical story of Exodus.
- Sabbath, a weekly ritual practised by the Jews, is a holy day of rest.
- Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the Jewish New Year and also marks the day God created humanity. On that day, people all over Israel come to Jerusalem to celebrate.
- Pita bread is a staple food in Israel. You can make your own Israeli pitta sabich (sandwich) by just opening the flatbread like a pocket and filling it with whatever you like, such as tomatoes.
- Pigpen Cipher, which is a famous way of passing down secret notes, was invented by the Hebrews. It is a simple geometric substitution cipher, exchanging letters for symbols in fragments of a grid.
More Interesting Facts About Israel for Kids
- Israel is famous for having the most modern technology in medicine.
- In Israel, it is compulsory for able-bodied women to join the military and it is the only country in the world to have this policy.
- All citizens in Israel, whether men, women or children, enjoy the policy of full human and political rights.
- The Republic of Israel was created in 1948 when British control over Palestine ceased.
- Israel is one of the world’s most arid countries and is a global leader in managing its freshwater resources. Wastewater in Israel is cleaned thoroughly for agricultural use.
- The air space above Israel is a bird superhighway. 500,000,000 birds of over 200 species fly above Israel every year each migration season, preferring this overland route to riskier air space above the sea.
- In 1952, Albert Einstein, a famous Jewish scientist born in Germany, was given a chance to be the President of Israel, but he declined the offer politely.
- Israel was once at war with Egypt, from the Arab League. However, since the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty was signed, they have been at peace and partners for more than forty years.
- The name ‘Israel’ was given by God to Abraham’s grandson Jacob. He was renamed “Israel” by the Hebrew God in the Bible.
- The two countries which have signed a peace treaty to create diplomatic relations with Israel are Jordan and Egypt.
- Israel is a Jewish democratic state. Judaism plays a big role in defining Israel’s political and state institutions.
- About 50% of the Jews around the world are in Israel, or are Israelite nationals.
- The Torah, the Hebrew Bible, is one of the thickest religious books in the world.
- The Israelite single legislative parliament is called Knesset (Ne-se-et). It comes from the word hichnis, which means to bring in.
- Israel’s major economic sectors are high-technology and industrial manufacturing, including its diamond cutting and polishing industry.
- Close to a million people stay in Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is the second most populous city in Israel.
- Israel has had the highest Gross Domestic Product growth rates in the developed world.
- Israel is one of the most developed countries in the world, so living there is like living futuristically.
- Chess is a leading sport in Israel. Israel has many grandmasters and award-winning chess players.
- Israel has won nine Olympic medals including one gold, one silver and seven bronze awards. They are:
- 1 sliver and 1 bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Games
- 2 bronze in the 1996 Atlanta Games and 2000 Sydney Games
- 1 gold and 1 bronze in 2004 Athens Games
- 1 bronze in 2008 Beijing Games
- 2 bronze in 2016 Rio De Janeiro Games.
So there you have it, 30 interesting facts about Israel for kids.
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