About Israel

The State of Israel, is on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a parliamentary democracy and the world's only Jewish state. Israel is bordered by Lebanon and Syria to the north, Jordan to the east and Egypt to the south-west. As of 2005, the population was estimated at 7,205,500 people.

The name "Israel" is rooted in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, where Jacob is renamed Israel after wrestling with a mysterious adversary ("a man", and later "G-d" according to Genesis 32:24–30; or "the angel", according to Hosea 12:4). Israel means "he who has wrestled with God". The nation fathered by Jacob, were then called "the children of Israel" or the "Israelites".

Explore Israel
Learn more about the locations you may visit on your trip to Israel.

Tzfat
Golan Heights
Akko
Zippori
Tiberias
Haifa
Tel Aviv
Jerusalem
Dead Sea
Ein Gedi
Masada
Negev
Eilat

Israel Tour content provided by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise(AICE). To find more information about the sites on our trip and general facts about Israel visit the Virtual Israel Experience at AICE's Web site.


Learn More - Resources to Israeli and Jewish news, Jewish culture, Jewish organizations and social groups, religious links and political sites.

Book list - Find a list of books both fiction and no-fiction that explore Jewish culture and Israel's history.