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Israel - GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Population
| Main Cities |
Population |
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Jerusalem
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633,000
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Tel Aviv
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357,000
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Haifa
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247,000
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Beer Sheva
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141,000
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Total population (millions): |
6.8
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| Source: World Bank 2004 |
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| Urban population: |
92%
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| Source: World Bank 2004 |
| Average annual population growth: |
1.6%
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| Source: World Bank 2004 |
| Surface area (km²) : |
21,060
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Local time
| It is %T:%M %A in Tel-Aviv |
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GMT+2 in winter, GMT+3 in summer
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Languages
Official language: Hebrew.
The spoken languages are: Hebrew, Arabic, English, French and Russian.
Free translation tools
in Israel
:
Babylon
Free English-Hebrew-English dictionary
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Religion
Religious practises :
Jews 82.1%
Sunni Muslims 10.2%
Shiite Muslims 3.8%
Christians 2.2%
Others 1.7%
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Political system
Israel is a parliamentary democracy. The Head of State is elected by the parliament. The single chamber of the parliament is the Knesset (120 members).
Government location: Tel Aviv
Head of State: President Moshe Katzav, since July 31, 2000
Prime Minister: Ariel Sharon, since March 2, 2001.
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| Number of visitors
in Israel
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2002
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2003
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2004
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World rank |
| Number of visitors (1000) |
862
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1063
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1506
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n.a.
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| Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005 |
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Tourist sites
- Nazareth: numerous religious monuments (Nazareans' church)
- Tel Aviv and Jaffa: Bat Yam esplanade, Bialik museum, beaches
- Jerusalem: Via Dolorosa, the museum of Islamic Art, David's tower, the Wall of Lamentations
- Akko: Persian garden, Turkish aqueduct
- the Dead Sea (Masada's park).
For more information about tourism
in Israel
, check out the following web site(s) :
Israel Ministry of Tourism
Informations portal on tourism in Israel
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Food
Traditional dishes
The israeli food is very close to the Middle East food. The dishes are usually quite spicy. The Israeli food is also partially inspired from Central Europe's recipes.
The Caviar of eggplant
Baba ghannou? puree of eggplant with lemon juice. It is traditionally served in a plate or in a special hors d'oeuvres dish, splashed with olive oil, some chopped onion and chiselled parsley as a starter with pita bread
Taratour: sesame sauce. The taratour is usually served with oven cooked fish, and fried vegetables. It is essential for the preparation of the puree of chickpeas (hummus) or the puree of eggplant (baba ghannou?.
Food-related taboos
Eating pork is prohibited and the food has to be kosher.
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Last modified in
October 2005
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