Florida and Israel have a lot in common. We also have beautiful beaches, lots of sun, an important tourist industry, a large Jewish and international population, an old citrus industry and a new hi-tech industry. South Florida is home to a large Israeli community, complete with Israeli restaurants, banks and businesses and an Israeli Consulate. Several Florida cities have Israeli sister cities. For example, Fort Lauderdale and Haifa are “arim te-umot” (sister cities).
59,928 square miles
Climate: tropical and subtropical
Population: 16 million - multi-ethnic, multi-language (700,000 Jews, 15.3 million non-Jews). Note that the total number of Jews in the US is estimated to be 5.2 million.
Capital: Tallahassee
Nickname: Sunshine State
Form of Government: Democracy. (http://www.state.gov/)
Freedom of worship: Guaranteed
Major industries: Tourism, international trade, high-tech, agriculture, fertilizer deep-water cruise and cargo ports
Colleges, Community Colleges, & Universities: http://www.univsource.com/fl.htm
10,840 square miles
Population: 6.6 million (5.3 million Jews, 1.3 million non-Jews)
Climate: Temperate.
Capital: Jerusalem.
Nickname: The Holy Land.
Languages: Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages. English, French, Spanish, German, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, and Hungarian are widely spoken.
Form of Government: Parliamentary democracy (www.mfa.gov.il). Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
The President is the official head of State.
Freedom of worship: Guaranteed. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Muslims, Christians and Jews all have the right to vote.
Major industries: High-tech (communications, bio-medical, software), agriculture, fertilizer, deepwater cruise and cargo ports.
Colleges, Community Colleges, & Universities
Israel has eight major public universities. Several have programs designed especially for English-speaking students. There are now also private schools and colleges in Israel as well. For more information on that, click on 'Study in Israel.'
