Israel (Yisra'el in the local form) is located along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea bordering Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. The country is made up of 8 million people.75.6% of the population are Jewish, 18.6% are Muslim and 2% are Christian. The country was founded in 1948 as an evolution of the then-British Mandate of Palestine. It has a highly developed economy; particularly in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors and a thriving tourism industry. The capital city is Jerusalem. Israel is a Parliamentary Republic with a President as head of state and a unicameral legislative branch known as the Knesset. Since its founding, Israel has had strong political ties to the United States

A member of the OSCE Mediterranean Partners, Israel’s connection with the OSCE dates back to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. The Act recognized the close relationship between European Security and Mediterranean security, and in 1994 a contact group was formed to formally involve the southern Mediterranean countries with the OSCE.  Israel has welcomed its partnership with the OSCE both as an opportunity to share best practices and as an important forum for regional cooperation.  With the OSCE and the International Organization for Migration cosponsoring, Israel hosted an international seminar on "The Critical Role of the Judiciary in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings" in Haifa in 2013. This seminar included judges from across the OSCE region and the Mediterranean Partners region. In 2012, an OSCE project allowed for an Israel diplomat to visit the OSCE Secretariat and the Office of the Representative of the Freedom of the Media for three months, to deepen the diplomat’s knowledge and understanding of the OSCE’s work.  Four Israelis have attended OSCE Border Management Staff College.