Random Israel Facts

DID YOU KNOW...
...that the Israeli Air Force flew its first fighter mission on May 29, 1948? An Egyptian army column with 500 vehicles was advancing up the coast towards Tel Aviv when the Israel Defence Force used airplanes for the first time. The Israeli Air Force consisted of second-rate planes, but yet four heroic pilots took to the skies and attacked the Egyptian convoy outside of Ashdod. The Egyptians were shocked and scrambled for cover, giving time to the Israeli Army to repulse the invaders.

WERE YOU AWARE...
...that Magen David Adom began in Tel-Aviv on June 7, 1930 by a group of seven Israeli doctors who started it as a one-room emergency service? The doctors started the emergency team as a result of Arab riots in 1929 when it was clear that many Israelis could not receive basic medical care. Other MDA groups formed shortly after in Haifa and Jerusalem. Two years after Israel became a state, the Knesset passed a law officially making Magen David Adom as Israel's National Red Cross Society.

HAVE YOU HEARD...
...that Tel-Aviv was ranked as the 10th most expensive city in the world? The 1999 report done by Associated Press found Tel-Aviv number 10 on the list with Tokyo taking the number one spot as the most expensive city in the world. Following Tokyo were: Osaka/Kobe (Japan), Belgrade (Yugoslavia), Hong Kong (China), Seoul (South Korea), Taipei (Taiwan), New York (USA), London (England), Oslo (Norway), and Tel-Aviv.