*Israel, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
State of Israel
conventional short form:
Israel
local long form:
Medinat Yisra'el
local short form:
Yisra'el
Digraph:
IS
Type:
republic
Capital:
Jerusalem
note:
Israel proclaimed Jerusalem its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all
other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
Administrative divisions:
6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem,
Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Independence:
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Constitution:
no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled
by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic laws of the parliament
(Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law
Legal system:
mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal
matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985,
Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948,
but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May)
Political parties and leaders:
members of the government:
Labor Party, Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN; MERETZ, Minister of Education
Shulamit ALONI; SHAS, Minister of Interior Arieh DERI
opposition parties:
Likud Party, Binyamin NETANYAHU; Tzomet, Rafael EITAN; National Religious
Party, Zevulun HAMMER; United Torah Jewry, Avraham SHAPIRA; Democratic Front
for Peace and Equality (Hadash), Hashim MAHAMID; Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI;
Arab Democratic Party, Abd al Wahab DARAWSHAH
note:
Israel currently has a coalition government comprising 3 parties that hold
62 seats of the Knesset's 120 seats
Other political or pressure groups:
Gush Emunim, Jewish nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West
Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now, critical of government's West Bank/Gaza
Strip and Lebanon policies
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Elections:
President:
last held 24 March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1999); results - Ezer
WEIZMAN elected by Knesset
*Israel, Government
Knesset:
last held June 1992 (next to be held by NA); results - percent of vote by
party NA; seats - (120 total) Labor Party 44, Likud bloc 32, Meretz 12,
Tzomet 8, National Religious Party 6, Shas 6, United Torah Jewry 4,
Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, Moledet 3, Arab Democratic Party
2
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral parliament (Knesset)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN (since July 1992)
Member of:
AG (observer), CCC, CERN (oberver), EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Itamar RABINOVICH
chancery:
3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 364-5500
consulates general:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York,
Philadelphia, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission:
Acting Ambassador William BROWN
embassy:
71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv
mailing address:
APO AE 09830
telephone:
[972] (3) 654338
FAX:
[972] (3) 663449
consulate general:
Jerusalem
Flag:
white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen
David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands
near the top and bottom edges of the flag
*Israel, Economy
Overview:
Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation. It
depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military
equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively
developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years.
Industry employs about 20% of Israeli workers, agriculture 5%, and services
most of the rest. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural
products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts
balance-of-payments deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments
from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's $17
billion external debt is owed to the United States, which is its major
source of economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel
has been targeting high-technology niches in international markets, such as
medical scanning equipment. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former
USSR, which topped 400,000 during the period 1990-92, has increased
unemployment, intensified housing problems, and widened the government
budget deficit. At the same time, a considerable number of the immigrants
bring to the economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $57.4 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
6.4% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
$12,100 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
11% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues $33.9 billion; expenditures $36.8 billion, including capital
expenditures of $9.3 billion (FY93)
Exports:
$11.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
polished diamonds, citrus and other fruits, textiles and clothing, processed
foods, fertilizer and chemical products, military hardware, electronics
partners:
US, EC, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland
Imports:
$19.6 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities:
military equipment, rough diamonds, oil, chemicals, machinery, iron and
steel, cereals, textiles, vehicles, ships, aircraft
partners:
US, EC, Switzerland, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Hong Kong
External debt:
$25 billion of which government debt is $17 billion (December 1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 9.4% (1992 est.); accounts for about 20% of GDP
Electricity:
5,835,000 kW capacity; 21,840 million kWh produced, 4,600 kWh per capita
(1992)
Industries:
food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles, clothing,
chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment,
electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash mining,
high-technology electronics, tourism
*Israel, Economy
Agriculture:
accounts for about 3% of GDP; largely self-sufficient in food production,
except for grains; principal products - citrus and other fruits, vegetables,
cotton; livestock products - beef, dairy, poultry
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $18.2 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.8 billion
Currency:
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 2.8000 (December 1992), 2.4591 (1992),
2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
*Israel, Communications
Railroads:
600 km 1.435-meter gauge, single track; diesel operated
Highways:
4,750 km; majority is bituminous surfaced
Pipelines:
crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km
Ports:
Ashdod, Haifa
Merchant marine:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 678,584 GRT/785,220 DWT; includes 8
cargo, 24 container, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off; note - Israel
also maintains a significant flag of convenience fleet, which is normally at
least as large as the Israeli flag fleet; the Israeli flag of convenience
fleet typically includes all of its oil tankers
Airports:
total:
53
usable:
46
with permanent-surface runways:
28
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
12
Telecommunications:
most highly developed in the Middle East although not the largest; good
system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; 1,800,000 telephones;
broadcast stations - 14 AM, 21 FM, 20 TV; 3 submarine cables; satellite
earth stations - 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT