There are endless reasons to be proud of Israel: Culture, science, sport, technology, Jewish life, nature, and innovation ­ to name a few. Here are 60 more reasons to celebrate Israel's 60 years of independence:

1. Israel is the only Jewish country in the world.
2. Life expectancy in Israel is one of the highest in the world: 82.2 years for women and 78.5 years for men.
3. Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation in the world.
4. The Jewish population in Israel consists 40% of world Jewry.
5. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
6. Israeli historian, UCLA professor, Saul Friedlander won Pulitzer Prize for 2008 for his book on history of Jews in Hitler¹s Germany.
7. Israel has highest number of university degrees per capita in the world.
8. Israel is one of 8 countries in the world that have the technological ability to build and launch its own satellites.
9. Israel has the second highest number of startup companies in the world, ranking directly under the U.S.
10. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, at about 1200 ft below sea level.

For many years, the Jewish Agency has endeavored to achieve two main goals: to strengthen the bonds between Jews in the Diaspora, and to help build a better society here in Israel by closing social gaps and helping national priority areas. In 1994, the Jewish Agency, together with the United Jewish Communities and Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal, initiated a grand project whose ultimate goal makes both of these visions possible: Partnership 2000 (P2K).

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