Summer Study Abroad

Israel

 

I hope these facts will help allay any concerns.

 

Israelis live longer than Americans and have less deaths per thousand from accidents, murder, and other non-illness related causes, including acts of war or terror.

 

This document was prepared for Summer 2010 with only light updating since; the statistical realities have not changed at all since then.

 

1. Precautions:

 

Our official itinerary does not include going into "Area A" (under Palestinian administration) or going to the area near Gaza. We will do almost all of our formal touring with a registered driver and tour-guide who is professionally licensed and knowledgeable about security situations, hired through a touring company, Telalim (Authentic Israel) with an outstanding record of safety and security. Student-planned excursions in addition to official activities have excellent guidance regarding these issues.    

 

The University of Wyoming Study Abroad and Risk Management have an excellent track record of assessing risk considerations.

 

 

2. Familiarity:

I taught and lived in Israel for many years and am fully familiar with the country. I led a similar faculty-led course in 2009 and 2010 and have done similar programs over the past thirty years.

 

3. Statistics about Safety--Overview:

I have been spending some time looking up statistics; they are quite striking. You can read my detailed review below. 

 

Summary:

Israeli life expectancy: more than two years longer than in the US.

Death by traffic accident, murder, acts of violence, terror and war: about a quarter of the rate in Wyoming and about half the overall rate in the US.

Killed and wounded victims in acts of terror: There were many more acts of terror in the US than in Israel in 2009 (I believe the same is true for 2010), and more victims per capita in the US.  

 

The situation in 2009 was only slightly different from a statistical point at the height of the second intifada in 2002-4, but even then the rate of death and serious injury from such events in Israel was lower than in the US. In the past few years, beefed up security and intelligence, and the "security barrier" make Israel far safer than the US.

 

 

4. FINDINGS--Details:

Israel has a life expectancy at 80.6 (2007) that is two+ years higher than the US (78). The death rate from all non-health and non-self inflicted causes in Israel would include traffic accidents, acts of war and terror. For males aged 0-24 in 2006, the rate was 15.8 / 100,000.

 

By comparison, the rate for non-medical death (by accident, self-inflicted, shootings, etc.)  for all ages in Wyoming in 2005 was close to 60 / 100,000 (!)

 

The civilian rate for deaths in Israel from "crime and war" in 2004 was 3.7/ 100,000--down to 2.29 in 2006 (many fewer civilian deaths from "war" and decline in murder rate). In US the murder rate alone was 5.5 (In 2004 the Wyoming rate for Murder was 2.2 /100,000). I found another reference to US Murders per 100,000 as 7.5.

 

I looked at the Wikipedia list of terrorist incidents in case that is an issue  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_2009 

There were more listed for the US than Israel, and the number of victims wounded or killed in the US was quite substantial. Although there were a handful of Israeli military on duty or police killed or wounded in the line of duty, and some of the perpetrators were killed, there was only one non-military killed and one wounded, in a single event, and that was in a place far from where we are likely to be.

 

Life expectancy, Israel: 80.6 years - 2007

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators

www.google.com/publicdata

 

Life expectancy, United States: 78 years - 2007

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators

www.google.com/publicdata

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_2009

 

 

Link to Israeli Statistical Figures. 2006, Males ages 0-24: Transportation accidents and all other accidents and external (non-health) deaths: 15.8 per 100,000

 

Centers for Disease Control- Wyoming Stats. Not sure which year for undated stats

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/PRESSROOM/data/state_profile_WY.htm

 

Wyoming is the 4th highest state in Accidental death—58.6/100,000 (US 39.1)

 

This means that in your age cohort, you are about 4 times more likely to die from non-health related reasons in Wyoming!

 

Israel — Death Rate: 5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

According to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/is.html

United States — Death Rate: 8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

According to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html