There are many interesting facts about Israel that you may or may not know. Here is a small list of just of the interesting facts about Israel.

Interesting Facts about Israel

  • You may know the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, but did you know that the next lowest place on earth is over 800 feet higher? The Dead Sea is THAT low! The next lowest is in Djibouti on the African continent.
  • Israel is 1/6th of 1% of the land of the Middle East. TINY! It is only half the size of Lake Michigan in comparison.
  • Israel has its own version of the famed Stonehedge in England. It is a circle of stone that is eight feet high and made of basalt. It is around five-thousand years old. No one knows who built it or why. It’s called Galgal Refa’im (“wheel of ghosts”) and is located in the Golan Heights, about nine miles east of the Sea of Galilee.
  • There is a massive cave under the city of Jerusalem called Zedekiah’s Cave. Some believe it is where King Zedekiah attempted to flee the Babylonians. The story is told in the Old Testament in 2nd Kings. It was found when an American missionary’s dog was digging and disappeared into the hole! It was carved over thousands of years and it is also important to Free Masonry because of the possible ties to King Solomon.
  • The largest ancient dog cemetery is located in Ashkelon, Israel and dates back to the 5th and 4th century BC. There are potentially thousands of dogs buried in this spot and most of them are puppies. There is no clear reason for why they died or why they were buried the way they were together in individual graves. They all appear to have died from natural causes. Most dogs in that day only lived less than a year.
  • There are 137 beaches in Israel. Surfing even has gained popularity.
  • Israel has over 300 wineries. Many of these are in the north.
  • There are cats all over Israel. In fact there are MILLIONS of feral cats in Israel. They were brought in by the British to combat a rat problem but reproduced quickly. Today the cats now pose a problem themselves, with many now seeing the cats as rodents.

Interesting Facts about Israel

  • The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is controlled by six different churches; Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Syriac Orthodox churches. They don’t always get along. They run under “status quo” meaning as long as nothing changes, everyone gets along. This has led to one of the most interesting facts: The immovable Ladder. In the courtyard of the church there is a small wooden ladder that most passing would assume shows active work being done to the building. However, the ladder has been there since the early 1800s and possibly even earlier. No one dares move it. in 1997 a tourist hid the ladder, but it was found and put back in its previous location.
  • The Mount of Olives is the oldest continuously used cemetery in the world. It’s been in use for 3,000 years and has 150,000 graves. There are graves from the time of King David there.
  • Bamba, a peanut flavored puff snack, is the number one snack in Israel. It is one of the first foods an Israeli child will eat due to how easily it dissolves. Researchers noticed another benefit as well, Israeli children don’t have allergies to peanuts. This led to major strides in the understanding of how food allergies are developed.
  • Stamps in Israel are kosher.
  • Israel is home to the largest underground hospital, with 2000 beds. The most interesting part of this hospital is that it is actually the parking garage. In an emergency, cars are moved and it can be changed to a full functioning fortified hospital within 72 hours.
  • Many well-known technologies are products of Israeli ingenuity. These include the technology for today’s smartphones, the popular Waze map app, the USB flash drive, PillCam, and many more.

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