It turns out that the question that many first-time visitors to Israel are asked by friends and relatives when they reveal their plans to visit – “Are you sure it’s safe?” – is misplaced. Not only is it safe, but it is very safe; safer, in fact, than visiting the US (ranked 30), Canada (21), Australia (18), France (15) and the United Kingdom (10).
True, presumptive national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir may have done so well in the last elections because he ran on a law-and-order ticket that resonated among a population feeling increasingly insecure and unsafe. But according to The Swiftest study, Israel – at least in comparison with other countries – is safer than most.
The study – based on data culled from reports put out by numerous organizations such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, Our World in Data and the WorldRiskReport – came up with a “travel safety index” based on several per capita criteria: the number of homicide deaths, road traffic deaths, unintentional poisoning deaths, death from poor hygiene conditions, life years lost due to communicable disease, life years lost due to injury and a country’s likelihood to be hit by a natural disaster. Death or injury as a result of acts of terror, it is assumed, falls under either the homicide or life years lost to injury categories.
Israel’s overall safety index was -60.22, giving it a grade of A. Only Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Singapore were considered safer, with the last two countries earning an A+ grade.
Singapore, the study says, is “the least deadly country for tourists. With a very low homicide rate, road death rate and natural disaster risk, Singapore is an excellent choice for travellers regarding safety. What makes Singapore so safe? Well, crime does not pay in Singapore. The consequences for committing crimes in Singapore are incredibly high, even for ‘smaller crimes.’ This, combined with high surveillance and police presence, makes Singapore the world’s safest country for travel.”
And the least safe countries to visit? South Africa – by a wide margin, mainly because of its homicide rate of 36.4 murdered for every 100,000 people. According to the report, about 68 people are murdered every day in this country of 60 million.
India followed South Africa as the second deadliest destination for tourists – not because of homicide, but rather because of deaths caused by poor hygiene conditions (18.6 per 100,000), years lost to communicable diseases, and the risk of natural disasters.
We call upon the UK Government to officially recognise Jerusalem is Israel's capital and move its embassy to Jerusalem.
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