We are in Israel today and thought you might like to see this impressive list. I found this list several years ago but it still applies today.
Geography:
1. Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the landmass of the Middle East.
2. Israel is roughly half the size of Lake Michigan.
3. The Sea of Galilee, at 695 ft. below sea level, is the lowest freshwater lake in the world.
4. The Dead Sea is the lowest surface point on earth, at about 1,373 feet below sea level.
5. Israel is the only nation in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
6. Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world.
7. The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is the oldest, continually used cemetery in the world.
Demographics:
1. Israel’s population is half the size of Metro New York City.
2. Israel has only 2% of the population of the Middle East.
3. Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees per capita in the world.
4. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation in the world – by a large margin.
5. Israel has the highest number of scientists and technicians per capita in the world – by a large margin.
6. Israel has the highest number of engineers per capita in the world.
7. Israel has the highest number of PhD’s per capita in the world.
8. Israel has the highest number of physicians per capita in the world.
9. Israel has the largest percentage of its workforce employed in technical professions in the world.
10. Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation in the world, per capita.
11. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Christian population has grown over the last 50 years.
12. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians, Muslims and Jews are all free to vote.
13. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where women enjoy full political rights.
Economics:
1. Israel has the largest number of startup companies per capita in the world.
2. Israel is the world’s largest wholesale diamond center, most cut & polished diamonds in the world come from Israel.
3. Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies outside of the US and Canada.
4. Israel was the first country to have a free trade agreement with the United States.
5. Apart from the Silicon Valley, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world.
6. The cell phone was developed in Israel at Motorola’s largest development center.
7. Voice Mail technology was developed in Israel.
8. In the early 80’s, IBM chose an Israeli-designed computer chip as the brains for its first personal computers.
9. The first anti-virus software for computers was developed in Israel in 1979.
10. Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed in Israel by Microsoft.
11. Both the Pentium-4 and Centrino processors were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.
12. The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
13. Israel has the highest number of home computers per capita in the world.
14. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ was developed in 1996 by 4 young Israelis.
15. Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to launch a satellite, the Ofek 1, on September 19, 1988.
Culture:
1. Hebrew is the only case of a dead national language being revived in all of world history. Hebrew had not been spoken as a native tongue by anyone for centuries. Today it is the native tongue of millions of people.
2. Israel has more museums per capita than any other nation in the world.
3. Israel has more orchestras per capita than any other nation in the world.
4. Israel publishes more books per capita than any other nation in the world.
5. Israel publishes more books translated from other languages than any other nation in the world.
6. Israel reads more books per capita than any other nation in the world.
7. The most independent and free Arabic press in the Middle East is in Israel.
Military/Security:
1. Israel has the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the US.
2. Israel has the world’s most impenetrable airline security. Israel spends more money per capita on its own protection than any country in the world.
Other:
1. Israel’s dairy cows are the most productive dairy cows in the world.
2. They average 25,432 pounds of milk per cow per year, compared to just 18,747 pounds from American cows; 17,085 from Canadian cows; 13,778 from European Union cows; 10,207 from Australian cows; and 6,600 from Chinese cows.
3. Israel has more in-vitro fertilization per capita than anywhere in the world, and it’s free.
4. Israelis, per capita, are the world’s biggest consumers of fruits and vegetables.
5. Of the 175 UN Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel. Of the 690 UN General Assembly resolutions voted on after 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.
I still believe the reason for all of this is God’s covenant with Abraham 4,000 years ago which he has kept.
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Very interesting, but #3 under other isn’t anything to cheer about!
STEVE RAY HERE: I received them from a reliable friend, but did not independently confirm them. If you find confirmation (maybe on http://www.snopes.com) let me know. On my way to Israel in three hours!
Where did you get these facts? I would like to use them, perhaps, but want to cite them accurately.
In-vitro fertilisation is not a sign of God’s benevolence, nor are #1 and #2 of Military/security.
http://cathdeac.wordpress.com/
Shouldn't we rather weep that every day in Jerusalem's Old City, Israeli Jews spit on priests and anyone wearing a cross ?
STEVE RAY HERE: Adam, greetings from Israel. I don’t want to be critical here but I would like to know where you get your information. I have been to Israel over 150 times and I have brought many priests and I wear a large cross around my neck constantly. Never has anyone spit on us, showed disrespect or ever done any such thing as you mentioned. I would be very careful what sources you listen to because I can verify that nothing like this happens in Israel.
Just ask the Latin Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, who is Franciscan, or anyone living in the Franciscan Custody in Jerusalem's Old City. Many Catholic priests and sisters in the Old City are my personal friends who over the years have complained to me about this hateful daily abuse.
Cf. Israeli daily newspaper https://www.haaretz.com/1.5188306/1.5188306
"The Christian community increasingly feels under assault, and that is especially true for Christians living in Jewish neighborhoods. Priests in the Old City, especially Armenian priests who must often transit the Jewish Quarter, say they are spat on almost daily. 'It's almost impossible to pass through Jaffa Gate without this happening,' said a senior priest at one Jerusalem church. The spitting has become so prevalent that some priests have simply stopped going to certain parts of the Old City."
STEVE RAY HERE: I am also friends with many people in the past and two patriarchs and I will tell you this does not happen, at least on a normal basis. But I can tell you for a fact that all of my experience and all the people I know this does NOT HAPPEN. There may be a few isolated incidents is where this happens and makes the news but to make it sound like this happens on a regular basis is bearing false witness and being dishonest.
If someone goes into the Wailing Wall with Large Crosses and Flaunts their Christianity Which Is Offensive to the Jews and Their Holiest Place in the World, Sometimes the Jews Will React in a Negative Way. But That Would Be the Same As If Someone Walked into Your Parish Wearing Satanic Symbols and attacking Christianity, You Might React in a Negative Way As Well.
In all my experience here over the last 25 years I have never seen nor heard of it. New media like to be sensational and broadcast rare cases as the norm. Look at the media in America. But to promote such ridiculous news as common occurrences is dishonest.
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