ISRAEL
Official Country Name STATE OF ISRAEL
Languages HEBREW, ARABIC
Population 8,424,904
Median Age 30.1
GDP Per Capita US $36,400
Source: CIA World Factbook
Total Value of Art Exported (UN Comtrade Database 2018) US $78,271,000
Arts Funding (Visual Arts) US $140,894,000
Art Programs (University Level) 10
Student Enrollment 2,591
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, AAP (non-official)
Museums Exhibiting Contemporary Art 20
Contemporary Art Galleries (Commercial) 72
Contemporary Art Spaces (Nonprofit) 29
Art Foundations (NGO + Private) 11
Source: AAP (non-official)
Acknowledgments: Vardit Gross, Aliza Peleg, Shaul Setter
There was unprecedented political turmoil in Israel in 2019. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz both failed to form coalitions in two consecutive general elections. The country faces a third round of voting in March 2020. In addition, Netanyahu was charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in November. He will reportedly resign from all ministerial positions by January 1, 2020. Tension is mounting along Israel’s northern border as Iranian forces retaliate against Israeli air strikes in Syria. Israel’s military occupation in the West Bank as well as the military and economic siege on Gaza continues in parallel to the firing of rockets from Gaza on cities in the south and center
