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Welcome to Israel, a land of many contrasts and a remarkable variety of landscapes and people; a young country only 60 years old, in a land with thousands of years of human history. This section features all you need to know about Israel’s geography and history, its peoples and their languages, and the modern State of Israel. |
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| Geography & Nature |
Israel is quite a small country - a little more than 20,000 square kilometers. However, its location - at the meeting point of three continents and two seas - allows for extremely diverse geographical features: a long, urbanized coastal plain, and a mountain area stretching throughout the country, ranging from evergreen mountains in the North to various unique forms of desert in the South. Read more in the Geography and Nature section of the Israel Tourism Portal. |
 Interactive map and atlas of Israel
Detailed geographical information
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| Climate |
In general, Israel enjoys typical Mediterranean weather, with long, sunny summers and mild winters. The country’s geographical diversity makes for several climate areas. Summers are quite hot and humid in the coastal plain, but cooler in the mountains. Winters are rainy in the mountains but almost entirely dry in the desert, which makes up most of Israel’s southern part. |
Detailed information on climate in Israel
The Israel Meteorological Service
Interactive map and atlas of Israel
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| State & Economy |
Israel is a parliamentary democracy with a rapidly growing economy, which has developed enormously in the less than 60 years since its establishment. Here is a detailed introduction to the State of Israel. |
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| History |
The Middle East and Israel, the Holy Land to three religions, are widely termed the Cradle of Civilization. The known history of the Land of Israel goes back thousands of years, with the rise and fall of numerous empires and cultures. Israel abounds with the archaeological and architectural remains of all these, making it a prime tourist destination. |
The history of the Land of Israel
Detailed history of Israel
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| People |
Israel, with just over 7 million inhabitants, presents a fascinating array of cultures, beliefs and traditions. The Jewish population, which is about 75% of the population, is composed of immigrants and their descendants - from everywhere on the globe, but predominantly from Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Near East. The non-Jewish population is composed mainly of Arabs - mostly Sunnite Moslems, but also Christians. Read more about people in Israel in the Israel Tourism Portal. |
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| Language |
Israel’s official languages are Hebrew and Arabic and most people speak English as well. Signposts are in Hebrew and English, and in most cases in Arabic as well. Russian is very common as well, due to the massive immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union during the 1990’s. |
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| Time |
Local time in Israel is GMT +2. Daylight Savings Time starts at the last Friday before April 2nd and ends on the last Sunday before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (mid-September to beginning of October). |
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| Israel Tourism Portal |
The Israeli Tourism Portal provides detailed information on Israel, including attractions, accommodations and plenty of useful information in English (with particular information for American or British audience), German, French, Italian, Russian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish. |
Ministry of Tourism offices around the world
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| Virtual tour and online photo gallery |
For a taste of Israel, you are welcome to view the virtual tour covering beautiful spots throughout the country.
The Israel Online Photo Gallery has thousands of photos, arranged by locations and interests. You can also use keywords to search for photos. |
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