Israel 411 & More - Your Israel Resource

Get the 411 on Israel - basic facts, current events, things about your trip, and stuff you need to know before go!

Many of our Israel 411 posts are written by Carl Schrag - Israel educator, journalist, and former Editor of the Jerusalem Post, Israel's leading English-language daily newspaper.

For an alphabetical list of all Israel 411 Articles, see the index.

 

 

Payback and Appreciation

Dec
08

You’ve probably heard stories about Israeli medical teams and rescue workers racing around the world whenever disaster strikes, lending a helping hand to countries that are friendly as well as many that are not. Now Israel has had the opportunity to receive international assistance at a time of need, and it created a lot of goodwill.
 

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History Matters

Nov
30

Someone once told me that history is what we had for breakfast, and anything older than that is just ancient. Well, I’m here to tell you that history matters, and there’s no way to prove it better than to relive it through the words and stories of the people who made it happen.
 

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Lonely Planet: Check Out Tel Aviv!

Nov
05

Israel’s Tourism Ministry used to call the country the “miracle on the Mediterranean.” Now, Lonely Planet is taking it further. The international tour guide mavens have just ranked Israel’s top Mediterranean city No. 3 on their list of the top 10 cities for 2011. There are an awful lot of cities in the world, and Lonely Planet says only two are more lively and inviting than Israel’s major metropolis. Now that’s a miracle!

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Jewish + Democratic = Possible?

Oct
25

You know Israel is the Jewish state, but have you ever wondered what, exactly, that means?
 
When the Israeli prime minister demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, or when the government debates requiring new citizens to pledge allegiance to Israel as a Jewish democratic state, a wide chorus – including lots of Israelis – raises its voice in protest. Why should it come as a surprise to anyone that Israel is a Jewish state and that it expects to be recognized as such?
 

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The Reel Israel

Oct
19

What’s the next best thing to being in Israel? It may be seeing Israel on the silver screen – at the movies.
 
If you live in the Chicago area, you’ll have your chance at the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema, coming up October 21-31 at a few area venues. Twenty films and TV productions will be screened, including the acclaimed “Brothers” which tells the story of two estranged brothers – one Orthodox and one secular.
 

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How Many Israelis?

Sep
07

Judging by how often Israel is in the news, you might expect that the country is one of the largest in the world, but the statistics say otherwise.
 
Each fall, as Rosh Hashanah approaches, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics releases the country’s latest population figures. The numbers for 2010: 7,645,000 people live there, an increase of 1.8% over last year.
 

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Israel Leads the Way in Electric Cars

May
04

Hybrid cars are yesterday’s news. Make way for the EV – battery-powered electric vehicles that use no fossil fuel and run on giant rechargeable batteries. They’re under development all over the world, but the industry leader is Better Place, a California-Israeli startup that plans to begin testing a fleet of hundreds of EV cars in Israel in 2011. Next up: Denmark and test communities in the U.S.
 

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What is the Law of Return?

Apr
28

Immediately after Israel gained independence in 1948, it declared that any Jew, from anywhere in the world, could move to Israel and become a citizen. In 1950, this policy was formalized when the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) voted unanimously to enact the Law of Return, which states, succinctly:
 
Every Jew has the right to immigrate to the country
 
There’s a reason it’s called the Law of Return, not the Law of Immigration. This statute is based on the premise that, as Israel’s Declaration of Independence puts it:
 

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What’s So Exciting About Israeli High-Tech?

Nov
30

I don’t know what image pops into your mind when you hear people talk about Israel as a high-tech nirvana, but the truth is there’s not a whole lot to see. Unless tall, sleek buildings and endless low-rise R&D centers pump your adrenaline, Israel’s tech industry doesn’t offer a whole lot of amazing visual stimuli.

But when you realize what the Israeli technology sector creates – well, that’s an altogether different story.

Israeli scientists invented the cell phone, the latest Pentium microprocessors that power your laptop computer, the flash drive that you probably have in your pocket right now, not to mention thousands of medical, agricultural and energy-saving innovations that have changed the way people around the world live.

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He Died for His Country

Sep
16

In another country, it might have been just another military training accident. A young Israel Air Force pilot’s fighter jet crashed and the pilot died instantly. A tragedy for the family, an investigation for the Air Force. Hardly a matter of public attention.

But this is Israel, where every man and woman in uniform holds a special place in the national psyche. And the young pilot was Captain Asaf Ramon, the beloved son of fallen national hero Ilan Ramon. And the entire country joined his grieving mother as she buried him and mourned for the future that he will never have.

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