Israel Passport

The State of Israel.

According to the 1947 United Nations Resolution on the Partition of Palestine, the area of the State of Israel is 15200 square kilometers. Between 1948 and 1973, Israel occupied large territories of Arab countries in four Middle East wars, and partially withdrew after the 1980s. At present, the actual controlled area is about 25000 square kilometers.

【 Population 】 9.84 million (December 2023), of which Jews account for about 73%, Arabs account for about 21%, and the rest are Druze and others. Jews mostly believe in Judaism, while other ethnic groups believe in Islam, Christianity, and so on.

Hebrew is the official language and English is commonly used.

The capital was established in Tel Aviv and relocated to Jerusalem in 1950, but it was not widely recognized by the international community. At present, countries that have established diplomatic relations with Israel generally have their embassies located in Tel Aviv or its surrounding cities.

[Important Festivals] Jewish New Year (around September in the Gregorian calendar), Yom Kippur (around October in the Gregorian calendar), Tabernacle (around October in the Gregorian calendar), Passover (around March and April in the Gregorian calendar), Holocaust Remembrance Day (around April and May in the Gregorian calendar), Independence Day (around April and May in the Gregorian calendar).

[Currency] New Shekel, 1 USD ≈ 3.7 New Shekel

【 Natural Geography 】 Located in western Asia. It borders Jordan to the east, Syria to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and Lebanon to the north. It is the junction of Asia, Africa, and Europe, with a coastline of 198 kilometers. Mediterranean climate, hot and dry in summer, with a maximum temperature of 39 ℃; Winter is mild and humid, with a minimum temperature of around 4 ℃.

[Brief History] The Jewish ancestors were an ancient branch of the Semitic tribe, originating from the Mesopotamian plain about 4000 years ago. Later, they migrated to the eastern Nile Delta in Egypt to avoid natural disasters, hence the name "Hebrews" (meaning "people who crossed over"). Migration from Egypt to Palestine began in the late 13th century BC. Around 1000 BC, the state of Israel was established. Afterwards, it was successively conquered by Assyria, Babylon, Persia, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. In the year 70 AD, he was expelled from Palestine by the Romans and began a nearly 2000 year long "Great Exile". At the end of the 19th century, the Zionist movement emerged and Jews began to migrate in large numbers to Palestine. After the end of World War I, Britain implemented mandate rule over Palestine. In November 1917, the then British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour wrote a letter to Lionel Rothschild, the chairman of the British Zionist Union, stating that the British government "agrees with the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine", known as the "Balfour Declaration". On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to establish an Arab state and a Jewish state in the Palestinian territories. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was officially established in accordance with this resolution.

Political parliamentary system. The parliament is the highest authority of the country, and the government is composed of political parties or party alliances that hold a majority of seats in the parliament.

Head of State: ISAAC Herzog, inaugurated on July 7, 2021, is the 11th President of Israel with a term of 7 years.

The government is composed of one or several political parties that hold a majority of seats (at least 61 seats) in the parliament. After the results of the parliamentary elections are announced, the President nominates and authorizes the leader of the political party (usually the first or second largest party) most likely to win the parliamentary trust vote to form a government based on the opinions of all parties in the parliament. The overall reason is that the person who successfully completed the formation of the cabinet will be appointed. All previous Israeli governments have been coalition governments. After the escalation of the Israeli Palestinian conflict in October 2023, Israel formed an emergency government with a wartime cabinet. In June 2024, wartime cabinet member Gantz announced his withdrawal from the government, and Netanyahu subsequently announced the dissolution of the wartime cabinet. Current Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu, Chairman of the Likud Party.

There is no formal written constitution, only basic laws such as the Parliamentary Law, National Land Law, Presidential Law, Government Law, National Economic Law, Defense Forces Law, Jerusalem Law, Judicial System Law, Auditor General Law, Human Dignity and Freedom Law, Professional Freedom Law, Referendum Law, Jewish Nation State Law, etc.

The Knesset, also known as the Parliament, is a unicameral system with 120 seats and a term of 4 years. It has the power to legislate, amend laws, vote on major political issues, approve the list of cabinet members, and supervise government governance. The parliamentary elections adopt a proportional representation system. Current Speaker: Amir Ohana, who took office on December 29, 2022, from the Likud Party.

There are 75 cities, 265 local committees, and 53 regional committees in China.

The judicial system consists of three levels: the Supreme Court, regional courts, and grassroots courts. In addition, there are specialized courts, religious courts, and labor courts.

[Economy] A mixed economy with a high degree of industrialization, mainly consisting of knowledge intensive industries, and high value-added sectors such as agriculture, biochemistry, electronics, and military industry with high technological levels. Israel has a strong overall economic strength and ranks among the top in the world in terms of competitiveness.

Main economic data for 2023:

Gross Domestic Product: 518.89 billion US dollars

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: 2%

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 53200 US dollars

Mineral resources are relatively scarce. There are mainly potassium salts, limestone, copper, iron, phosphate, magnesium, manganese, sulfur, etc. The forest coverage rate of the country is about 5.7%, with a total area of about 114300 hectares (1.27 million duna acres).

The main focus of the industry is to develop low energy consuming, capital intensive, and technology intensive industries, with emphasis on investment in scientific and technological research and development. The industrial sector is concentrated in high-tech industries and gemstone processing industries, and is at the forefront of the world in fields such as electronic technology, computer software, medical equipment, biotechnology, information and communication technology, and diamond processing.

Agriculture is developed with high technological content, and its drip irrigation equipment and new variety development are world-renowned. The agricultural organizational structure is mainly based on Kibbutz (originally in the form of collective farms, where residents have no private property, no wages, and are provided with free clothing, food, housing, transportation, education, medical care, etc.) and Moshav (usually a village of about 60 households, each with their own house and land, self-sufficient). The main crops include wheat, cotton, vegetables, citrus, etc.

The land, sea, and air transportation industries are well-developed. Among them, land transportation accounts for half of the goods, while ship and air transportation each account for a quarter. Domestic road transportation is well-developed, with highways connecting major cities. The main ports include Haifa, Ashdod, Eilat Port, etc. The main airports include Ben Gurion International Airport, Ramon International Airport, etc. The main airline is Israel Airlines (EL AL).

The domestic market is relatively small and the economy is highly dependent on foreign trade. Israel is a member of the WTO and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and has signed free trade agreements with the United States, Canada, Türkiye, Mexico, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, the European Free Trade Association and the Southern Common Market. The European Union is Israel's largest trading partner, while the United States is its largest single trading partner. In 2023, Israel's total foreign trade amounted to 149.66 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 13.4%, including imports of 90.47 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 14.9%, and exports of 59.19 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 11%.

The Israel Defense Forces was officially established on May 26, 1948, with its predecessor being the Jewish militia organization "Haganah". The highest decision-making power in national defense and the highest command power in the national defense forces belong to the government. The Minister of National Defense is the highest leader of the national defense system, and the General Staff Department is the highest command organ of the military, specifically responsible for the overall combat command and military training of the entire army. Implement a universal compulsory military service system, with 180000 active duty troops and 450000 reserve personnel. The defense budget has remained at 7% of the gross domestic product for many years.

The government attaches great importance to education, and children aged 3 to 16 enjoy compulsory education, with free education until high school graduation. Israel's education budget has long accounted for around 8.5% of its gross domestic product. Famous higher education institutions include Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, Haifa University, Israel Institute of Engineering and Technology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Bayland University, Ben Gurion University, etc.

The news publishing industry is relatively developed. The main newspapers include: HA'ARETZ, founded in 1918, a Hebrew language daily newspaper; The Jerusalem Post, founded in 1932, is an English daily newspaper; YEDIOTHAHRRONOTH, founded in 1939, is a Hebrew language daily newspaper; MA'ARIV, founded in 1948, is a Hebrew language daily newspaper; Israel Hayom, founded in 2007, is a Hebrew language daily newspaper.

Israel follows a foreign policy centered around the United States, maintains close ties with European countries, and actively develops relations with emerging market countries such as China and India. Long held a strong stance on the Middle East issue, territorial disputes with Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon have yet to be resolved. Affected by this, relations with Arab and Islamic countries have been tense for a long time, but in recent times, relations with Gulf Arab countries have improved. From August to December 2020, Israel normalized its relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Disagree with Iran and oppose the resumption of negotiations on the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement. After the outbreak of a new round of Gaza conflict in October 2023, countries such as Colombia, Bolivia, and Nicaragua announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel.