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THE HOLY LAND
Published in 2018
THE essential guide to living in Israel
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 3
The Holy Land
The Essential Guide to Living in Israel
ISRAEL BRIEF
MOVING TO ISRAEL
GETTING SETTLED
JUDAISM
CHRISTIANITY
GETTING AROUND
OTHER RELIGIONS
mUCH THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
I truly appreciate you all
GERARD W. MAGEE Jr.
ANGELA Simonson-Hijarunguru
Joshua Hendricks
JONATHAN SCHOOLS
KELLY LISSOLO
sTELA sEARS
William clark
hOLLY mARTIN
DEW Tiantawach
Marla clark
MICHAEL PEPPLE
MICHELLE HELLER
David Meadows
nona azimov
Thank you so much for your time, support, words of
encouragement, ideas or constructive criticism. I am so grateful!
Love,
Catalina Magee,
Force Protection Detachment Executive Assistant
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 5
FOREWORD
Audience - Unofficial for American Embassy in Israel
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be translated,
reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, including
photocopying, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without
the express written permission of
Force Protection Detachment`s
Chief.
Every effort has been made to
ensure that the information in this
book was correct at the time of
going to press. However, some
details, such as telephone numbers,
opening hours, prices, websites
and travel information, are liable to
change.
Map references have been included,
and are as accurate as possible, but
it is always advisable to consult the
website, Google maps or contact
the listing direct to be certain of the
exact location.
The author of this publication,
Catalina Magee, is not responsible
for any consequences arising from
the use of this book, nor for any
material or any third party websites,
and hereby disclaim any liability, cost
or expense suffered in connection
with the use of this book caused by
errors, omissions or misleading
information resulting from
negligence, accident or any cause.
The publication had no proofreaders;
therefore, please excuse any
misspells or grammar errors.
This book has been put together by
Force Protection Detachment Admin.
Assistant Catalina Magee, specifically
for the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, as
a gift of appreciation for our great
community.
This publication contains tried-andtested
information, personal recommendations
and first-hand advice
compiled by expats who live in Tel
Aviv.
If you are new to Israel, chances are,
this essential guide to living here
will become your ‘go-to’ resource for
everything as you navigate your way
around this fantastic country.
If you have been here for a while, it
offers you updated recommendations
on the latest expat haunts,
including shops, sporting venues,
classes, networks, getting settled
and volunteering opportunities.
Countless volunteering hours and
sleepless nights have been invested
in this project.
The core project team have worked
tirelessly to keep this project moving
forward and to make it a success. We
extend our grateful thanks to everyone
who contributed, even if only
with words of encouragement.
It has been a wonderful opportunity
to be given the chance to make a
difference in someone`s life and their
experience of the Holy Land. This
place means so much to me, and I
hope you`ll love it just as much.
Everyone that has worked on this
project hopes that you will find this
essential guide to living in Israel a
source of support, encouragement
and confidence, as you find a way
around this incredible and everchanging
country. I am so excited
for you, and wishing you the best
assignment of your life.
ISRAEL BRIEF
WELCOME
The State of Israel was
established on May 14, 1948.
The name Israel means “one
who struggles with God” and
is rooted in the Biblical
passage 32.:28 where Jacob is
renamed Israel after
struggling with an unnamed
assailant.
Israel has a total area of
20,770 sq km -approximately
the same size as the U.S.
state of New Jersey.
Israel is bordered by Lebanon
and Syria in the north, Jordan
and the West Bank in the
east, and Egypt and the Gaza
Strip in the south-west, and
has coastlines on the
Mediterranean in the west
and the Gulf of Eilat (also
known as the Gulf of Aqaba)
in the south.
The highest point in Israel is
Mt. Meron (3,692 ft/1,125 m)
near Safed. The lowest point
(on land) on the earth is at
the Dead Sea, on the border of
Jordan and Israel. The Dead
Sea lies at 1,312 feet (400
meters) below sea level.
The most important river in
Israel is the Jordan. Other
bodies of water include the
Sea of Galilee and the Dead
Sea (part of which belongs to
neighboring Jordan).
Owing to interior drainage
and a high rate of
evaporation, the waters of the
Dead Sea contain about eight
times as much salt as the
ocean.
Standard time: 3 hours ahead
of GMT Israel operates
Daylight Saving Time, when
the clocks are 3 hours ahead
of Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT+3). Daylight Saving Time
starts at 02:00 a.m. on the
Friday before the last Sunday
of March and ends at 02:00
a.m. on the last Sunday of
October.
Israel enjoys long, warm
summers (April-October) and
generally mild
winters (November-March),
with cooler weather in hilly
region such as Jerusalem
and Safed.
Rainfall is relatively heavy in
the north and center of the
country with much less in
the northern Negev desert
and negligible amounts in
the southern areas.
Weather extremes range
from occasional winter
snowfall in the mountain
regions to periodic
oppressively hot dry winds
that send temperatures
soaring, particularly in the
summer .
The design of the flag of the State of Israel
was inspired by the Jewish prayer shawl
(tallit). The Star (or Shield) of David is a
common symbol of the people of Israel
dating from Biblical times. The flag was
adopted officially on October 28, 1948.
The Hebrew calendar is based on the
semi- lunar year; therefore Jewish
holidays fall on different Gregorian dates
each year .
Some say that the Jewish year represents
the number of years since creation,
calculated by adding up the ages of
people in the Bible back to the time of
creation.
However, this doesn’t mean the universe
has existed for only 5,700 years as we
understand years. Many Orthodox Jews
acknowledge that the first 6 "days" of
creation aren’t necessarily 24-hour days
(indeed, a 24-hour day would be
meaningless until the creation of the
sun on the 4th "day").
Israel is home to a diverse population
from many ethnic, religious, cultural and
social backgrounds.
Of its more than 8.5 million inhabitants,
over 75% are Jews (over half are nativeborn
and mostly first and second
generation) while the rest come from
some 80 countries around the world;
about 20% are Arabs of whom the
majority are Muslim and the remaining
5% are Christians, Druze and Circassian .
Recommended Reading:
The Israelis, Donna Rosenthal
(Amazon.com)
As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward toward the East,
An eye still watches toward Zion.
Our hope has not yet been lost,
The two thousand year old hope,
To be a free nation in our own homeland,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Kol 'od balevav P'nimah -
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah
Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah
Ayin l'tzion tzofiyah.
Od lo avdah tikvatenu
Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim:
Li'hyot am chofshi b'artzenu
Eretz Tzion Virushalayim.
The title of the national anthem, HATIKVA,
means "The Hope." It was written by
Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909), who
moved to Palestine in 1882 from Galicia.
The melody was arranged by Samuel
Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia, from
a musical theme in Smetana's "Moldau"
that is partly based on a Scandinavian
folk song. Hatikva expresses the hope of
the Jewish people that they would
someday return to the land (Zion) of their
forefathers as prophesied in the Hebrew
Bible. The Jewish people were exiled from
Israel in 70 C.E. by the Roman army led by
Titus who destroyed the Temple in
Jerusalem. During the two thousand
years of exile, the Jewish people said
special daily prayers for return to Israel
while facing the East in the direction of
Jerusalem. Zion is synonymous with
Israel and Jerusalem.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 9
Within generations, the Israelites went from being
sons of the same person, Jacob, to a kingdom with
some of the greatest rulers in history. This lesson
details how that transformation happened.
Jacob's Sons to Exodus
While the Jews may consider Abraham to be their
patriarch, or founding father, it is really with the
story of Jacob and his sons that the nation of
Israel finds its beginning. After being sold into
slavery in Egypt, Jacob's favorite son, Joseph,
manages to convince the pharaoh of his use as an
advisor, and wins the right for his family, including
Jacob and Joseph's 11 brothers, to come to Egypt
to live.
However, within a few generations, the relationship
between the Israelites, as they were known at this
point, and the Egyptians sours because it seems
that the Egyptians are losing control of their
country to so many immigrants. They are forced
into servitude until a Jew by the name of Moses
appears quite literally from the pharaoh's own
palace and demands their freedom.
The Egyptians suffer a number of plagues before
finally the Israelites get their freedom and leave
Egypt in a move known as the Exodus. However,
this move itself was not without serious issues.
The Egyptians tried to pursue the Israelites,
leading to Moses parting the seas to allow his
people to safely pass while trapping the pursuing
Egyptians. Alone in the desert, having balked at the
suggestion to conquer their Promised Land, where
God had guaranteed them a life, the Israelites have
to wander for 40 years for the entire generation
that came out of Egypt to pass away.
For Want of a King
With guidance from God, the Israelites manage to
conquer much of the Promised Land, a region that
is still disputed today between Israelis and
Palestinians, and build a society around their 12
tribes.
The 12 tribes were based on the 12 sons of Jacob,
and each was given a duty, whether to cultivate
land or serve as priests for the whole nation. The
tribe that served as priests was known as the
Levites and were forbidden from owning territory
as a tribe, unlike the other groups.
For some time, the Israelites existed in this theocracy,
living according to the laws of their religion, Judaism,
as interpreted by the Levite priests. However, with
time, the Israelites yearned for a king to unite them as
one nation against their enemies. This was especially
necessarily given the fact that the judges who settled
disputes within Israel were drawn from the Levites,
and the next in line to become judges were sons of
the prophet Samuel. Samuel's sons were dishonest,
wicked men, and the Israelites desperately wanted a
way around their authority. With time, God chose to
give them a king.
Three Kings and a Split
Unfortunately, for the Israelites, the man given as king
is Saul, who becomes a living embodiment for the
need for checks on kingly authority. Primarily, he
disobeys God's order, via Samuel, to kill all the
Amalekites, a group that the Israelites had been at war
with. Saul not only fails to execute the order, but then
lies about it. Samuel lets Saul know that he is no
longer favored by God and abandons him.
About this time, the boy who would be the greatest
king in Jewish history, David, arrives. Born a shepherd,
he offers to slay the Philistine giant Goliath using only
a sling and stones. David becomes close friends with
Saul's son, Jonathan, yet Saul grows jealous of David,
sending him on riskier and riskier missions.
However, it is Saul and Jonathan who are destined to
die at a great battle, leaving David as king. David
proves his worth by following the commandments,
expanding the kingdom, and even writes the Psalms.
However, with time, he gets too cocky. Soon, he lusts
after married women, sending their husbands on
impossible missions of their own. Eventually, David is
too old to rule, and the crown is passed to one of his
sons, Solomon.
If David is remembered in Jewish tradition for the
blessings and punishments of following God's law,
then Solomon is remembered for making the smartest
request possible of any king. In a dream, God asks
him what he wants, and Solomon states that his one
desire is for wisdom by which to rule better. The
stories of Solomon's wisdom fill the holy texts of
Abrahamic religions.
Most famously, two women arguing over a baby come
to his court. Both claim to be the mother, so Solomon
says since no easy solution is possible, just cut the
baby in half and give each woman half. The real
mother falls to her knees in tears, saying that the
other woman can have the child, just not to hurt it.
Solomon recognizes immediately who the real mother
is and awards her custody.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 11
"ISRAEL HAS ITS ATTRACTIONS. IT'S THE MOST DRAMATIC COUNTRY IN THE
WORLD. EVERYBODY'S ENGAGED. EVERYBODY ARGUES. WHEN I LEAVE
ISRAEL, I GET A LITTLE BIT BORED, YOU KNOW?"
- Shimon Peres
Israel is a parliamentary democracy
based on universal suffrage and
proportional representation. Israel's
legislative branch is a 120-member
parliament known as the Knesset.
Membership in the Knesset is allocated
to parties based on their proportion of
the vote. Elections to the Knesset are
normally held every four years, but the
Knesset can decide to dissolve itself
ahead of time by a simple majority,
known as a vote of no-confidence. As of
this writing, in the 20th Knesset, there
are 11 Arab and Druze and 27 female
members.
Israel's legal system is a mixed system,
influenced by Anglo-American,
Continental and Jewish law principles. As
for the Anglo-American influence, the
Israeli legal system is based on the
principle of stare-decisis (precedent). It is
an adversarial system, not an
inquisitorial one, in the sense that the
parties (e.g. plaintiff and defendant) are
the ones that bring the evidence before
the court. The court does not conduct any
independent investigation on the case.
There is no jury in Israeli courts, and
cases are decided upon by professional
judges.
The Judiciary branch of Israel is made of
a 3-tier system of courts: at the lowest
level are the Magistrate Courts, situated
in most cities. Above them, serving both
as an appellate court and as a court of
first instance are the District Courts (6 of
them, situated in the 6 judicial districts of
Jerusalem,
Page 6 of 38
South, Tel Aviv, Centre, Haifa and
Nazareth). At the top of the judicial
pyramid is the Supreme Court seated in
Jerusalem.
Religious tribunals (Jewish, Islamic
Sharia'a, Druze and Christian) have
exclusive jurisdiction on annulment of
marriages.
While the Israel Declaration of
Independence describes the country as a
"Jewish state," freedom of religion and
the inviolability of the holy places and
centers of worship for all religions are
guaranteed by law. Israeli Arabs and
other non-Jews are generally free to
practice their religions.
The Old City in Jerusalem reflects this
diversity perhaps better than any other
area of Israel, with its four quarters:
Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish.
Communities carried over from the
British Mandate include Eastern
Orthodox, Latin, Greek, Armenian and
Syrian (Catholic), Gregorian, Chaldean
(Uniate), Melkite, Maronite, Syrian
Orthodox, and Jewish. Three more
religious communities have since been
recognized - the Druze, the Evangelical
Episcopals, and Baha'i. The Bah’ai Center
in Haifa is world renown.
Relations among different religious
groups--between Jews and non-Jews,
between Christians and Muslims, and
among the different streams of Judaism-
-often are strained. Many Jewish citizens
object to the exclusive control the
Orthodox Jewish authorities have over
Jewish marriages, divorces, and most
burials.
This has been, at times, a source of
serious controversy in society. Tensions
between Jews and non-Jews are the
result of historical grievances, cultural
and religious differences, and are
compounded by governmental and
societal discrimination against Israeli-
Arabs.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 13
Education is a priority in Israel. A quarter of
Israel's workforce holds university degrees -
ranking third in the industrialized world, after
the United States and Holland - and 12 percent
hold advanced degrees. Israel has the highest
ratio of university degrees to the population in
the world.
The multicultural nature of Israel's society is
accommodated within the framework of the
education system.
Accordingly, schools are divided into four
groups: state schools, attended by the majority
of pupils; state religious schools, which
emphasize Jewish studies, tradition and
observance; Arab and Druze schools, with
instruction in Arabic and special focus on Arab
and Druze history, religion and culture and
private schools, which operate under various
religious and international auspices. Education
is compulsory from age 6 to 16 and is free up to
the age 18.
The Israeli school system is organized into
kindergartens, 6-year primary schools, 3-year
junior secondary schools, and 3-year senior
secondary schools, after which a
comprehensive examination is offered for
university admissions. There are seven
university-level institutions in Israel, a number
of regional colleges, and an Open University
program.
University Students by Field of Study (2011)
(Total 120,552 students in 7 universities)
Humanities
21.5%
Social Sciences
23.3%
Science and mathematics
15.6%
Engineering
14.9%
Medicine
10.9%
Page 8 of 38
Law
7.8%
Business & Administration
4.7%
Agriculture
Israel's military consists of a unified Israel
Defense Forces (IDF), known in Hebrew by the
acronym Tzahal.
Historically, there have been no separate Israeli
military services; the Navy and Air Force are
subordinate to the Army. There are other
paramilitary government agencies which deal
with different aspects of Israel's security (such
as MAGAV and the Shin Bet).
The IDF is considered one of the strongest
military forces in the Middle East and ranks
among the most battle-trained armed forces in
the world, having had to defend the country in
five major wars.
The IDF's main resource is the training quality
of its soldiers, but it also relies heavily on hightech
weapons systems (both developed and
manufactured in Israel for its specific needs,
and also largely imported from the United
States), and expert manpower, rather than
possession of overwhelming manpower.
Most Israelis, males and females, are drafted
into the military at the age of 18. Exceptions are
Israeli Arabs, confirmed pacifists, and women
who declare themselves religiously observant.
Compulsory service is three years for men, and
24 months for women.
Circassians and (Muslim) Bedouin actively
enlist in the IDF. Since 1956, Druze men have
been conscripted in the same way as Jewish
men, at the request of the Druze community.
Following compulsory service, Israeli men
become part of the IDF reserve forces, and are
usually required to serve several weeks every
year as reservists, until their 40's.
Recommended Viewing: Claude Lanzman
directed a documentary called “Tzahal”, number
3 in a trilogy. He was provided extraordinary
access to facilities and personnel making for a
very interesting film.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 15
The IDF operates air, ground and naval forces in
order to protect Israel against foreign armies
and terrorists. The IDF elite units are called
Sayeret. The most famous Sayeret units are
Sayeret Matkal and Shayetet-13 (Navy Seals).
THE INTELLIGENCE BRANCH (AMAN)
INFANTRY BRIGADES (Paratroopers, Golani,
Givati, Nahal, Mechanics Infantry)
ARMORED CORPS AND ARTILLERY CORPS
ENGINEERING CORPS
AIR FORCE
NAVY
ISRAELI POLICE: a civilian force. As most other
police forces in the world, their duties include
crime fighting, traffic control and maintaining
public safety.
BORDER POLICE ("MAGAV"): the combat arm of the
Israeli Police. Border Police troops are trained by
the IDF in high infantry level but serve under
the police. They are deployed in the disputed
territories and in the countryside. They are also
deployed on the borders of Israel.
YAMAM is the elite civilian counter-terrorism
unit of Israel.
MASHAZ (Civilian Guard): a volunteer
organization of citizens which assists in daily
police work. Members are trained to provide the
initial response to a security situation until the
police arrive. MASHAZ volunteers are armed with
M1 Carbine and personal handguns. The
MASHAZ also have special units, but their
members require additional training and a
higher level of commitment.
SHIN BET/SHABAK (Israel Internal Security
Service): Shin-Bet's duties are to protect
ministers and high public officials (such as the
president or the head of police), to prevent the
violent insurrection, to gather intelligence, to
pinpoint terrorist cells and prevent them from
causing damage. Shin-Bet activities are
classified.
MOSSAD (Hebrew: "Institute for Intelligence and
Special Tasks"): the Mossad is an Israeli
intelligence agency. It is responsible for
intelligence collection, covert action (including
paramilitary activities and assassinations) and
counter-terrorism. Its focus is on Arab nations
and organizations throughout the world.
LOTAR Eilat: a special reserve unit for counterterror
which based in Eilat.
KABATs (Security Officers): public officials
trained in combat and able to handle terrorist
threats. The KABATs, besides supplying an initial
response to threats, are experts in security
issues. When they are deployed in a small town
or village, they are responsible for that town or
village's defense.
SHABAS - Prison service: the SHABAS is
responsible for guarding Israeli prisons and
making sure that the prisoners do not escape.
The SHABAS elite unit is called "Metzada" and is
specialized for hostage situations inside
prisons.
MAGEN DAVID ADOM: Israeli first aid
organization responsible for emergency
medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank
services. The name means "Red Star of David".
MECHABEY ESH (Fire department): Israeli
firefighters. They are responsible for
extinguishing fires and extracting people
trapped in structures (ranging from stuck
elevators to collapsed buildings).
PIKUD HAOREF RESCUE TEAM: a military rescue
team which handles large-scale civilian
disasters such as earthquakes, collapsing
buildings and missile attacks on cities.
ZAKA - Hessed Shel Emet ("True Grace"): a
volunteer organization mostly comprised of
Haredi Jews who assume the duty of collecting
human remains following a disaster, to provide
those remains a proper Jewish burial. ZAKA has
gained much positive publicity for its efforts in
handling remains of victims of suicide
bombings.
Local Rescue teams: A rescue team on each of
the Galil, the Golan Heights and the Negev
rescues lost travelers and tourists. (We hope
you don’t require their assistance on the Tour!)
Recently, a team of professors, commanders and
former judges, led by Tel Aviv University head of
Ethics cathedra, Professor Assa Kasher, developed
a code of conduct which emphasizes the right
behavior in low intensity warfare against
terrorists, where soldiers must operate within a
civilian population. Reserve units and regular
units alike are taught the following eleven rules of
conduct, which are an addition to the more
general IDF Spirit:
Military action can only be taken against military
targets.
The use of force must be proportional.
Soldiers may only use weaponry they were
issued by the IDF.
Anyone who surrenders cannot be attacked.
Only those who are properly trained can
interrogate prisoners.
Soldiers must accord dignity and respect to the
Palestinian population and those arrested.
Soldiers must give appropriate medical care,
when conditions allow, to oneself and one's
enemy.
Pillaging is absolutely and totally illegal.
Soldiers must show proper respect for religious
and cultural sites and artifacts.
Soldiers must protect international aid workers,
including their property and vehicles.
Soldiers must report all violations of this code.
The Israeli strategy, its expertise in counterterrorism
is naturally at the heart of the
Chameleon Security Tour. Boaz Ganor of the
Institute for Counter Terrorism writes that,
“since its establishment, the state of Israel has
had to cope with waves of terrorism and
terrorist activity at its borders, inside Israel
itself and in the Territories. These terror attacks
have necessitated the swift and consistent
development of technological means, military
doctrines, and general policy for counter
terrorism. Many years of experience in dealing
with terror and terrorist activity has crystallized
into accepted Israeli strategy.”
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 17
The Mossad is one of the world's most wellknown
intelligence agencies, and is often
viewed in the same regard as the CIA and MI6. It
is known for its efficiency, and many believe it
has made a large contribution to the stability
and security of Israel.
Mossad was formed in December 1949 as the
"Central Institute for Coordination", at the
recommendation of Reuven Shiloah to Prime
Minister David Ben Gurion. Shiloah desired a
central body to coordinate and improve
cooperation between the existing security
services - the Army's Intelligence Department
(AMAN), the General Security Service (GSS or
"Shabak") and the Foreign Office's "political
department". In March 1951 it was reorganized,
and made a part of the Prime Minister's Office,
reporting directly to the Prime Minister. Its
current staff is estimated at approximately
1,200.
The Mossad is headquartered in Tel Aviv and
has eight departments:
Collections Department is the largest, with
responsibility for espionage operations.
Political Action and Liaison Department
conducts political activities and liaison with
friendly foreign intelligence services and with
nations with which Israel does not have normal
diplomatic relations.
Special Operations Division (Metsada)
conducts assassination, sabotage, and
paramilitary projects.
LAP (Lohamah Psichlogit) Department is
responsible for psychological warfare,
propaganda and deception operations.
Research Department is responsible for
intelligence synthesis.
Technology Department is responsible for
development of technologies to support Mossad
operations.
Mossad is a civilian service, and does not use
military ranks, although most of the Mossad's
staff have served in the Israeli Defense Force.
The assassination of the Hamas leader
Mahmoud al-Mabhouhin in Dubai by a Mossad
hit squad (the Mossad has never publically
admitted to the hit) in January 2010 captured
world headlines.
Controversy also swirls around Stuxnet, the
computer worm responsible for partially disabling
Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant. Some analysts are
certain Stuxnet is the product of an Israel-U.S.
cooperative effort, others point to a China
connection. UNIT 8200, an elite technology intel
unit of the IDF Intelligence Corps, is the largest
unit of the IDF, analogous to the NSA in the United
States, and described as a “hot bed for the best
brains in Israel.” UNIT 8200 was allegedly
responsible for disabling Syrian anti aircraft
defenses as part of the September 2007 attack by
the IAF that destroyed a nuclear reactor in
northern Syria.
The YAMAM is self-dependent, training its own
operators in all fields, such as sniping, recon, dog
operating, bomb disposal, etc. As a result, the
YAMAM has a very rapid deployment time and
high coordination between various squads
(sniping squad, entry team, engagement force,
etc.). The YAMAM's primary duties are:
Hostage rescue (terrorist events).
Hostage rescue (criminal events).
Counter terrorism (preventative operations).
SWAT duties - handling dangerous criminals.
Undercover police operations.
VIP security.
Most of the YAMAM's activity is classified, and
published YAMAM operations are often credited to
other units. Nevertheless, the YAMAM enjoys a
high reputation among SF professionals and the
Israeli public.
The YAMAM was established after the Maalot
massacre, where a failed operation by military
special forces units ended with 21 children
murdered before the terrorists were killed. Since
hostage rescue in friendly territory is different
from counter-terrorism in hostile areas, it was
decided to establish an elite civilian force, which
develops and practices a special CQB (Close
Quarters Battles) doctrine for counter-terrorism
operations in friendly territory and hostage
rescue. In late 1974 the YAMAM was established
and falls under the direct jurisdiction of a special
forces counter-terrorism unit of the MAGAV — the
combat arm of the police.
Israel's economy is larger than all of its
immediate neighbors combined. Israel is a
technologically advanced market economy with
a highly skilled and well-educated workforce.
Cultural life is vibrant, restaurants and beaches
are crowded, and there is a lot of business being
conducted. The United States is Israel's largest
trading partner, and there are opportunities for
U.S. exporters. In 2010, Israel was granted
membership in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, the OECD. A
recognized leader in high-tech industries,
Israel's investment in research and
development is higher than any single OECD
country.
Some basic statistics from 2012:
Gross Domestic Product $387 billion (nominal
2017)
Exports US$ 62.5 B
Imports US$ 70.2 B
Tourists Arriving 3.6 million (2017) $5.8 Billion
revenue
Air Freight 275,870 tons
Electricity Productions 61 B kilowatt hours
Private automobiles 7.2 million
Unemployment 4.0%
Electric Car Grid Project
The California-based company Better Place
constructed an extensive grid of electric car
recharge stations across Israel in the hope to
launch it into oil independecy. Although the
company eventually filed for bankruptcy, the
grid is active and there are rumors that Tesla
may bring its electric car to Israel.
Gas Reserve Discoveries
In 2009, 60 miles off the Mediterranean coast of
Haifa, the Tamar field was discovered, with 8.4
trillion cubic feet of natural gas. In 2010, the
Leviathan was discovered also off the coast of
Haifa, the largest gas find of the decade with 16
trillion cu ft of gas estimated to be worth some
$95 billion. The expectation is that these gas
finds will support Israel’s gas needs for the next
100 years and transform the nation into an
energy exporter.
Securities trading in Israel dates back to 1935,
when the Anglo-Palestine Bank Ltd., together with
pre-state Israel's leading banks and brokerage
firms, founded the Exchange Bureau for Securities,
which acted as an unofficial stock exchange.
Trading and listings increased over the next
decade, and when Israel was founded in 1948, the
authorities made an effort to establish an official
bourse. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was
incorporated and began operations in 1953. A
decade later, a group of bourse members
established the TASE Clearing House Ltd. In 1968,
the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, enacted the
Securities Law, which created a solid regulatory
framework for the TASE operations. In 1983, the
Exchange moved to its current location at Ahad
Ha'Am Street in Tel Aviv.
Among the members of the TASE are 12 Israeli
banks and 14 brokerage firms. The Bank of Israel
is also an Exchange member and nominates one
of its senior officials as a member of the TASE's
board of directors.
The TASE trades shares of more than 650 listed
companies in a range of industries, offering a
broad opportunity for international investors. More
than 20 TASE-listed companies are also listed on
exchanges in other countries, mostly on the
Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. Foreign
entities invested more than $3 billion in the TASE,
over 5% of the total market value of stocks traded
on the TASE. Outside the United States and
Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ
listed companies. The credit rating assigned to
Israel by Moody's for 2010 is A-1, and its shortterm
credit rating is P1, their highest rating
available for short-term credit.
In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number
of startup companies than any other country in
the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly
in hi-tech). And Israel is ranked #2 in the world for
venture capital funds right behind the US with 70
active VCs and 220 international investing in
Israel.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 19
"ISRAEL WAS NOT CREATED IN ORDER TO DISAPPEAR - ISRAEL WILL ENDURE
AND FLOURISH. IT IS THE CHILD OF HOPE AND HOME OF THE BRAVE. IT CAN
NEITHER BE BROKEN BY ADVERSITY NOR DEMORALIZED BY SUCCESS. IT
CARRIES THE SHIELD OF DEMOCRACY AND IT HONORS THE SWORD OF
FREEDOM."
-John Kennedy
The business environment and style in Israel
will seem familiar to American businesses, but
personal relationships can play a relatively
larger role within Israel's tight-knit population
than in the United States (see article below).
Appointments can be made on fairly short
notice, but punctuality is desired. Usually,
Israelis arrive well prepared for meetings and
are very direct.
Israelis are familiar with the fact that most U.S.
businesspeople dress formally for meetings.
However, this does not mean they will be
dressed formally, especially in the summer
months when short shirts and no ties are the
norm. Business suits are appropriate for
meetings with VIPs, some private sector
companies, and senior government officials.
Most businesses and government offices are
open 40-45 hours/week, Sunday thru Thursday.
It may be possible to schedule business
appointments for Friday morning, but no
appointments or business are done on
Saturdays. Common office hours are from 8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Israelis, Americans, Europeans and Asians all
view space, time and values from a different place.
If we are all to expect the Israeli, or the Japanese
or the French to act, to behave in the exact
manner - then we will be greatly disappointed!
Many business people from the States come to
Israel expecting to do business as if they were still
in New York, California or Texas. The smiles and
handshakes look the same, even the suits and
ties, but after a few minutes have passed, both
sides, which have come together with great
respect and mutual admiration - feel something is
not right!
The Israeli, who is often perceived as being
arrogant, aggressive and pushy, is actually being
direct and honest. And the American, European
and Asian, who are seen by the Israeli as being
artificial, phony and weak - are actually displaying
politeness and respect.
If both sides are to go into a commercial venture,
without taking the time to understand each
other’s cultural traits - they are heading for
disaster!To be successful in business with an
Israeli, you must understand how they see you
and where they come from. Israeli society is what
is referred to as a polychronic culture
(relationship-oriented), in contrast to American,
British or German culture which is monochronic
(rule-oriented). The Israeli culture is relationshiporiented,
and emotions are primary.
Taken from:
http://www.israelmarketing.com/doingbusiness.
html)
Aviation & Aerospace
Medical Device and Supplies
Automotive
Agrotechnology
Software
Environmental Technology
Cosmetics & Toiletries
Safety & Security
Electronics
Optics
Telecommunications
Hardware & D.I.Y
Biotechnology
Subcontracting
Film Industry
High-Tech Start Ups
Packaging
Fashion & Textiles
Tourism
Office Supplies
On December 10, 2005 Robert J. Aumann of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem received the
Nobel Prize in Economics for 2005 with Thomas C.
Schelling of the University of Maryland "for having
enhanced our understanding of conflict and
cooperation through game-theory analysis."
Professor Aumann is the eighth Israeli to win a
Nobel Prize.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 21
ISRAEL21c is a not-for-profit corporation
organized under the laws of California that
works with existing institutions and the media
to inform Americans about 21st century Israel,
its people, its institutions and its contributions
to global society.
Israel leads the world in the number of
scientists and technicians in the workforce, with
145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over
70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With
over 25% of its work force employed in technical
professions.
Israel places first in this category as well. Israel
produces more scientific papers per capita than
any other nation by a large margin -109 per
10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per
capita rates of patents filed.
The first PC anti-virus was developed in Israel
in 1979 by the same company that developed
the Melissa anti-virus program.
The world's most predominant company in
internet firewall safety systems is Check Point,
an Israeli company that controls 40% of the
world's market.
AOL's instant message program was designed
by an Israeli software company.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D
facilities outside the U.S. in Israel.
Motorola built its largest development center
worldwide in Israel.
Windows NT software was developed by
Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was
designed in Israel at Intel.
The Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) was
established in 1953 and is today Israel’s largest
aerospace and defense company, with a wide
range of products from UAVs, satellites, aircraft,
missile systems and more. Its close relationship
with the IDF affords it battle tested experience for
R&D efforts.
The Tavor bullpup 5.56mm assault rifle was
developed by IWI in cooperation with IDF to be
reliable and accurate under extreme conditions.
Designs with ergonomics in mind, it is lighter and
shorter than the AK-47 and has built in laser sight.
Corner shot is an innovative grenade launcher
and handgun designed for urban combat that can
as its name implies shoot around corners.
Many countries produce and use Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAV)s and Israel is no exception.
In 2007, IAI debuted the Heron or Eitan, the largest
UAV on the market with a wingspan of a Boeing
737. Link to news video.
There are five major medical centers in Israel, in
addition to numerous local hospitals, laboratories
and clinics. The best known centers are Sourasky
Medical Centre/Tel Aviv, Hadassah/Jerusalem,
Rambam/Haifa and Shaare Zedek/Jerusalem.
These centers serve the entire population,
regardless of religion or ethnicity. Some say that
the Israeli ER is the great equalizer…
There are joint committees between the Israel
Ministry of Health (IMOH) and the Palestinian
Health Authority (PHA) with an aim of cooperation
on the various issues in the fields of health. These
include issues of public health, preventive
medicine, exchange of medical statistics; drug
and pharmaceutical as regards quality and safety
of drugs produced in Israel and in the Palestinian
authority, regulations for transportation of drugs
between Gaza, Judea-Samaria and Israel,
regulations regarding donations and import of
drugs; training programs for health and medical
personnel and referral of Palestinian patients to
Israeli hospitals for hospitalization and
ambulatory care. Such complementary medical
service in Israel is needed because of the lack of
certain facilities in areas of the Palestinian
autonomy. About 4,000 patients from Judea-
Samaria and Gaza are referred yearly for
hospitalization and about 8,600 patients from both
areas are referred yearly for ambulatory
procedures and therapeutic care.
Cooperation between Magen David Adam of Israel
and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Palestinian ambulance drivers get their training in
first aid and emergency medicine from Magen
David Adam instructors.
Magen David Adom (MDA) was organized in 1930
in Tel Aviv as a volunteer, "shoestring" operation
by a group of seven Israeli doctors, as a oneroom
emergency medical service.
1998 Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy Explosion Blood
units, paramedics
1995 Egio-Greece Earthquake Sheets and blankets
1994 December Djibouti Floods Medical aid,
medical corps, complete field hospital July
Rwanda Medical aid, medical corps, complete field
hospital.
In July of 1950, the Knesset (Israel's Parliament)
ratified the Magen David Adom Law, which
charged MDA with responsibility for:
Providing auxiliary service to Israel's Army
Medical Corps in wartime, including providing
emergency medical care for the wounded and
war refugees
Providing civilian emergency, medical, and
first-aid services and
temporary shelter in emergency situations
Maintaining a blood bank for civilian use.
Highlights of International Aid (as of 2010)
2010 - Haiti Earthquake Israel set up full field
hospital within two days, flying in 220 medical
specialists, a search and rescue team with
canine units, security, construction crews, and
communications and logistics experts.
2004 - 2005 S.E. Asia Tsunami Medical relief
team, medical supplies, and food supplies
Kenya Terrorist attack Blood units 7 Paramedics
Congo Volcanic eruption Distribution of medical
supplies; Two tons donated by Israel United
Kibbutz Movement
2001 USA Terrorist Attack Blood Units; India
Earthquake Paramedic Crew
2000 Ethiopia Starvation Donated food (including
baby food and flour), water, and medication. A
bank account for donations setup. Eritrea
Refugee Relief Food and basic medical
equipment
1999 Indonesia/Bali Blood Bank Fire Disaster
2400 Empty Single Blood Bags 55 Bottles of Anti-
AB Sera (Ortho and Gamma) A serum detecting
Hepatitis C and B Kosovo Refugee Relief
Paramedics, Mobile Field Hospitals, Blood Units,
Clothing Donations Turkey Earthquake 12
paramedics sent for Search and Rescue efforts
Kosovo Aid Rebuilding Blood Services MDA Blood
Bank Supervisor sent to provide technical
assistance Greece Earthquake Paramedics and
blood supplies;
Israeli scientists developed the first fully
computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic
instrumentation for breast cancer.
An Israeli company developed a computerized
system for ensuring proper administration of
medications, thus minimizing human error from
medical treatment. Every year in U.S. hospitals
7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
Israel's Givun imaging developed the first
ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a
pill. Used to view the small intestine from the
inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer
and digestive disorders.
Researchers in Israel developed a new device
that directly helps the heart pump blood, an
innovation with the potential to save lives among
those with congestive heart failure. The new
device is synchronized with the heart's
mechanical operations through a sophisticated
system of sensors.
Historically, the Ministry of Communications was
a division within the Ministry of Transportation in
charge of postal delivery as well as oversight of
the telephone and telegraph facilities that had
existed since the British Mandate period (1922-
1948). This division became the Ministry of Posts
in 1952, and the Ministry of Communications was
established in 1971. The Postal Authority began to
operate outside of the Ministry in 1987; and Bezeq,
the Israeli Telecommunications Company, was
founded in 1982.
There are 2.1 mobile cellular phones per
household in Israel, and 5.3 million (2010) Internet
users: Israel has the highest number of home
computers in the world, and ranks 2nd after
Canada, in internet users.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 23
Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and
Arabic. English is very widely spoken as a
second language, and with a recent influx of
immigrants from Eastern Europe (Romanians
being a large part), Russian has also become
commonplace. Three dozen languages are
spoken in Israel …including Bulgarian, Czech,
Egyptian Spoken Arabic (25,000), French (40,000),
Italian (7,249), Levantine Bedawi Spoken Arabic
(50,000), Malayalam (8,000), Marathi (8,000), North
Levantine Spoken Arabic (100,000), Northern
Uzbek, Samaritan, Samaritan Aramaic, Spanish
(60,000), Standard German (200,000), Turkish
(30,000), Western Farsi, Western Yiddish, many
other languages.
Hebrew is a linguistic cousin to Arabic, written
from right to left in printed and cursive forms. It
is not at all the same as Yiddish, which like
English, is a Germanic language in the Indo-
European language family.
The most famous work originally written in
Hebrew is the Tanakh, though the time at which
it was written is a matter of dispute (see dating
the Bible for details). The earliest extant copies
were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, written
between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st
century CE.
After the depletion of the Jewish population of
parts of Roman occupied Judea, it is believed
that Hebrew gradually ceased to be a spoken
language roughly around 200 CE, but has stayed
as the major written language throughout the
centuries. Not only religious, but texts for a large
variety of purposes: letters and contracts,
science, philosophy, medicine, poetry, protocols
of courts—all resorted to Hebrew, which thus
adapted itself to various new fields and
terminologies by borrowings and new
inventions.
The revival of Hebrew as a mother tongue was
initiated by the efforts of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
(1858-1922). He joined the Jewish national
movement and in 1881 emigrated to Eretz Israel,
then a province of the Ottoman Empire.
Motivated by the surrounding ideals of
renovation and rejection of the Diaspora "shtetl"
lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for
making the literary and liturgical language into
everyday spoken language.
The literacy rate in Israel is 97.1% (2009) and it
boasts the world’s second highest per capita of
new books published. Israelis are avid newspaper
readers, with more than 90% of Israeli adults
reading a newspaper at least once a week. Major
daily papers are in Hebrew; others are in Arabic,
English, French, Polish, Yiddish, Russian,
Romanian, Hungarian, and German.
Israel has several professional ballet and modern
dance companies, and folk dancing, which draws
upon the cultural heritage of many immigrant
groups, continues to be very popular. There is
great public interest in the theater; the repertoire
covers the entire range of classical and
contemporary drama in translation as well as
plays by Israeli authors. Of the three major
repertory companies, the most famous, Habimah,
was founded in 1917.
The arts are actively encouraged and supported by
the government. The Israeli Philharmonic
Orchestra performs throughout the country and
frequently tours abroad.
The Jerusalem Symphony and the New Israel
Opera also tour frequently, as do other musical
ensembles. Almost every municipality has a
chamber orchestra or ensemble, many boasting
the talents of gifted performers from the countries
of the former Soviet Union.
The origins of the Philharmonic are interesting. In
1935, all Jewish musicians in Germany were
dismissed from their jobs by the Nazi government.
Bronislaw Huberman a Polish-born concert
violinist from Vienna, recruited 75
instrumentalists from throughout Europe to
immigrate to Palestine with him to form a new
Jewish orchestra.
Arturo Toscanini conducted the Palestine
Symphony's first concert, in Tel Aviv on Dec. 26,
1936. The Italian maestro refused any payment,
declaring, "I am doing this for humanity."
With its 120 museums, Israel has more
museums per capita than any other country.
These include the Israel Museum in Jerusalem,
which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls along with
an extensive collection of regional
archaeological artifacts, art, and Jewish
religious and folk exhibits. Israel's museums
are relatively new, innovative, and interactive.
They display the discoveries of the past, of the
self, and of nationhood that are happening so
intensively every day in Israeli society.
Israel Museum (Jerusalem): Although it only
opened in 1965, in 3 decades the Israel Museum
has made its place on the world museum map.
Its greatest treasures, beautifully exhibited,
include a number of the Dead Sea Scrolls; a
dazzling, all-encompassing collection of
archaeological finds from Israel; a vast treasury
of world Judaica and costumes, including
reconstructions of the interiors of synagogues
brought to Israel from Italy, Germany, and
Cochin, India; and excellent collections of
primitive, pre-Colombian, European, and
modern art.
L. A. Mayer Memorial Museum of Islamic Art
(Jerusalem): The Museum was founded by the
late Mrs. Vera Bryce Salomons, realizing her
long-standing idea of giving expression to the
impressive artistic achievements of Israel's
Muslim neighbors. Many scholars of
international renown took part in the
establishment of the Museum, attracted to both
its research activities and to the challenge of
bridging the gap between the two cultures.
Bet Hatfutzot, The Diaspora Museum (Tel Aviv): Not a
museum in terms of displaying actual genuine
artifacts, Bet Hatfutzot is rather a state-of-the-art
multimedia exhibit that illustrates the histories of
Jewish communities throughout the world.
Eretz Israel Museum (Tel Aviv): This museum covers
many aspects of the land of Israel, including its
natural history, flora and fauna, archaeology,
folklore, and traditional crafts. Highlights include a
bazaar filled with craftspeople demonstrating such
skills from antiquity as glass blowing, olive pressing,
weaving, and pottery making; an extraordinary
collection of ancient glass; and excavations of a tell
(an ancient mound) located on the grounds of the
museum.
Tel Aviv Museum of Art: Notable for strong collections
of Israeli and contemporary European art, the
museum has just begun to exhibit its newest gift: the
Jaglom Collection of Impressionist and Post-
Impressionist Art.
Active artist colonies thrive in Safed, Jaffa, and Ein
Hod, and Israeli painters and sculptors exhibit works
worldwide.
Yad VaShem Memorial (Jerusalem): This large
complex is a memorial to the six million Jews
killed by the Nazis during World War II. Part of
the museum is a teaching experience, with
films, photographs, and documents pertaining
to the Holocaust; part is an archive in which
information about each individual victim will be
gathered and kept. A third part of the complex
consists of memorial structures, gardens, and
installations such as the Avenue of the
Righteous, in memory of those who risked their
lives to shelter Jews.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 25
The most pervasive culinary influences in Israel
are the cooking styles of the Middle-East, North
Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and Central and
Eastern Europe. So devoted are many to the food
of their origins that there has been little crossfertilization
between these varied styles. Of all
these styles, probably the best-known
throughout Israel is that of the Middle-East.
Because most Middle-Eastern inhabitants are
Moslems and are, like Jews, forbidden to eat
pork, Israelis have been readily able to adopt
these culinary styles to their own tables. In
addition to the indigenous cookery of Israeli
Arabs (themselves influenced by the
sophisticated cookery of Lebanon and Syria as
well as the country-style cuisine of the
Palestinians), Jews from Iran, Iraq, Kurdistan,
Syria, Egypt, Libya and Yemen have each made
unique contributions to the national table.
A major influence on Israeli cuisine comes from
the peoples of the Maghreb, the North African
nations of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Among
the most renowned dishes of these countries is
couscous. Originally devised by wandering
Berber tribesmen some 4,000 years ago,
couscous is a stew based on hard wheat
semolina, topped with simple-to-prepare meats
and a variety of vegetables and accompanied by
side dishes. As with nearly any stew, couscous
comes in an infinite number of varieties.
Algerian versions invariably include tomatoes;
Moroccan offerings rely on saffron; and Tunisian
couscous is highly spiced.
Also important to Middle-Eastern cookery is the
lavish use of herbs, spices and various
members of the onion family, including garlic.
In addition to the herbs and spices ordinarily
found on most Western tables, cardamom,
cinnamon, ginger, coriander, cumin, and mint
make their way into many dishes. Salads served
without parsley are considered barbaric, and
olives are considered such essential fare that
they are deemed equally appropriate at
breakfast or lunch as at dinner.
The cooking style of Central and Eastern Europe that
has made itself most evident in the Israeli kitchen is
that of the Yiddish kitchen.
Diverse but rarely subtle, these are the foods that
most Americans and Europeans consider to be
typically "Jewish". Much in evidence are dishes like
gefilte fish (fish balls made of finely minced carp,
pike or a mixture of both, generally served in their
own jelly and often accompanied by horseradish).
From Hungary, whose cookery is marked by the
liberal use of dozens of types of paprika, have come
goulash soup and stew. Polish cooking, from which
Israelis have adopted freely, features the heavy use
of sour cream and dill as main cooking ingredients.
Dishes from Poland include czarnina (duck soup);
cold fruit soups; krupnik (barley, potato and sour
cream soup); and a variety of stuffed cabbage rolls.
From Russia has come borscht, the famous beet
based soup that can be red or clear, cold or hot and
may contain meats, vegetables and sour cream.
From the Caucasian republics of Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan have come barbecue specialties such
as skewered lamb shishlik and tabaka, pressed fried
whole chicken served with a walnut-based sauce.
From Greece and Turkey have come such popular
dishes as moussaka (a baked eggplant, cheese and
meat pie); dolmas (stuffed grape leaves similar to the
Kurdish yaprah) and the incredibly light, honeysoaked
baklava pastries.
If any group of people have raised stand-up
dining to an art form it is the Israelis. It is not so
much that people are in too much of a rush to
sit down as that it is that wherever one wanders,
a feast of Middle-Eastern treats are being
hawked from street-side stands, and moveable
carts. The two most popular foods for stand-up
dining are felafel and shawarma. Felafel, deepfried
balls of chickpeas and seasonings, may be
of dubious nutritional value but when well
made they are delicious and fun to eat.
Shawarma, which is made from small, thin
pieces of lamb (not all that different than
Turkish donner-kebab) , beef or turkey meat that
are built up on a skewer in cylindrical form to a
height of about two feet (50 centimeters) and
then cooked on vertically rotating grills, is no
less a pleasure.
The felafel or shawarma are then placed in a
pita bread (nearly everything considered edible
in Israel eventually makes its way into a pita)
and seasoned with tchina, humous, a variety of
salads and seasonings. One of the "tricks" to
master is managing to put as much as is
possible into the pita and then to avoid having
the contents of your sandwich drip on your
clothing. This sounds easy enough until one
realizes that the number of condiments
available includes such diverse treats as
sauerkraut, red cabbage, marinated sweet and
hot peppers, an assortment of olives, pickles
made out of cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and
carrots and at least five different preparations of
eggplant. Some purists will put only tchina and
one salad on their felafel or shawarma. (source
Daniel Rogov)
Is There an "Israeli Cuisine"?
Although several food writers have praised what
they call "Israeli cuisine", the truth is that the
country has not developed a unique cuisine.
What those visitors are praising are the varied
styles of Mediterranean cookery, many of which
have reached high points within Israel but none
of which have come together to form what one
might call a "true" cuisine.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 27
MOVING TO ISRAEL
15 Things You Need To Know Before
You Travel To Israel :
Source: http://www.traveltomtom.net/destinations/middle-east/israel/17-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-travel-to-israel
Expensive
Country of hummus
You might not expect a dip to be healthy but hummus is actually pretty healthy and originates from Israel. With
every meal you will get a plate of hummus either as a starter or as a main dish. It is pretty normal for Israeli’s
to have a Hummus lunch, just some bread and a bowl of hummus. There is even a popular Instagram account
called Hot Dudes And Hummus, check it out if you are into it before your trip to Israel so you know what to
expect.
Sharing food
A trip to Israel is not complete if you didn’t try 281 dishes in 1 week! I am a big fan of 9 small plates on the
table and dipping your bread or vegetable in all of them. A good thing to know before you travel to Israel because
ordering a main dish for yourself is weird! :) Israelis love to share food and expect them to order a lot of
different things and just try everything. Ordering a main dish just for your self will frown eyebrows.
Kosher
Food has rules in Israel as far as that counts for religious people. You will often find restaurants stating that they
offer ‘kosher’ food, which basically means they stick to the rules of the religion, It is something like Halal food
for Muslims. Main rule is: don’t mix dairy with meat. In reality most young Israeli’s don’t care at all, but it is good
to know when you are planning a trip to Israel.
Fight for your right
Living in Israel is unlike in any other country and some expats explained me that they really had to get used to
some Israeli habits when they moved here. From your 18th almost everyone in Israel has to join the army for
at least 2 years, boys and girls. I saw kids walking around with a big gun in their hand who looked half my age,
but on the contrary also cute girls flirting with me in their uniform. The military service is compulsory but it will
definitely form you as a person. Israeli’s have a getting things done mentality and can be super direct! Get used
to it, this hands-on mentality is how they have been raised.
Safety issues
Israel will always be a country with issues and yes there are always people that will have their opinions about
the conflicts going on here. But I did not go to Israel to discuss this or to find out more about it. I was there to
see the beauty, the crazy and the holy! But of course I can understand that safety issues are important visiting
Israel tips. But just because Israel is a place of conflict that does not mean it isn’t safe. I have walked around on
the streets at night and during the day and went to remote areas in the South and visit the Dead Sea, but didn’t
stumble upon anything that made me feel unsafe. Security is so tight that it actually annoyed me like crazy
sometimes. Expect long lines at the airport security. I waited 40 minutes to go through security, got questioned
20 minutes before entering Israel and 10 minutes when I left. Why? I assume it contributes to make Israel a safe
place, which it definitely is nowadays. Safety issues? No worries…
This is may be one of the most important things to know before you travel to Israel. Wow Israel you really surprised me with your price levels! I
did not expect anything like this at all. I just came from Sydney and was used to pay $7 for a beer, but a beer in Tel Aviv can easily cost $10. Damn
it! Groceries are not cheap either. Apparently the salaries are not outrageous like in Australia so respect for those who are living here and have to
deal with it. Streetfood $6 - $11, mid range hotel room $130, car rental $70 per day, meal at the beach $35. Damn I wish you were cheaper Israel!
Tel Aviv looks better at night
When I walked around my first time in Tel Aviv I was not really impressed by its beauty. From my friends balcony I could overlook the city and that
didn’t really help either. Don’t expect stunning historical cities with beautiful squares like in Europe, during the day just go to the beach. The best
Israel travel tip is to see the this city at night. Tel Aviv’s beauty comes out at night and wow the stories are true! Damn what an epic nightlife has
this city! Unlimited bars and clubs and restaurants and the cool thing is that it is bustling everywhere. Inside the bars and outside on the patio.
There are so many people hanging around in the streets. Don’t get disappointed walking around Tel Aviv by day, wait till the sun goes down! ;)
Smoking in bars
It felt like I was stepping back in time when I entered a bar for the first time. Even in Thailand there are places where there is a strict law against
smoking in bars, but everywhere I went in Israel people were smoking cigarettes. For the die-hard smokers this will be paradise, but for me it was
hell. My clothes smelled so awful and my hair even worse. Every time I went out I had to take a shower when I came home in the middle of the
night! I felt like those nights back when I was 20. Well, there was no escaping I had to get used to it…
Bedouin culture still exists
The South of Israel is covered in sand, this is the playground of the Negev Desert. There is hardly any life possible
and obviously there are not that many places of interest but there are some oasis’ and since I had never
been to any of them it was cool to stay overnight at one of these places. The Bedouin culture is still alive here
and drinking tea and eating there the local food is a great experience. Want to experience this on your trip to
Israel? Check out the following Facebook Page: KfarHanokdim.il
Second biggest Burning Man Festival: MidBurn
The desert can be fierce with temperatures touching 40 degrees during the day and getting as low as 10 degrees
at night, but somehow this environment once a year lures 14,000 people to the middle of nowhere. Israel is
home to the second biggest Burning Man festival after the original one in Nevada, USA. I was lucky enough to
get tickets (with a foreign passport it is easy to get tickets for this sold-out festival) and to go wild in the desert
for 4 days straight. Put this festival in your agenda when you are planning to to visit Israel. What an unbelievable
experience, one of the most amazing festivals I have ever been to. It is like CrazyLand, everything imaginable
is possible! People come to Burning Man to explore what is beyond their borders in terms of sexuality, drugs,
meeting people, giving, taking, caring. I am not a virgin anymore, I am a Burner! Midburn I will be back… Read
here more about how I experienced the 10 principles of Burning Man at Mid Burn.
Themed beaches
Tel Aviv is a beach destination and that means the city center is only footsteps away from the ocean. But before
you walk to the beach make sure to ask someone where to go. This is one of those things to know before you
travel to Israel or things can get awkward. LOL! A lot of beaches are specifically catered for a group of people
whether religious, gay, families and even a beach where dogs are running around freely. Totally in line with the
crazy contrasts in this country the gay beach is next to the religious beach.
Second biggest Gay Pride
With all those gay people living in Tel Aviv it is no wonder that the city hosts the second biggest Gay Pride in
the world. A massive parade will roam the city streets of Tel Aviv in the early morning and end up on the beach
with a crazy party. Around 200.000 people witness the parade and party all day long. I was lucky to be part of it,
although totally straight I loved it to bits and pieces, what an epic party! When possible try to squeeze this into
your itinerary.
Craziest city in the world
Keeping up with the contrasts lets talk about Jerusalem! One of the best Israel travel tips: Tel Aviv plays, Jerusalem
prays. This city is a place you have never seen before. Why oh why did those religious people all chose
this city to be holy? The Western Wall is the most holy place in the world for Jews, only a stone throw away from
Jezus’ tomb for the Christians and the third most holy place for Muslims is just across the street. Damn it can
you make it even more complicated? Walking around here as a non-religious tourist you will definitely feel the
Holy Spirit. After a day strolling through the spectacular old city I ended up in a gay bar, can there be any more
contrasts? In need of a great guide? Check out Da’at Travel on Facebook.
Lowest point on earth
We all know about the highest point on earth, but not that many people realize that the Dead Sea
on the border of Israel and Jordan is the lowest point on earth; a crazy landscape to discover and for
sure worth the drive downhill. Enjoy the spectacular views from up top or jump in the only boat that
drives on the Dead Sea apart from a research vessel. How to arrange this boat ride on the Dead Sea?
Click here to get connected with Abraham Hostels as they are the unique seller of this tour.
Planning a trip to Israel
I was lucky enough to be chosen by Vibe Israel to join their yearly returning travel blogging press
trip and therefore I did not need to plan my trip to Israel. I wish though I had known a couple things
before I traveled to Israel and therefore I hope this list was helpful to you. I sincerely hope you will
consider this country to be your next destination and that my blogs about this controversial country
convinced you that it is an amazing place to travel and to experience its great contrasts. In the next
link you will find unusual things to do in Israel, not just the standard stuff but some epic adventures.
Find out what!
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 29
Importing Your Pet
DOGS – Breed restrictions
Under the Regulations for the Control of Dogs (Imports of
Dangerous Dogs), 5765 – 2004, it is prohibited to import a dog
belonging to a dangerous breed, as well as a dog that is the
result of a cross with a dangerous breed and that exhibits
behavior patterns and physical traits similar to those of a
dangerous breed. Excluding exceptional instances,
accompanied by a license from the director as set out in the
said regulation.
The prohibited dangerous breeds are:
• American Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Amstaff)
• Bull Terrier
• Argentinean Dogo
• Japanese Tosa
• Staffordshire Bull Terrier (English Staff)
• Pitt Bull Terrier
• Brazilian Fila and Rottweiler
________________________________________
Age Restrictions
The dog/cat shall be no less than 4 months of age upon arrival
in Israel, with the exception of arrivals from Oceania, Great
Britain, Japan, and Cyprus, from which the pet can be
imported at 3 months of age. Dogs coming from those
exceptional countries, if they were not vaccinated, must be
vaccinated against rabies within 5 days of their arrival in
Israel.
________________________________________
Microchip Requirements
All dogs and cats must be tagged with a subcutaneous
electronic chip that transmits on a frequency of 134.2 kilohertz
and can be read with a chip reader that conforms to the
provisions of the ISO Standard No. 11784 or of Annex A of ISO
Standard 11785. If the chip does not conform to these
standards, the importer or the importer’s representative is
required to be in possession of another means to read it.
Import Licenses
According to the Israeli Veterinary Services & Animal Health,
dogs and cats imported to Israel ONLY require an import
license issued by the Director of the Veterinary Services in the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development IF:
• The pet HAS NOT been with you (the owner) for the last 90
days before arrival into Israel;
• You are importing MORE THAN TWO PETS at one time; and
• The pet is NOT TRAVELING WITH YOU. If you are shipping
your pet as cargo, you need an import license.
Regardless of these rules indicated above, the U.S. Embassy
recommends that you place a request for an import license,
just in case.
To request an import license, use the following form REQUEST
FOR VETERINARY PERMIT FOR IMPORT, attach it an email,
and send the request to rachelaf@moag.gov.il (Atten: Rachel |
Tel: (+972) 3-968-8987 / 3-968-8986.
The request should include the animal species, sex, breed,
age, expected date of arrival in Israel, and country of origin.
The license request may be submitted prior to obtaining the
official health certificates.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Shlomo Garazi
Chief Import & Export Veterinary Officer
Veterinary Services and Animal Health
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Kimron St., Rishon Le Tzion
Email: Vs-airport@moag.gov.il
Tel.: (+972) 3-968-1649
For import licenses: Vs-airport@moag.gov.il
Vaccinations & Immunizations
Rabies Vaccination: Your pet is required to have been
vaccinated against rabies no more than one year and no less
than 30 days prior to their arrival in Israel. (With the
exception of arrivals from Oceania, Great Britain, Japan, and
Cyprus; such dogs, if they were not vaccinated, must be
vaccinated against rabies within 5 days of their arrival in
Israel.)
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 31
Rabies titer blood test
A rabies titer blood test must be done not less than 30 days
after the rabies vaccination. The titer test does not need to be
done if the pet is coming from a rabies free country. This
serological test for the animal, carried out on a sample taken
by an approved veterinarian and tested in an OIE-approved
laboratory, must state that the rabies neutralizing antibody
titer was equal to or greater than 0.5 IU/ml. Allow 4 to 6
weeks to get the results back. The titer test needs to be sent to
the U.S. government lab in Kansas (check with your vet).
________________________________________
THE FIRST FORM
The U.S. Official Health Certificate/Health Form
The official U.S. veterinary health certificate (which you obtain
from your vet) should be issued and signed not more than 10
calendar days prior to arrival. You can find the USDAapproved
health certificate online (APHIS 7001). Schedule a
visit with your veterinarian (with animal for examination) and
he/she will complete the form and sign it. The form will
provide information on your pet’s vaccinations. However,
please note that in a letter (read letter) from USDA-APHIS, the
7001 form is not always required unless stipulated by the
airline. Check with the airline and work with your vet to verify
exactly which type of health certificate is required for
transport of your pet.
THE SECOND FORM
The Israeli-Required Health Certificate
The Israeli “Veterinary Certificate for Domestic Dogs, Cats
and Ferrets Entering Israel” is in the Import Packet for Israel
for Dogs / Cats / Ferrets (page 2 and 3). This must be filled out
by your vet. It is required for entrance into Israel. This form
should be issued and signed not more than 10 calendar days
prior to arrival. Send the Israeli-required health certificate to
the USDA-APHIS government veterinarian for signature and
approval.
Form Endorsement: This health certificate must be submitted
to and signed by a government veterinarian of the country of
origin.
In the United States, the USDA-APHIS office closest to the
Washington, D.C. area and covers DC, MD, DE, and VA is:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS)
Veterinary Services
Federal Building
400 N. 8th St, Rm. 726
Richmond, VA 23219-4824
Tel: (804) 343-2567 / Fax: (804) 343-2599
Alternatively, try 301-851-3300 and press option #2 / If a staff
member does not answer directly, you may leave a phone
message. However, this office advises that pet owners send an
email to vspsva@usda.gov and they will respond.
Not located in the Washington, DC area?
Use this website to find a USDA-APHIS government vet
nearest you: www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/servicecenters-endorsement-offices
THERE IS A FEE FOR OBTAINING A SIGNATURE FROM THE
USDA-APHIS VETERINARIAN.
________________________________________
Notification of Pet Arrival
The Israeli authorities require that you submit (via email or
via FAX) Annex B “Notification on Pet Travel” (located in the
packet at the top of this page) and a photocopy of all
veterinary certificates.
The email must be sent two working days prior to putting your
animal on a plane. Your pet may not be released at the airport
if they do not have this paperwork upon your arrival.
Dogs and cats that are healthy on arrival and accompanied by
the required documentation, will not require a period of
quarantine in Israel.
Remember: The paperwork for shipping your pet must
include the official veterinary health certificates, which were
issued not more than 10 days prior to arrival and signed by a
government accredited veterinarian (USDA-APHIS) of the
country of origin. The health certificates must be attached to
the import permit (if you are required to use an import
permit). Please submit all of this papework with your
Notification of Pet Arrival email.
Send the Notification of Pet Arrival paperwork to:
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 33
Send the Notification of Pet Arrival paperwork to:
Dr. Shlomo Garazi
Chief Import & Export Veterinary Officer
Veterinary Services and Animal Health
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Kimron St., Rishon Le Tzion
Email: Vs-airport@moag.gov.il
Tel.: (+972) 3-968-1649 | FAX: (+972) 3-977-2033
The most common port of entry is Ben Gurion Airport, email
Vs-airport@moag.gov.il and FAX: (+972) 3-977-2033 (as noted
above). If you enter Israel via another port, the FAXES are:
Haifa (+972) 4-862-2455; Ashdod (+972) 8-856-5673; and Eilat
(+972) 8-632-3054.
________________________________________
Method of Transportation
Please check with the airline on any restrictions on the
method of transport. We recommend checking with the airline
on the maximum allowed crate size for all legs of the itinerary.
If you plan on using a pet shipper, we ask that you obtain a
listing of pet shippers from the Department of State’s
Overseas Briefing Center by emailing
FSIOBCInfoCenter@state.gov.
Be sure that all your pet paperwork is attached to the pet
carrier. Normally the airlines will do this for you. In addition,
keep copies of everything
________________________________________
Temperature Restrictions
We recommend checking with the airline on any temperature
restrictions, particularly when traveling during the summer
months.
________________________________________
Arrival Planning
GSO MotorPool can assist with picking up your pet ONLY IF
your pet arrives on the same plane as you.
If you use a pet shipper to transport your pet to Israel (not
arriving on the same plane as you), it is your responsibility to
arrange for pickup of the animal at the airport. You may seek
the help of a local pet shipper for pick up (services noted on
the next page).
• Terminal4Pets – http://terminal4pets.com – 1-800-220-555
or (+972) 8-926-4554
• Vets4Pets – http://vets4pets.co.il
• The Dog Farm – www.dogfarm.co.il/english.asp
• Globespeed via Pets Flying Home – www.globespeed.com/ |
www.petsflyinghome.com | Contact: Tal at
tal@globespeed.com
• Bivas Bros – www.bivasbros.co.il | Dudi@bivas.bros | (+972)
52-229-2985 | Avi at (+972) 54-4280-999 | avi@bivasbros.com
• Pet Passport – www.petpassport.co.il/en
________________________________________
Quarantine
Dogs and cats that are healthy on arrival and accompanied by
the required documentation, will not require a period of
quarantine in Israel.
________________________________________
Israeli Contact for Additional Pet Questions
It is highly recommended that you contact either Dr. Shlomo
Garazi or Dr. Ziv Avni of the Israeli Veterinary Services and
Animal Health with questions regarding importing pets to
Israeli. They both communicate in excellent English and will
respond to your email quickly.
Dr. Shlomo Garazi
Chief Import & Export Veterinary Officer
Veterinary Services and Animal Health
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Kimron St., Rishon Le Tzion
Email: shlomoga@moag.gov.il
Tel.: (+972) 3-968-1649
FAX for import licenses: (+972) 3-968-8963
Dr. Ziv Avni – 050-624-1657
Ben Gurion Airport, quarantine station chief veterinary
officer.
P.O.B 12 Beit Dagan 50250.
Tel: (+972) 3-979-2240
Fax: (+972) 3-977-2033
Email: zviav@moag.gov.il
Updated February 17, 2017
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 35
Kennels & Boarding
Below, please find a list of kennels and boarding houses in the greater Tel Aviv area.
Please note that we do not recommend a certain kennel or boarding house over another;
rather, this list was provided by community members and could contain outdated
information.
For the most accurate results, please consult the US Embassy community on the CLO Tel
Aviv Facebook page.
Randel Family Home Dog Pension
Located on Tchernihovski street in central Tel-Aviv, adjacent to dog friendly
Gan Meir 052-242-5784 or 03-525-7166 / dovran@gmail.com
/ randelfamilyhomedogpension.yolasite.com
Uncle Moshe’s Farm
Located in Kfar Truman (near Ben Gurion airport)
03-971-1111 / info@dodmoshe.com / www.dodmoshe.com/en/
Cat Pensions (Sponsored by Vets4Pets)
32 Yehuda Hayamit St / 03-683-3396
Howlywood
Located in Rananna off Givat Chen / 050-844-6568 / Jonyreider@gmail.com
/ www.howlywood.co.il
The Dog Farm
Moshav Beit Halevi (Near Natanya) / 09-898-6381 / dogfarm.bh@gmail.com
www.dogfarm.co.il/english.asp
The Dog’s Lounge
1 David Hamelech St / 054-913-6035 / TheDogsLounge@gmail.com / KelevLand
KelevLand.com
Afikim Kennels
04-675-4572 or 050-539-5242 / www.afikimdogs.co.il (In Hebrew) / Afikimenglish.livecity.me
Pet Taxi – Michal
24-hour number: 050-522-2265
Michal is a vet tech with 15 years’ experience and her vehicle is equipped as an ambulance
for dogs.
How can you
apply for an internship in Israel?
Studying abroad not only offers your career a boost but also gives you a new and improved perspective towards
education and life in general. After graduating from High School many individuals choose to opt for an internship
with a reputable company abroad. Owing to the versatility and diversity of the country and its people,
internships in Israel are an excellent option to consider. However, you could easily become overwhelmed by the
number of available opportunities and the differences between the various internship programs offered and how
to apply to them. Below are two important tips that can help you head in the right direction:
Choosing the field
Before applying for an internship, you need to decide which field (or fields) you are interested in, and opt for
the appropriate internship program accordingly. Ideally, internships are the first step to an exciting and fruitful
career of your choice. The value of gaining experience in a relevant field cannot be overstated and embodies
the essence of any internship program. Many interns eventually become indispensable to the organization they
are working for, which can lead to paid, long-term position offers. But competition can get intense for many of
the top internship positions companies and organizations offer every year, So make sure to put your good foot
forward and present yourself in the best possible light when applying.
The Various Sources of Internships
Some of the best-rated universities in Israel offer Internship support programs that are designed to help students
apply for various Internship programs in Israel. If you are a student of one of these universities, be sure to inquire
about Internship related services.
For those who are not currently enrolled in a University in Israel, there are various organizations that offer a
variety of Internships in Israel. You can also apply for financial aid and scholarships that can help you finance
your way through the program and gain valuable experience in the relevant field of your choice. While most
entry-level Interns don’t get paid for their work, the value of gaining hands-on experience in any field through an
internship program with a professional, established company is one of the best long terms investments anyone
can make for their career.
https://www.ramah.org.il/scholarships/
Most communities offer Israel travel scholarships through their local Jewish Federation or through other Jewish
agencies. In most cases, these community funds are available only for the teens in the areas that they serve.
If you do not find your hometown in the list below, check out the National Federation Directory (in the United
States) or the Jewish Federations of Canada – UIA (in Canada).
More programs at the link below:
https://seminar.ramah.org.il/asiyah-internships/
What to Wear
Clothing on Shabbat is a notch more formal and festive than on a
weekday, so if you think “dinner party,” you will likely strike the right
note. Men will fit right in with a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt
(coat and tie optional) and kippah, and women with a modest dress or a
modest top and skirt.
What to Expect?
After everyone has arrived and indulged in a few minutes of chit-chat,
family and friends will move to the table and find their seats.
At this point on a Friday night, your host (often accompanied by others)
will sing two hymns:
The “Shalom Aleichem” hymn, with which we welcome the angels who
visit every home at the start of Shabbat, request their blessing and bid
them farewell.
The song of “Eishet Chayil,” which is a tribute to the Jewish woman,
written by King Solomon, extolling her for the wisdom and hard work
with which she makes her home the lovely and nurturing place it is.
Typically everyone stands for the singing of these hymns, but if it is difficult
for you for any reason, you may certainly sit down.
At the Shabbat day meal, we begin immediately with kiddush.
Kiddush
Your host will recite kiddush holding a cup of wine, and everyone will
receive a few sips of wine to drink. The recitation of this blessing over
a cup of wine is a way of fulfilling the mitzvah of sanctifying the day of
rest (the word kiddush translates as “sanctification”).
On Friday night all typically stand for the recitation of kiddush, while on
Shabbat day some people sit. Take your cues from those around you.
Challah
Immediately following kiddush, everyone will leave their chairs and go
to the sink for the ritual hand-washing for bread. If you are not familiar
with this procedure, your hosts will be happy to guide you through it
and help you recite the blessing.
After washing hands, we don’t speak until after we’ve eaten some
challah, so just return to your chair and wait quietly. Hand motions and
facial expressions are often used for necessary communication at this
point. When everyone is seated again, your host will recite the blessing
over bread and then distribute challah, first dipping each piece in salt.
After you’ve eaten a bite, feel free to talk again.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 37
GETTING SETTLED
Welcome to Tel Aviv
Congratulations on your assignment to Embassy
Jerusalem! The Embassy Community is very
happy to welcome you to Israel Our Embassy is
one of the most exciting, high profile embassies
in the world. It hosts frequent visits by
the President, Secretary of State, other Cabinet
Members, Congressional Delegations, Flag Officers,
and Naval Ships.
Please review this cable in its entirety, as it
contains essential information about your
upcoming tour.
NEW
HOME
You will receive emails with additional information
from the Community Liaison Office (CLO),
General Services Office (GSO) Shipping, GSO
Housing, and the Human Resources (HR) Office.
Please also refer to the Israel Post Report and
the Overseas Briefing Center’s Israel Post Info
to Go page; these resources contain a wealth
of information to help make your transition a
smooth one.
For employees of non-State agencies, please
let the Community Liaison Office know of
your assignment and arrival plans, so we may
best support your needs. We understand that
assignments can happen on short notice and
strive to coordinate with all Embassy sections
for a smooth transition. We look forward to
your arrival, and wish you a rewarding tour in
Israel!
Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash
1. Embassy Office Locations
The address of the Embassy Branch Office is 71
Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 6343229, Israel. The
Embassy Brach Office phone number is +972-3-
519-7575 and the fax number is +972-3-517-
3227.
Most Mission employees work in the Chancery,
but employees of the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), the U.S. Commercial
Service, the Foreign Agricultural Service, the
Department of Homeland Security, and the Public
Diplomacy Section work in separate facilities
in Tel Aviv. The EBO Warehouse and Annex,
which includes most of the GSO and Facilities
Maintenance (FAC) offices, along with the
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA),
the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
and the Open Source Enterprise are located in
Herzliya Pituach, approximately 10 miles north
of Tel Aviv. The Mission hours are 8:00 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. DCAA and
some employees of USACE operate on the
regular Israeli workweek of Sunday through
Thursday.
2. Your Travel Plans, Visas, and Diplomatic
Passports Please advise your agency/section
representative ASAP of your firm travel plans,
including the flight number, date, and time of
arrival (and copy the CLO at CLOTelAviv@state.
gov). Your office sponsor will make the
necessary transportation arrangements from
the airport, to include arranging for an expeditor
to greet you at the airport and escort you to
your new home.
In accordance with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) instructions, all official travelers
MUST use diplomatic or official passports, with
the appropriate visa, to enter Israel.
The traveler MUST obtain a visa for Israel in
advance. Dependents of diplomats who do not
have diplomatic/official passports must have
a visa issued in their national passports prior
to arrival in Israel. Visas are not issued at the
airport upon arrival.
The MFA has informed us that they will not
issue visas for newly arrived diplomats entering
Israel on tourist passports. Please ensure your
passports are valid for at least six months.
Spouses and family members holding Israeli
passports will not receive diplomatic visas or
MFA Identification Cards.
Other foreign-born spouses and family members who
do not have an American diplomatic passport should
enter Israel following the visa requirements in place
for their country of citizenship. Upon check-in with HR,
we will assist with extending or obtaining a long-term
visa. Foreign-born spouses must bring a copy of their
marriage certificate in order to obtain accreditation
and a MFA ID Card. Foreign-born dependents, other
than spouses, will need to provide a copy of their birth
certificate. The MFA also requires a statement from the
diplomat documenting the relationship between the
diplomat and the foreign-born dependent. Please note
that the MFA has advised that dependents who will not
reside at Post permanently, such as students, will not
be issued a MFA ID Card. Please contact the Tel Aviv HR
Office (TelAvivHRO@state.gov) for more information.
3. Mandatory FACT Training
The State Department has updated the training requirements
for the Foreign Affairs Counter-Threat (FACT) and
High Threat Security Overseas Seminar (HTSOS) courses
and,
effective January 1, 2017, FACT is mandatory for all
USDH transferring to Mission Israel. Eligible Family
Members (EFMs) who receive an offer of employment or
expect to work while at Post are also required to complete
FACT. For EFMs who do not plan to work, HTSOS is
required although FACT is strongly encouraged.
Validity: A training completion certificate for those
who have taken FACT or HTSOS is considered valid
for five years. Employees or employed EFMs assigned
to a FACTmandatory post will be required to have a
certificate valid at minimum through the date of arrival
at post for their tour of duty. Employees and employed
EFMs are strongly encouraged to ensure their certificate
is valid through the tour of duty. Employees and
employed EFMs will otherwise be required to complete
FACT during their next official travel to Washington,
DC if their FACT certification expires during the tour of
duty and they have at least 180 days remaining in their
assignment.
The HTSOS (HT401) course can be accessed from the
following internet link: http://fsitraining.state.gov/ or
intranet link: http://reg.fsi.state.gov/dstc/CourseCatalog.
aspx?EventId=HT401.
The FACT (OT611) course can be accessed from the
following internet link: http://fsitraining.state.gov/or
intranet link: http://reg.fsi.state.gov/dstc/CourseCatalog.
aspx?EventId=OT611.
For more details, please see 14 State 83174. Questions
may also be sent to the DSTC Registrar at DSTCRegistrarOffice@state.gov.
3. CLO Pre-Arrival Information and Sponsors The Community
Liaison Office (CLO) will assign a community
sponsor, who will assist you in acclimating to your new
neighborhood and home. Your agency/section head
will assign an office sponsor, who is responsible for
many of the administrative details prior to your arrival.
The CLO will introduce you via email to your sponsors.
Prior to your arrival, the CLO team will send you a welcome
email, which will include a link to a CLO questionnaire
to help tailor subsequent correspondence to your
specific needs. They also will add you and any adult
family members to the distribution list of the Embassy
CLO newsletter. In addition, the Tel Aviv Post video,
available at the Overseas Briefing Center, will give you
a visual tour of the Mission, housing, schools, city, and
country.
The CLO is available to offer guidance and answer any
questions you may have. If you do not hear from the
CLO after your assignment notification, you are encouraged
to contact the CLO directly at CLOTelAviv@state.
gov or by telephone at +972-3-519-7389/7682. The
CLO website, https://clotelaviv.wordpress.com, and
closed Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/
groups/clotelaviv, also contain information for newcomers.
4. Human Resources In-Processing
Your first stop at the EBO (Embassy Branch Office) will
likely be the HR Office. They will arrange with your
office sponsor to meet you on your first workday to
in-process and to apply for your MFA ID card(s). All
employees must bring their completed biographic
information sheet, which will be sent via email prior to
arrival. Please also bring four (4) passport-sized photos
for yourself and your dependents over the age of 10, as
well as all diplomatic passports. Note: For Department
of State employees, you will need your employee ID
number.
5. The Health Unit
The EBO maintains a Health Unit at the Chancery. A
Medical Provider (MP), locally hired Nurse Practitioner
(NP) and RNs, as well as an Administrative Assistant staff
the unit. The unit treats acute illnesses and chronic
medical problems, provides immunizations and preventive
health care, and refers patients to local specialists.
Israel has excellent medical facilities and standards are
generally very high, but the health care system is often
confusing to newcomers. The Health Unit can provide
guidance in navigating the Israeli health care system.
Post recommends that you bring a six month supply of
prescription medications. Most prescription medications
are available locally, but require being seen by
an Israeli physician to get a prescription filled at a local
pharmacy. The MP can write prescriptions for medications
from U.S. mail order pharmacies, for delivery to
your DPO address.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 39
Many U.S. equivalent over-the-counter
medications are available in Israel.
Israel does not have adequate fluoride in
the water, and the Health Unit staff can
provide you with information for your
children. The tap water in major cities in
Israel is safe to drink, though may have
a different taste due to high mineral
content.
Unless you are active duty military, you
are required to obtain your Medical
Clearance from MED Washington PRIOR to
arriving at Post. If you have children with
special needs or other medical concerns,
please contact the Health Unit at +972-
3-519-7323 or the Office of Medical
Services in Washington, prior to arrival.
6. Customs and Shipping
(UAB, HHE, and POV) Comprehensive
shipping information is available on
EBO’s intranet site under GSO Shipping.
GSO Shipping will email you complete
information on shipping your personal effects
and POV; this will include a detailed
newcomers’ shipping information handout.
If you have not received it, please
contact the Shipping Office as soon as
possible, as the shipping instructions are
vital to ensuring the smooth shipment of
your HHE, UAB, and POV. The GSO Shipping
Office can be reached by email at
TelAvivGSOShipping@state.gov or by fax
at +972-9-955-5802.
Be sure to check with Post to ensure your
vehicle conforms to Israeli import regulations,
which differ from American vehicle
specifications.
Please note that vehicle registration
requires the sponsor to have a MFA ID
card. A second vehicle can be registered
only for the spouse of the sponsor,
provided the spouse has also registered
for a MFA card and holds a valid driver’s
license. Please also contact GSO Shipping
before sending food and drink contents in
your shipments. Remember to hand carry
the packing lists for your HHE and UAB
shipments, as well as your POV registration/title,
so we can institute customs
clearance without delay.
Smith Training Driver Safety Requirement
All employees and long-term TDY staff are
required to complete this training if they
plan to self-drive a vehicle in Israel on
official business.
This includes official, leased, or personal
vehicles. Employees must schedule the
training with GSO Motorpool (Eyal Nitzan
or Iris Ben Ezra) before they can selfdrive
a vehicle, unless the employee can
provide a training certificate verifying
completion of training within the last two
years. There are no substitutes for the
Smith course.
7. Housing
GSO Housing provides detailed information
on Tel Aviv’s housing program, along
with photos and a copy of Post’s Housing
Handbook, on the GSO Housing section
of Tel Aviv’s intranet site. All Mission
members in the greater Tel Aviv area live
in fully furnished housing. Agencies with
housing needs outside of the greater
Tel Aviv area may not participate in the
pooled furnishings program. Please consult
you agency if you will reside outside
the greater Tel Aviv area.
Incoming employees should complete the
housing questionnaire, which GSO Housing
will email to you, as soon as possible.
If you have not received the questionnaire
or have other housing questions,
please email GSO Housing at
TelAvivGSOHousing@state.gov.
Prior to the employee’s arrival, an interagency
housing board assigns quarters,
based on position rank, family size, and
the projected arrival date. After considering
these primary factors, the board
will make every effort to accommodate
employee preferences, based on the
available housing pool at the time of the
employee’s projected arrival. Housing
options are generally divided between
apartments in Tel Aviv and houses in the
northern suburbs.
Downtown Tel Aviv is a desirable place
to live for many people, with apartments
ranging from walking distance to
a 15-20 minute drive to the Chancery.
The apartments are generally small with
limited storage. Although the Department
authorizes the normal limited shipment
of 7200lbs (net) for HHEs to Tel Aviv, Post
recommends limiting it to 2500-4000lbs
for those assigned to live in Tel Aviv
apartments.
Families with children usually live in
single-family houses or townhouses in
the suburbs, which are approximately
10 miles to the north of Tel Aviv. Traffic
conditions vary greatly, and the drive time
to the Chancery typically takes between
20 to 40 minutes. These neighborhoods
are 25 to 45 minutes from Walworth
Barbour American International School
(WBAIS), located in Even Yehuda.
Temporary Quarters
The Embassy Jerusalem makes every effort
to have permanent housing ready for
employees and families upon arrival at
post. However, some employees may be
assigned temporary quarters, until permanent
quarters become available.
Late assignments, significant changes to
the arrival date, and new requirements
from the employee increase the odds of a
temporary housing assignment. Temporary
housing is usually in an embassyleased
or embassy-owned property;
temporary housing assignments generally
last for a few weeks, but can be longer.
Embassy Shuttle Service
Due to the security situation in Israel,
U.S. Government personnel and their
dependents are prohibited from using
the public bus system. For this reason, an
Embassy shuttle service for home-to-office
transportation of American direct-hire
employees is authorized, at a cost to employees
of $2.70 each way, for transportation
to and from the EBO’s downtown
facilities only (i.e., Chancery, Hamared
Trade Tower, and Migdalor Building).
8. Pets
Comprehensive information on shipping
your pet(s) – as well as information on
housing restrictions, veterinary services,
and local attitudes towards pets – is
available in the Tel Aviv OBC Pet Survey.
Additionally, GSO Shipping will email you
information on shipping your pet. Please
note: All pets must have a Rabies Titer
test for entrance into Israel. Results take
time so please plan accordingly.
Please note that under Israel’s Regulations
for the Control of Dogs (Imports
of Dangerous Dogs), 5765 – 2004, it is
prohibited to import a dog belonging to
a dangerous breed, as well as a dog that
is the result of a cross with a dangerous
breed and that exhibits behavior patterns
and physical traits similar to those of a
dangerous breed.
The dangerous breeds are: American
Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Amstaff), Bull
Terrier, Argentinean Dogo, Japanese Tosa,
Staffordshire Bull Terrier (English Staff), Pit
Bull Terrier, Brazilian Fila and Rottweiler.
9. Firearms
Post policy states importation or acquisition
of personally owned firearms is not
permitted. For information on importing
official firearms, please coordinate
through the Regional Security Office
(RSO).
10. Mail
Tel Aviv is a Diplomatic Post Office (DPO)
post. Please contact your office sponsor
for your correct personal mailbox number,
prior to forwarding mail to this post. You
may also email the DPO at
TelAvivMailroom@state.gov. Please check
in with the DPO mailroom staff immediately
upon arrival to ensure your mail has
been arriving and is properly addressed.
Never include “Tel Aviv” or “Israel” in your
personal or official addresses. Doing so
could significantly delay your mail transit
times. The following examples are the
correct address formats:
Personal Mail: (Your Name)
UNIT 9700, Box XXXX (XXXX = Assigned
personal box number) DPO AE 09830-
XXXX (XXXX = Assigned personal box
number)
Official mail: (Your Section)
Attn: (Your Name) 9700 Tel Aviv PL
Washington DC 20521-9700
Enrollment at WBAIS is contingent upon
the student’s ability to meet the academic
standards set forth by WBAIS.
ATTENTION for families with children with
special needs: WBAIS has limited services
available for assisting children with
special needs. It is in your best interest to
contact the school as soon as possible to
discuss your child’s needs.
Please make sure you have all records
available when contacting the school.
WBAIS also offers a half day preschool
program and an organized after school
program for children ages 3-5.
The preschool has two classes, one for
3-4 year old students (maximum class
size is 14) and one for 4-5 year old
students (maximum class size is 16).
Children must be 3 years of age before
September 1 to enter the 3 year old class
and 4 years of age before September 1
to enter the 4 year old class. To ensure
priority consideration, applications must
be received no later than April 15th of the
year of enrollment.
Other English-language preschools are
available in the Tel Aviv and Herzliya areas,
as are Hebrew-speaking preschools.
For additional information on preschools,
please contact the CLO.
Walworth Barbour American International
School (WBAIS) P.O. Box 484 64
Hashomron Street Even Yehuda 40500,
Israel Tel: +972-9-890-1000
Fax: +972-9-890-1001
Email: registrar@wbais.net
Website: www.wbais.net
Sending any items other than documents
through an international courier service is
not recommended. From Post’s experience,
sending goods through such services
has proven costly to the individual,
due to airport storage and paperwork
fees. Use of DPO is both faster and less
expensive.
11. Schools
Most Mission children attend the Walworth
Barbour American International
School (WBAIS), preschool- grade 12, in
Even Yehuda, Israel. Requests for enrollment
applications and specific questions
about the program should be directed to
the school.
Admission Process: www.wbais.net/
admissions/admiss ions-process/childrenlivingoutside-israel
For information on other K-12
educational options, please refer to Tel
Aviv School Options, available at the
Overseas Briefing Center. Please contact
the CLO with any questions.
12. Family Member Employment
There are a variety of eligible family
member (EFM) positions within the EBO,
including Consular positions, as well as
HR Assistant, Housing Coordinator, ESTH
Assistant, and Roving Administrative Assistant
positions.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 41
The Bilateral Work Agreement between
Israel and the United States allows EFMs
to obtain unrestricted work permits to
work for any employer in Israel.
compliance with local laws and Department
of State regulations, and provide
medical and national (work accident)
insurance.
The work permit application process
is initiated at Post and normally takes
4months.
The work permit is issued for one year
at a time and can be extended up to 63
months.
The local job market is highly competitive,
as many Israelis are university educated
and speak English fluently.
However, Israel’s large tech industry offers
job opportunities in positions such
as IT, marketing, sales/customer service,
technical writing, social network coordination,
and others that may not require
Hebrew fluency. Intel, HP, IBM, Cisco and
other multinational corporations have
established research centers in Israel and
may seek computer programmers and
engineers.
There is also a demand for English teachers,
particularly in international schools,
such as WBAIS, and private language
institutes, such as Berlitz or The Wall
Street Institute. Although lawyers and
accountants will encounter steep competition
in Israel, there are private firms
and international organizations that seek
professionals with U.S. training.
Salaries in Israel are generally lower
than in the United States, particularly for
entry-level positions. Local taxes will be
deducted from the salary.
Family members must have
Chief of Mission approval before
accepting outside employment or
engaging in a home-based business or
other outside activities.
When hiring a third country national (TCN)
from abroad or locally, three forms are
required: an undertaking form, completed
by the sponsor; a visa application form,
completed by the domestic employee;
and, a declaration form, completed by
both parties. The HR Office can provide
details. The MFA approves all requests for
TCN domestic hires.
There are strict guidelines on domestic
employee salaries and benefits, as well as
length of time TCN domestic employees
may remain in Israel. If you are interested
in sponsoring a domestic employee in
Israel, please contact the HR Office at
TelAvivHRO@state.gov.
14. OpenNet and ClassNet Migration
For State Department employees, in order
to have your existing OpenNet and Class-
Net user accounts migrated to Tel Aviv,
you will need to do the following:
Provide your current OpenNet and Class-
Net systems administrators (and complete
the applicable bureau/post specific forms,
if required) with the following information
before you leave:
a. Departure date
b. Onward assignment to Tel Aviv
c. Reporting date
d. State Department email addresses
(example: doejx@state.gov
and doejx@state.sgov.gov)
Ask them to open tickets with the IT
Service Center (ITServiceCenter@state.
gov) in order to coordinate your account
moves.
Please contact the HR Office for details on
that process.
13. Domestic Employees
To successfully transfer your account to
your gaining post, your Outlook folder
size (including subfolders) MUST be
100MB or less.
Domestic employees can be hired locally
or from abroad.
In either case, a sponsor must complete
a contract agreement with the domestic
employee, complete a declaration of
Once this is completed, notify your new
supervisor or section that you will be
arriving and request that they submit an
OpenNet access request to the Tel Aviv
ISC and a ClassNet access request to the
IPC.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 43
DistrictHospitals
NORTH DISTRICT
Baruch Padeh Medical Center
Route 768, Ramat-Poria
Tiberias, Israel 15208
Medical Administration#: +972-4- 665-2206
Emergency Department #: +972-4- 665-2803
Website: http://www.poria.health.gov.il
Emek Medical Center
Afula 18101, Israel
Hospital Director #: +972-4- 649-4417
Hospital Contact #: +972 4-649- 4000
Website: https://hospitals.clalit.co.il
Ziv Medical Center
Derech HaRambam
Tsfat, 13100, Israel
Hospital Contact #: +972-4- 682-8811
Emergency Department #: +972-4- 682-8429
Website: http://www.ziv.org.il
HAIFA DISTRICT
Bnai Zion Medical Center
47 Golomb St.
Haifa, 31048 Israel
Hospital Contact #: + 972-4- 837-1973
Website: http://www.b-zion.org.il
Hillel Yaffe Medical Center
Ha-Shalom St,
Hadera, 38100
Medical Administration #: +972-4- 630-4281
Emergency Department #: +972-4- 630-4396
Website: http://hy.health.gov.il/eng/
Rambam Health Care Campus
HaAliya HaShniya St 8
Haifa, 3109601, Israel
Medical Administration #: +972-4- 777-1300
Emergency Department #: +972-4- 777-2308
Website: https://www.rambam.org.il
HOPITALS AROUND
CENTRAL DISTRICT
Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center
Tzrifin, 70300, Israel
Hospital Contact #: +972-8-977-9999
Website: http://www.assafh.org
Kaplan Medical Center
Pasternak St., POB 1
Rehovot, 76100, Israel
Hospital Contact #: +972-8-944-1211
Website: http://afkmc.org/
Rabin Medical Center
Ze’ev Jabotinsky Rd 39
Petah Tikva, 49100, Israel
Main Operator #:+972-3-937-7377
Emergency Department Beilinson #: +972-3-
937-7300
Emergency Department Hasharon #: +972-3-
937-2345
Website: http://hospitals.clalit.co.il/Hospitals/
Rabin/en-us/Pages/Homepage.aspx
Sanz Medical Center/Laniado Hospital
16 Divrei Khayim St.
Netanya, 42150 Israel
Emergency Department #: +972-9-860-4624
Website: http://www.en.laniado.org.il
TEL AVIV DISTRICT
The Chaim Sheba Medical Center
Emek HaEla St 1
Ramat Gan, Israel
Medical Administration #: +972-3-530-2306
Emergency Department #: +972-3-530-3101
Website: https://eng.sheba.co.il/
Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov
Hospital)
6 Weizmann Street
Tel Aviv 64239, Israel
Management #: +972-3-697-3491
Emergency Department #:
+972-3-697-3686
*(The Emergency Department is located in
the Sourasky Building, Basement Floor -1,
Wings B and C)
Website: http://www.tasmc.org.il/sites/en/
Pages/default.aspx
SOUTHERN DISTRICT
Barzilai Medical Center
Hahistadrout St 2,
Ashkelon, Israel 7830604
Medical Administration #: +972-8-
6745600
Emergency Department #: +972-8-
6745100
Website: http://www.barzilaimc.org.il
Soroka Medical Center
Rager Boulevard, P.O.B 151
Beer Sheva 85025, Israel
Medical Administration #: +972-8-
6400309
Emergency Department #: +972-8-
6400589
Website: http://hospitals.clalit.co.il/hospitals/Soroka/en-us/Pages/Home.aspx
Yoseftal Medical Center
Derekh Yotam 2
Eilat, 88104, Israel
Hospital Contact #: +972 8-635-8011
Website: https://hospitals.clalit.co.il/joseftal/he/Pages/default.aspx
JERUSALEM DISTRICT
Hadassah Medical Center
Ein Kerem
Jerusalem, 91120, Israel
Hospital Contact #: +972-2-6779111
Ein Kerem Emergency Department #: +972-
2-677-1200
Website: http://www.hadassah-med.com/
Shaare Zedek Medical Center
12 Shmuel Bait St.
Jerusalem 9103102
Hospital Contact #: + 972-2-6666666
Emergency Department #: + 972-2-
6555509
Must-See Museums in Israel
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem Among the world’s leading
Art and Archeology museums. Located at Ruppin
Boulevard, near the Knesset. Call 02-670-8811 or visit
www.english.imjnet.org.il for more information.
2) Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Amazing historical and
archeological museum. Located at 2 Haim Levanon St.,
Ramat Aviv. Call 03-641-5244 or visit
www.eretzmuseum.org.il/ for more information.
3) Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv Houses the best of
Israeli art from Rubin and Tumarkin to Weinstein and
Rovner. Located at 27 Shaul Hamelech Blvd., Tel Aviv.
Call 03-607-7020 or Visit www.tamuseum.com for more
information.
4) Yad Vashem, Jerusalem Israel’s living memorial to the
millions murdered in the Holocaust. Located in Her
Hazikaron, Jerusalem. Call 02-644-3600 or Visit
www.yadvashem.org for more information.
5) MadaTech, Israel’s National Museum of Science,
Technology and Space, Haifa Israel’s best location for
making science fun. Located at 25 Shmaryahu Levin St. /
12 Balfour St, Hadar Hacarmel. Call 04-861-4444 or visit
www.madatech.org.il for more information.
6) Design Museum Holon, Holon One of the world’s
leading museums of design and contemporary culture.
Located at 8 Sha’ar Ha’arayot st., Holon. Call 073-215-1515
or Visit www.dmh.org.il for more information.
7) Tikotin—The Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa The only
museum of its kind in Israel, housing thousands of pieces
of Japanese art. Located at 89 Hanassi Ave., Haifa. Call
04-838-3554 or visit www.tmja.org.il for more
information.
10) Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem Depicts 4,000
Years or Jerusalem’s history. Located near the Jaffa Gate
in the Old City, Jerusalem. Call 02-626-5333 or visit
www.towerofdavid.org.il for more information. For
Reservations call 02-626-2884.
11) The Negev Museum of Art, Beersheba Collection
includes local and regional artworks of all media.
Located at 60 Ha’atzmaut St., Beersheba. Call 08-699-
3535 or visit www.negev-museum.org.il/index_e.php for
more information.
12) Israeli Children’s Museum, Holon An educational and
cultural institution providing experiences far different
than any other Israeli museum. Located at Mifratz
Shlomo St., Peres Park, Holon. Call 03-650-3001 or visit
www.holon.muni.il/English/culture/pages/childrenmuse
um.aspx for more information.
13) Olymic Experience Museum, Tel Aviv Focusing on the
historical background, this museum highlights sporting
achievements at the Olympic Games. Located at 6 Shitrit
St., Hadar Yosef, Tel-Aviv. Call 03-795-5900 or visit
www.olympic.one.co.il for more information.
14) Israel Railway Museum, Haifa
Provides a historical overview of railways in the Holy
Land and their part in the development of the country.
Located at 1 Hativat Golani St., Haifa. Call 04-856-4180 or
04-856-4293 or visit
http://rail.co.il/EN/Fun/Museum/Pages/default.aspx for
more information.
8) L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art Houses permanent
collections among the most important exhibitions of
Islamic art in the world. Located at 2 Hapalmah St.,
Jerusalem. Call 02-566-1291 or visit www.islamicart.co.il
for more information.
9) Museum of Art, Ein Harod Highlights Israeli art from
the 17th Century onwards. Call 04-648-5701 or Visit
www.museumeinharod.org.il for more information.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 45
SHOPPING
Insider Tips to Shopping
Almost all grocery store chains in Israel
have discount/membership programs. Most
stores are closed on Shabbat and some
close as early as 2 p.m. on Fridays. Here is a
list of some of the best known ones.
Stop Market
Location: Top floor of the Arena Mall in
Herzliya Marina. Open: 24/7 Features: Carts
are unlocked, international foods section
Bonus Program: Pick up a Discount card
at the Help Desk. For every 200 NIS you
spend, you earn bonus points (receive a
stamp in the discount card). Once the card
is full, hand it in at the checkout for a 100
NIS discount on your groceries!
Sunday-Tuesday: 3 NIS/kilo on selected
fresh fruits and vegetables when spending
at least 150NIS on other items. No more
than one kilo of each item at the sale price.
Wednesday-Tuesday: Buy one, get one ½
off on cleaning supplies.
Teva Markets (Natural Food Stores)
Location: Herzliya Pituach and Netanya
(see below) Bonus Program: They provide
a 5% member discount card. Each location
only honors their own card. Eden market in
Netanya: This location is much larger and
is more reasonably priced than the other
store. This market has a fresh fish counter, as
well as hormone and antibiotic free meats.
Closes at 3 pm on Fridays and stays closed
through Shabbat. The market in Herzliya
Pituach: Open on Shabbat while the other
closes at 3 on Friday and stays closed
through Shabbat.
Half Free Super Stores
Location: There are many large discount
super stores in the area. The biggest and
best is located east off of Route 5, take the
2nd Petah Tikva exit (just past Route 4).
No Bonus Program, but: This store offers
incredible savings and there is no membership
required.
Tiv Ta’am
Location: Behind the Ikea, off Route 2 North,
in Netanya. Another is located near the
EBO, and near the MigDalor building.
Bonus Program: The membership card
gives you sale prices and discounts on
large orders. They are also open on Shabbat.
Features: This market has Asian food,
pork products and fine spirits. Most of the
employees are Russian. They are open on
Shabbat.
Mega
Location: Seven Stars Mall in Herzliya. Bonus
Program: Their discount card can also
be used at Pizza Hut, KFC and a dozen
other retail stores that have the “YOU”
sign posted.
AM/PM
Location: At the Karen Hayesod roundabout
on Hanassi Street in Hertzlya
Pituach. Bonus Program: This is a pricey
mini market but if you open an account
with them, they offer a 10% discount at
the end of each month.
Meat Land
Location: Ra’anana on Bar Ilan Street.
Features: Offers a decent variety of imported
American goods.
Vegetable Stands Locations: You will find
vegetable stands located around the city
and in the suburbs. There are two in Kfar
Shmaryahu and one located off Route 2,
near Cinema City Mall.
Open Air Markets
Locations: Herzliya Farmer’s Market:
Open every Thursday from 3-9 pm in the
Industrial Zone. Carmel Market in Tel
Aviv: Open Sunday-Thursday. Friday it
closes early and is closed all day Saturday.
On Tuesdays and Fridays, also visit
the crafts market on the adjacent street.
The top of the market starts off of Allenby
Street. Tel Aviv Port: Fresh produce
every Tuesday and Friday. Kfar Netter:
Located near WBAIS (school), this market
has cheap produce every Friday. Left at
the first light after the train station exit.
Straight until the street turns 90 degrees
and park. Walk up the drive way of the
first house and find seasonal produce.
Arab Butcher in Tira
Location: On the East side of Ra’anana,
follow Rd. 554 to Tira. There will be a
line of shops and the butcher is 3 shops
up from the Asado de Tira. Directions:
Put “Tira, Israel” in Waze. As soon as you
enter the town, the butcher is on the right
with automatic sliding glass doors. For
a definite address or more info you can
call Joseph at 09-793-6670. Features:
Great selection of meats at very reasonable
prices. They speak English and offer
a Heshbonit Mas. Closed on Fridays, but
open Saturdays! There’s a vegetable
vendor next door.
Fish Market in Netanya
Location: Exit of Route 2 North at the 3rd
Netanya exit onto Hwy 57. Turn right
at the first light, then right at the next
light. There will be a fish sign on the left.
Features: Excellent smoked salmon at a
reasonable price. The place is frequented
by caterers.
Yoggi Butcher in Kfar Shmaryahu
Location: Kfar Schmaryahu offeres a small
selection of stores just off of Route 2.
This butcher is located on the parking lot
side. Features: Great selection of meats
and cheeses. Here, you can also find cuts
of pork, homemade pork sausage and bacon!
The staff is very friendly and speaks
English fluently. They also offer deli-style
egg salad and other prepared foods.
The Home Center
Location: At the Gash exit, off Route 2
(when heading north of Kfar Shmaryahu).
Follow the road back under Route 2 to the
large selection of stores. Features: Home
goods, gardening equipment, automotive
items.
Artisan Bread Store
Location: Across the street from Ikea in
Netanya. Take Route 2 North and take the
exit for Netanya South. Features: Wonderful
breads and baked goods.
AT CHECK OUT, REMEMBER TO REQUEST A
HESHBONIT MAS!!
SHOPPING
Hard to Find and
Expensive Items in Israel
This list is designed to give you an idea, prior to your arrival to Tel Aviv, as to what to expect
when shopping, and/or what to consider adding to your Household Goods shipment.
Keep in mind, this list is comprised of community opinions, and it’s all relative! While
one person may consider an item to be expensive or difficult to find, others may not. Like
anything, it’s one person’s opinion, and it’s what they’re willing to pay (or not!)
Hard to Find Items
Expensive Items
American wines (available at Duty Free
store)
Frozen berries
Bisquick (waffle & pancake mixes in general)
Broths & Stocks
Cake, cookie & muffin mixes
Candy – US brands & holiday
Canned green chilis & jalapenos
Canned pie fillings
Canned pumpkin
Christmas decorations
Christmas trees
Christmas tree stands
Cold medicine
Cranberries (frozen available)
and cranberry sauce
Crisco
Graham crackers
Holiday paper products (Valentine’s Day,
Easter, Patriotic, Thanksgiving, Christmas)
Lint rollers
Limes (only available June- Oct)
Mini marshmallows
Mexican food items
Mops (American style)
Muffin cups
Pork products
Premade pie crust
Rubber cement
Skim milk
Solid white tuna
Special occasion cards in English
Spices for special occasion food (pumpkin
pie, oriental)
Tuxedo
Tylenol “meltaways”
Water chestnuts
Wrapping paper
Shredded turkey cans
Chicken Masala Sauce
Snoring patches
Thanksgiving stuffing and ornaments
Alternative grain flower
Band-aids
Cereal
Canned goods
Canned shrimp & crab
Children’s gifts
Children’s shoes
Children’s school supplies
Chocolate chips (especially dairy)
Contact lens solution
Cosmetics
Car tires and other car parts
Deodorants
Feminine hygiene products
Gluten-free products
Maple syrup
Oil filters for cars
Paper towels
Pet food & litter
Plastic wrap (the quality is not good here)
Pudding mix
Razor blades
Shaving cream
Steel cut oats
Soy sauce
Sunblock
Tortillas
Vitamins & Supplements
Ziplock bags
Sleeping pills
Large Gift Bags
Aluminum Foil
Shoes
Clothes
Jewelry
Kitchenware
Chili powder
Cranberry sauce
Table cloths
A decent wine
Gouda cheese
Electronics
Photo by Kat Maryschuk on Unsplash
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Duty Free
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Mail & Post Offices
All diplomatic American personnel at post receive their mail through the Diplomatic Post Office (DPO).
YOUR NAME
Unit 9700, Box XXXX
DPO, AE 09830
Wondering about wait times? Below are the most common online stores used by our community and an
estimate of how long packages will take to reach Tel Aviv from the United States.
Amazon 10 Days
Walmart 9 Days
Drugstore.com 8 Days
1800 Pet Meds 8 Days
AAFES 9 Days
NetGrocer.com 8 Days
Target 8 Days
Please note that these are calendar days from the date of notification of shipment from the vendor, not
the date the order was placed online – although most either sent them out on the same day or the next
day.
Note: NetGrocer.com usually ships 3-4 days after the order is placed.
Diplomatic Pouch Regulations (and 14 FAM 711) state that authorized users may not use the DPO to mail
any item(s) intended for resale, personal business goods, or items for charitable organizations. This
resale prohibition applies whether sale is to authorized DPO users or not, and regardless of the
beneficiary of the proceeds, (e.g., charitable organizations or schools).
Pouch
For items that cannot be shipped to the DPO, you can use the diplomatic pouch. The pouch address is:
YOUR NAME
9700 Tel Aviv Place
Dulles, VA 20189
Remember that there are certain restrictions regarding what can and cannot be shipped through the
pouch. See State Department regulations.
Israeli Postal Services
airmail-envelope-163625_640Public Post offices are open Sundays through Thursday from 8:30 am to 6:00
pm, from 8:00 am until 12:00 pm on Fridays, and the day before a holiday. Post offices are closed on
Saturdays.
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ISRAELI DRIVER`S LICENSE
רמת גן
איטל אופטיק
קניון איילון
קניון ערים
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 67
Public Transportation
Driving in Israel can be quite the adventure. Though we
could start a never-ending (and very entertaining)
dialogue on the subject, we will limit ourselves to the
bare essentials:
Discounted Gas Cards and How to Pump Gas
Traffic Rules
Parking
Paying your Route 6 Bill.
TRAFFIC RULES
Diplomatic license plates do not give you impunity from
following the laws of Israel. If you receive a traffic or
parking violation it is your responsibility to pay it.
________________________________________
TRAFFIC LIGHTS
• Prior to turning red, the green light on the traffic light
blinks three times (one blink per-second) and then turns
amber for another 3 seconds. Only then does it turn red.
• When a traffic light in a junction is blinking amber, the
crossing road also has a blinking amber light.
• When a traffic light is out of order and the amber light
is blinking, the driver is obliged to obey the road signs
posted at the junction (such as STOP or YEILD RIGHT OF
WAY).
• It is strictly forbidden to make a right turn on red.
• Pedestrian crossing lights display only green or red.
Green permits crossing the road only in the crosswalk,
while red means no crossing.
LINES ON THE ROAD
• Double yellow lines forming a separate lane are
exclusive lanes for public transportation such as buses
and taxies. In some cases, a fully occupied vehicle can
use the lane as well.
• A yellow line on the road marks the side margin.
• A solid white line is a separation line between two way
traffic. It is strictly forbidden to cross a white center
line, under any circumstances (including turning left
into a parking lot).
________________________________________
SIGNAGE
• A “no stopping” sign is marked by two parallel lines.
• A stop sign is a red octagonal sign displaying a hand
facing the driver. The word “STOP” or “HALT” is not
written on the sign.
________________________________________
OTHER IMPORTANT RULES OF THE ROAD
• Police vehicles and ambulances always travel with
flashing blue and red lights on top of the vehicle. Only if
their siren is sounding do drivers have to merge to the
right, making way for the emergency vehicles.
• All vehicles must have its headlights turned on at any
time of day between November 1st and March 31st. This
makes it easier to be seen in the winter.
• It is prohibited to use a cellular phone while driving
unless it is attached to a microphone installed in the
vehicle.
• In a traffic circle, the vehicles in the circle have the
right of way.
________________________________________
DRIVING RESTRICTIONS FOR US EMBASSY
EMPLOYEES
• Route 90 North from Allenby Border Crossing is offlimits
during hours of darkness.
• Case specific or as things develop. Check with RSO for
latest restrictions.
PARKING
Returning to your car to find a ticket can be extremely
frustrating. In order to avoid getting a ticket, please be
sure to follow the parking laws in Israel. Please
remember, your diplomatic plates do not exempt you
from following the parking rules!
How to know if it is safe to park
White Stripes: No Parking
Yellow Stripes: Public Transportation Zone. No stopping
or parking. However, you can park in this area during
Shabbat (1 hour after sundown Friday to an hour before
sundown Saturday)
Red & Grey Stripes: Residential Parking. Signs will
indicate specific times that residential parking is
enforced.
Blue & White Stripes: Parking is allowed, but payment
may be required.
• Parking Meters: Can be hard to find, but are by far the
easiest to use. Put the money in and press the green
button. Put the ticket on your dashboard. Typically
costs about 5NIS per hour.
• Easy Park: Electronic parking card which can be
purchased at a post office. It is valid throughout the
country (each city has its own code). You can load up to
300NIS and payment is debited depending on the time
you are parked. You can recharge your card at some
post offices and some convenient stores.
• Parking Scratch Card: Cards can be purchased at the
post office and news stands for 6NIS per hour. You
attach the card to your car window after scratching off
the date and time of when you park.
• Cellopark: This is a service by telephone (dial *6452).
There is a monthly fee (7NIS) for the months you use the
service. You must register a credit card and license plate
number prior to using the service. You just dial the
number when you park and then again when you return
to your vehicle.
FREE CD PARKING AT BEN GURION AIRPORT
Did you know the airport has free short-term parking for
diplomatic CD numbered plates?
1. Proceed through security check gate and follow signs
for TERMINAL 3. DO NOT take either of the exits that
indicate “Short-term or Long-term Parking” – continue
straight following signs to TERMINAL 3 as if you are
dropping someone off. Stay in the right lane.
2. When you see the signs for ARRIVALS and
DEPARTURES, take the exit on the far right, toward
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. After you take the exit, you
will see a small white sign for “CD Parking.” Stay to the
far left. The right lane is for taxis and buses.
3. Keep driving down the left-hand side until you see CD
parking signs. Parking is back-in only. There are some
police parking spots there as well, so make sure you do
not park in one of those.
You can park here for up to 24 hours.
CAR RENTALS
Living downtown and just need a car for an hour or two
to run errands? Similar to Zip Car, Car2Go offers hourly
car rentals at locations throughout the city. Learn all
about membership costs, car availability, car pick up
locations, etc. on their website:
https://www.car2go.co.il/en/
If you need to rent a car longer term, the resources
available are similar to those in the States and in Europe.
Rental prices vary between companies and plans. Rates
are comparable to those charged in the US. Please also be
sure to contact Gai Stier in the Travel office for
additional information on discounts available to
Diplomats.
Avis Tel Aviv 03-559-6743
Ben Gurion 03-977-3200
Budget Tel Aviv 03-638-9999
Eldan Tel Aviv 03-527-1166
Ben Gurion 03-977-3400
Hertz Tel Aviv 03-527-9821
Route 6 Bills
Here in Israel you do not need to stop and queue to
deposit the necessary coins or tokens at a toll both.
Highway 6 uses state-of-the-art technology to record
your car’s license plate number, then computes the
correct toll for the number of sections you have traveled.
You are then sent a bill in the mail.
Since Highway 6 billing works on a monthly basis, it will
take some time until you receive your bill. Make sure to
keep records of your trips to ensure that the bills are
accurate and that you are not missing your payment
deadline. Highway 6 will charge high interest fees for
late payment.
________________________________________
There are several ways to pay your bill:
1. Online with a credit card
2. At commercial bank branches (for example Leumi)
3. Over the phone with a credit card – Call 03-908-1111
4. At Alonit or Dor Alon gas stations
5. At Mega, City Mega and Mega Bull supermarkets.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 69
Sheruts
AIRPORT- JERUSALEM WITH THE SHERUT
Sheruts (shared taxis) usually carry about ten-12
passengers and follow set routes…but unlike buses can
stop for you anywhere along the route. They offer a less
expensive alternative to a special taxi. They are also the
only mode of cheap travel on Shabbat and public
holidays.
Sheruts are good for traveling around the city and
between cities, but not always great for getting to
specific places. You can find sheruts in Herzliya that run
South to Tel Aviv and north to Natanya. Sheruts do not
come into the suburban neighborhoods. They only run
along the main roads, usually following standard bus
routes. In Herzliya, you can pick up a sherut along Route
2 (Namir Rd/Coastal Highway). They do not take you
directly to the Embassy, but you could connect to a
different sherut once in Tel Aviv and get as close as Ben
Yehuda and Shalom Alechem. Once you are in Tel Aviv,
there are more sheruts available that can take you closer
to other locations in the city. Sheruts in the city are
numbered to match the bus system.
Sherut Tips
Popular lines in Tel Aviv are 4, 5 and 66. Maps of the
routes can be found at: http://www.dan.co.il/eng/lines/
Rates for routes within Tel Aviv are generally 6.5-7 NIS.
For routes between cities, ask the driver for the rate.
Getting On:
1. Raise your arm – If the sherut is full, it will pass by.
2. Get on & sit down – Most drivers pull away quickly.
Pass your money to the front and change will be
returned to you.
3. Ask the driver to stop – You can ask to stop anywhere
along the route.
A reasonably priced way to get to Jerusalem from Ben-
Gurion Airport is by sherut (shay-root), a van shared by
eight passengers with a fixed per-person rate. The
current fare is NIS 75 per person, baggage included. The
sherut stand, run by Nesher Taxi, is to the left as you exit
the arrivals area of the terminal building. Confirm that
the destination of the Nether van is Jerusalem, give your
luggage to the driver, and climb in. When all the seats
are claimed, the van will take off: The driver must,
without charging an extra agora (a single smalldenomination
coin), take you from the airport to the
hotel or residential address of your choice anywhere in
Jerusalem. If you're lucky, you'll be the first in your
group to be dropped off at your destination. If not, you`ll
find yourself on an odyssey through parts of Jerusalem
you would never normally see.
For the return trip to the airport, your hotel will be glad
to call in advance (reserve about 2 days before your
departure) and make an appointment for a sherut to pick
you up. If you want to make your sherut reservation in
person, the office of Nesher Taxis and Sheruts (it 021625-
72n, known for its extremely reliable airport service, is
upstairs at 23 Ben-Yehuda St., near King George Street.
The company will pick up around the clock, 7 days a
week, but if you need transport to the airport on the
Sabbath, you must make your reservation by Thursday—
the Nesher office is closed on Shabbat.
Tips:
1. Ask when you get on to verify that the sherut goes
where you think it does.
2. Numbered routes will have the number prominently
displayed in the windshield.
3. Sheruts from Netanya to Tel Aviv (found on Route 2)
have the destination in Hebrew in the window.
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Charities and Volunteer
Opportunities
Embassy staff, both Israeli and American, are a generous bunch. They get involved in local efforts and look for
ways to contribute to those less fortunate.
There are dozens of charities and organizations throughout Israel that provide education, health services,
meals, clothing, furniture and housing to the poor or disenfranchised. To get started, take a look at the list
provided on this page. Though lengthy, the list is not comprehensive.
Please note that the CLO are doing their best to keep this list updated, but acknowledge that they are not
always informed of changes in hours or contact information. If you have a favorite charity that you don’t see
here, please let them know by emailing CLOTelAviv@state.gov and they will add them to the list.
Blue Bins
Blue bins are placed throughout Herzliya neighborhoods. These blue plastic bins have pictures of shirts,
shoes, and other clothing, to easily identify that it is a drop box for your clean and good quality clothing
donations. Although Herzliyya Municipality doesn’t list locations, there is one we know of on HaMesila St.
Herzliya. Bins are also located around the Tel Aviv Municipality.
ARDC – African Refugee Development Center
ARDC works to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are free from persecution, live in dignity and have
opportunities. At this time, they are collecting baby care products (new diapers, wipes, formula, diaper rash
cream and soap/shampoo); adult toiletries (new); and non-perishable food (canned beans, tomatoes, tuna and
pasta, rice, oil and flour.) Please contact Iris Kat at iris@ardc-israel.org, to arrange.
Tel Aviv Mothers Make a Difference
This group collects donations for: Invisible Kids, ASSAF, Eritrean Women’s Community Centre, Forgotten
People’s Fund, Kuchinate, UNITAF, Mesila, Pitchon Lev, Tel Aviv Centre for the Blind, Terem, WIZO.
Organizers specifically request the following items for babies and toddlers: cribs, strollers, baby furniture,
clean clothing, diapers & supplies, developmental toys. They also take donations of packaged food. They can
arrange for large items to be picked up at your home. Best way to contact the many wonderful volunteers for
TAMMAD is by messaging them through their Facebook page –
https://www.facebook.com/mothersmakeadifference
UNITAF
In the last two decades, Israel has experienced a rapid influx of foreign residents. A significant number of
these are refugees from Sudan, Eritrea, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of the Congo who fled civil
war, armed conflict and persecution in their native countries.
Today, it is estimated that some 40,000 refugees reside in Israel, primarily in the Greater Tel Aviv area. To
respond to the needs of this community, the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo created Mesila, a municipal agency
mandated to deal exclusively with foreign worker and refugee issues. The attainment of proper daycare
became one of Mesila’s prime goals because until recently, there were few alternatives available for the
children of working refugee parents. In 2005, together with the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo and a private
donor, Mesila established UNITAF, the first state-of-the-art daycare center for refugee and foreign workers’
children. In 2008, a second UNITAF Center was opened, and in 2010, an after- school program for children
aged 3-6 was added. In 2011, the third UNITAF Center was opened.
UNITAF constitutes a unique work model that stresses what is common between Israeli culture and that of the
immigrants and refugees, and tries to bridge the differences through educational-therapeutic discussions. At
the UNITAF centers, children are cared for by women from the foreign community, who have been especially
trained by Israeli educators to run the daycare facilities in a professional and compassionate manner, while
still preserving the cultural heritage of the children. The environment is pleasant and learning-conducive.
Each child receives three nutritious meals a day, individual attention, mental stimulation and emotional
support. Experts are on hand to diagnose potential developmental problems and to arrange treatment if
necessary and give especial attention to the children that arrived recently from Sinai. Care is given to create a
pluralistic atmosphere where children from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds can spend long hours
together and flourish. The trained nannies run the business independently, but are obliged to meet up with
Israeli standards and criteria, and the Israeli social worker that maintain the logistics as well as the individual
treatment of each child and family keep a frequent dialogue with the nanny in order to make sure they are
kept.Today, 350 children are being cared for in all of UNITAF brunches. Over the last ten years, more than
1600 children have benefitted from the services of UNITAF. There are still hundreds of children on waiting
lists for Unitaf’s day care centers and many babysitters are eager to work with the organization. But for now,
the group’s budget – aside from the municipality-donated locations – is entirely dependent on private
donations and there is no money to open new centers.
•To donate or volunteer for UNITAF, visit www.unitaf.org.il
•Email info@unitaf.org.il
•Their main offices are located at 108 Levinsky Street, Tel Aviv
Elifelet – Citizens for Refugee Children
Elifelet was founded in the Spring of 2012, following a hate crime in Tel Aviv, when ‘Molotov cocktails’ (glass
bottles containing explosives) were thrown into a daycare center at night, while 21 refugee children were
asleep (miraculously, they were physically unhurt). Immediately following the attack, they raised funds and
drafted friends who volunteered to rebuild the burnt center. They realized the extent of the physical and
emotional distress faced by approximately 3,000 refugee children whose parents fled from Eritrea and Sudan
and are now living in South Tel Aviv under extremely difficult conditions. With the help of about 200
volunteers and many donors, Elifelet has adopted one daycare center after another, built therapeutic
afternoon clubs for older children and rescued hundreds of children from a vicious cycle of ongoing physical
and emotional distress.
•Visit http://www.elifelet.org/en for more information.
•Volunteer to help or ask if donations can be made!
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Tzimaon – The Good People Fund
Inspired by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world), The Good People Fund was founded in
2008 to respond to significant problems such as poverty, disability, trauma and social isolation, primarily in
the United States and Israel. Tzimaon provides financial support, guidance and mentoring to charitable
activities of modest proportions that are undertaken by Good People acting singly or in small groups. Target
endeavors are those that, by their personal scale and often-unusual nature, might otherwise find it difficult to
attract sufficient support. To donate or volunteer, write to naomi@goodpeoplefund.org
Shanti House
The Shanti House serves as temporary housing and as a long-term framework for runaway and street youth,
ages 14-21, regardless of religion, race, sex or gender. At Shanti House we take in youth who are in immediate
danger or are on the brink of becoming victims of physical violence, sexual abuse, crime, prostitution and the
like. We also have prevention programs for at-risk youth throughout the country. You can donate in several
ways:
•Donations of equipment and miscellaneous: If you would like to donate, equipment, clothing or furniture, we
will be pleased to coordinate with you via our email address: office@shanti.org.il
•Purchase Shanti House merchandise including wide range of art, books, CDs, cookbook
•Financial contribution via Bank Transfer; see http://shanti-il.info/english
ESRA (English Speaking Residents Association)
A group of English Speaking residents of Herzliya and Kfar Shmaryahu formed ESRA in 1979, primarily to
fulfill a social need and assist their integration into Israeli society.
One of ESRA’s aims is to encourage English speakers to volunteer in the community, thereby helping others
and at the same time becoming a useful part of Israeli society. The ESRA Community Fund (E.C.F.) aids
immigrants from distressed countries and other disadvantaged sectors of Israeli society. The donated goods
shop in Ra’anana, and the ESRA “Vintage” shop in Kfar Saba, both accept clean, good quality, re-saleable
clothing and household goods.
•ESRA Vintage, 45 Rothschild St. Kfar Saba, Tel: 09-765 4652
•Ra’anana Shop, 100 Ahuza St., (Entry for cars at Hanegev St. 29), Tel: 09-741 2631.
•For pick-up of large items at your residence, please call Ed at 050-535-4884.
Yad Eliezer
Yad Eliezer helps families cope with financial difficulties and empowers them to break through the cycle of
poverty and achieve self-sufficiency, with food programs, job training and other assistance. The efficient
management of a large volunteer effort (96% of funds raised goes directly to needy families) earned Yad
Eliezer a “4-Star Exceptional” rating from Charity Navigator, which rates organizations based on how
effectively and responsibly they utilize donations, and to what extent the charity is growing in terms of
programs and services. To arrange donations or volunteer, contact:
•Email: meira@yadeliezer.org
•Telephone: 02 591 2200
Naamat
The Movement for the Advancement of the Status of Women in Israel works to prevent the phenomena of
violence against women within the family and in society. NA`AMAT operates two centers for the prevention
and treatment of violence,–the Glickman Center in Tel Aviv , under one roof, serves as a shelter for battered
women and their children, and a counseling and treatment center for battered women, violent men, and
children exposed to violence. It houses Jewish and Arab Women, veterans and new immigrants, secular and
traditionally observant.
The Lone Soldier Center
The Lone Soldier Center was established in memory of Michael Levin as a grass-roots, Israeli non-profit
organization created by former lone soldiers in order to assist the next generation of lone soldiers in all
aspects of life, in the military and out. A “lone soldier” is a soldier in the IDF with no family in Israel to
support him or her: a new immigrant, a volunteer from abroad, an orphan or an individual from a broken
home. Lone Soldiers don’t always have the basic items necessary for their military service, or families living
in Israel that can support them. Lone Soldier Centers, throughout the country, serve as their back-up homes.
Items needed:
The Centers supply lone soldiers with personal care items, donated by you, that they need while on duty.
Items needed include Leatherman utility tools, black watches, protective sunglasses, dried fruits, nuts and
energy bars, flip flops, underwear, sports bras, active wear, gloves, winter socks and hats, new toiletries.
•Call (or stop in—they are across the street from the Embassy Branch Office
•Address: Hayarkon 74 (entrance by Embassy Hotel, 1st floor), Tel-Aviv
•Office Hours: Sun-Thurs 9:00-16:00; Fri 9:00-15:00
•Tel: 03-560-1931
DSI Second Hand Stores
DSI works with four, area second hand shops, as a way to raise funds for their charity projects. Your donated
items are sold at the stores, and proceeds from sales are split between the shop owner and a DSI-designated
charity. If your items to do not sell, they are donated to charity.
•Past and Present – Haparsa 7, Nof Yam. Call owner Tzippi, 09-956-1283, for details. Open daily.
•Etcetera – Harishonim 3 or 7 in Kfar Shmaryahu (near the dentist and frame shop). Call owner Adrian, 09
951 4008, for details. Closed Tuesdays.
•Golda Second Hand – Hanadiv 69, Herzylia (next to Fresh Market Supermarket). Call owner Golda
054-200-6111, for details. Closed Tuesdays. Note: If you are with DSI, use the code 300 to designate your
donated item.
•Scandal – Nordau 9, Herzylia Bet (down the road from Garlic Pizza). Call owner Naomi, 09-950-6151, for
details. Closed Saturdays.
Koach La Tet – Power of Giving
Koach La Tet provides basic amenities for the home such as electrical appliances, baby carriages, furniture,
toys, clothes and more.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 79
The organization will pick up items from donors’ homes and transport them to warehouses located
throughout Israel, where they undergo a process of cataloguing, repair and cleaning by volunteers. In order
to receive the household merchandise, persons in need are required to produce documentation from the
Department of Welfare, stating a level of need. The product is “sold” for a nominal price, and transported for
free as quickly as possible by Koach la Tet trucks. Call *3656 to make a donation of furniture or equipment.
•Email: office@meirpanim.org
•Website: www.mifalchaim.org/eng/koach.htm
Lasova
Lasova House, a multi–service center for needy persons, is located at 18 Tzelnov Street in Tel Aviv near the
old central bus station. The center, a first of its type in Israel, merges many services under one roof –a soup
kitchen, 19 youth centers, 3 homeless shelters, the Egged Beged mobile distribution center for clothing to
hospitals and geriatric centers, and collection of surplus food for delivery to the needy. For further
information, to review of our balance sheets and to set up a meeting, please call our offices: 03-7520002, Fax:
03-7519991. For information on volunteering, please refer to: Ergun.kadima@gmail.com
•Website: www.lasova.org.il
•General Email: mankal.lasova@gmail.com
Table-to-Table
Various locations around Israel
Serving as Israel’s umbrella organization for “food-rescue”, Table to Table collects excess, unsold food from
catered events, corporate cafeterias, army bases, food manufacturers, grocers, farms, and packing houses and
delivers the food to nonprofit agencies throughout Israel that serve those in need. Table-to-Table was a
Diplomatic Spouses’ Club Israel (DSCI) designated charity in the past.
Volunteers fuel success today. Everyone volunteers for the same reason–they want to help people in need.
Join the front lines of the fight against hunger – become a Table-to-Table volunteer. There are many ways to
put your talents to use. You determine your own time commitment. What can you do as a volunteer? There
are a number of ways:
Morning hours -prepare sandwiches; during the day – harvest fruits and vegetables; at night – collect excess
food from catered events.
Anytime – perform administrative and computer-based tasks from our office or from your home. Contact
Table to Table if you would like to help.
•Tel: 02-972 4157
•Email: infor@tabletotable.org.il
•Website: www.tabletotable.org.il
•http://www.ivolunteer.org.il/Eng/Index.asp?ArticleID=73&CategoryID=128
Leket Israel, the National Food Bank
Leket Israel works to alleviate the problem of nutritional insecurity amongst the growing numbers of Israel’s
poor. Among volunteer opportunities are Rescue & Redeliver, and Project Leket.
In both projects, individual or group volunteers rescue prepared meal surpluses from restaurants and
catering facilities; or, in the case of Project Leket, rescue thousands of tons of agricultural crops left to rot
each season. Foods are quickly brought to a logistics center in Ra’anana, where food parcels are repackaged
and prepared by volunteers, and delivered to food agencies, soup kitchens, shelters, IDF soldiers, needy
families and non-profits throughout the country. To volunteer as an individual or a group, contact:
•Tel: 0 9 744 1757
•Email: info@leket.org
•See more at: http://www.leket.org.il/english/text/309.aspx#sthash.hAnHtG9Z.dpuf
Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel
Hand in Hand brings together Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel through a growing network of bilingual
schools and shared communities. After the arson attack last November, both communities, as well as the
international community in Israel and even President Obama in Washington, rallied to defend the school as a
shining light in the darkness.
Their success depends on the support of many individuals who care about creating a safer and more peaceful
environment for all children in Israel. Refurbishing damaged classrooms and intensifying security are
immediate needs. But the most significant response to this attack, in the long term, is to expand the school
network to 10 – 15 bilingual schools, as planned, over the coming decade. All contributions are welcome.
Please join us now. https://www.handinhandk12.org/engage/donate-now
_____________________________________________________________________________
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY IN KUCHINATE
Kuchinate is a collective of African asylum seeking women living in Tel Aviv, Israel. The aim of the Kuchinate
is to produce beautifully designed crocheted baskets, poufs and carpets for your pleasure and use. This
collective is unique in that it is an income generating as well as a psycho social project providing economic,
social and psychological empowerment to over 70 women.
There are many ways to volunteer:
Transport fabric from cutter in Jaffa to the Kuchinate shop
(approx 15 mins away from each other)
Work a sale and transport women and baskets
Keep the Diplomatic community and the US Embassy vendor sales open and flowing by finding home sales
and working these sales.
With US Embassy clearance badge.
Transport women that cannot take the bus to the shop for them to work (one way, as they can taxi back).
Please contact Ruth – Sale Manager at 052-638-8790 or Kuchinate at 054-976-5667
Email – Kuchinate@gmail.com
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 81
RELIGIOUS
SERVICES
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 83
GETTING AROUND
EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST
Police: 100
Ambulance: 101
Fire DEPARTMENT: 102
U.S. Embassy BRANCH OFFICE
Post One: 03-519-7551 (24/7)
U.S. EMBASSY Jerusalem Post
One: 02-622-7250 (24/7)
FPD Office: 03-519-7502
(duty hrs)
DAO Office: 03-519-7333
(duty hrs)
RSO Office: 03-519-7400
(duty hrs)
TRAVEL TIPS
A Safe Trip
Starts With This
COOLAPPS
https://www.life360.com/
No more endless texts and calls
wondering, did Sarah make it
home? Has Dad left the office?
When will Mom arrive to pick me
up? With Life360, just open the
app and instantly see everyone
in your private Circle on the map.
You can also message the whole
group at once or privately.
S
Satsig
http://www.satsig.net/
Helpful details about VSAT services, cell signal (where
you can find it and which areas to avoid due to not having
cell signal), beam coverages, antenna pointing and how it
works. This web site is here to promote legitimate, satcom
access for people in all locations, who are unable to gain
access using terrestrial ADSL via copper or optical fibre
phone lines or using cable modems. Satcom is an alternative
and provides independent small-dish two-way access
from anywhere except the extreme polar regions.
CellMapper 5.1.2 App
https://www.cellmapper.net/map
- Displays low level cellular network
information data along with
frequency band calculations (for
some providers.)
- Frequency calculator (GSM ARF-
CN, UMTS UARFCN, LTE EARFCN,
CDMA, and iDEN.)
- Displays a map of both coverage
and individual tower sector coverage
and bands.
A F
App - Smart Traveler App
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/smarttraveler.html
The app was first launched in June 2011. It is the
official State Department app for U.S. travelers.
The app invites you to see the world with easy
access to frequently updated official country
information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps,
U.S. embassy locations, and more.
Family Contact from Overseas
https://www.rebtel.com/en/
Skype and Whatsapp will always be staples when it comes
to international calling and messaging, but a wifi connection
is needed to use them. To make cheap calls around
the world without the internet (or faffing around with
phonecards), the app to choose is Rebtel. By “hijacking”
local phonelines, it gets the best available calling rates.
Recently launched, it is currently offering a “Rebel calling”
deal, which means friends or family can be called for free if
they are also using the app (until 2018).
TRAVELResources
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/
Ever since company founders Tony
and Maureen Wheeler stapled
together their first guidebook
after an epic trip across Asia,
Lonely Planet has put travellers
at the heart of everything they
do, informing and inspiring them
with trusted content for print and
digital from experts who visit
every destination.
https://www.fodors.com/
For 80 years, Fodor’s Travel has
been a trusted resource offering
expert travel advice for every
stage of a traveler’s trip. They
hire local writers who know their
destinations better than anyone
else, allowing them to provide the
best travel recommendations for
all tastes and budget in over 7,500
worldwide destinations.
https://www.osac.gov/Pages/
Home.aspx
E
Eliminate Internet Vulnerability
Ghostery isn’t just for travel. It’s an app that blocks trackers in your browser, stopping
the likes of Facebook from following you around the internet. That’s reason enough to
have the Ghostery extension installed and running on your Mac at all times. But because
Ghostery blocks all that tracking code from being downloaded in the first place, it saves
you a ton of bandwidth. If you are using a tethered connection from your iPhone when
you travel, this is a real boon.
Cloak is easy to use and works on all your devices — Mac, iOS and Android — using
the same account. That is, you pay once, and use as much as you like. A VPN overlays
a private network onto the internet, kind of like a network of private tunnels through
public spaces. This means that you can use insecure public Wi-Fi without worrying.
VPNs aren’t 100 percent secure, but they are way, way better than using public internet
unprotected.
Get prepared on specific things
and find all the below info before
arriving:
- crime and safety in the specific
country,
-areas to avoid in a specific city;
-news and reports,
-emergency “Warden” messages.
https://1password.com/
You should already be using a
password manager like 1Password,
which is infinitely more secure
than using the name of your dog
to log into your bank account.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 85
LIST
15 of the best
1
The
2
Google Trips: for itineraries
travel apps
Free, iOS and Android, get.google.com
Are you the kind of person who prepares for every trip by getting a manila folder and
filling it with every bit of your travel itinerary? Well Google Trips is like that folder, but
without the annoyance of maintaining a tatty pile of paper printouts; the app gathers all
3 4
your travel information from Gmail and Inbox and organises it automatically.
Tunnel Bear: for security
Free, iOS and Android, tunnelbear.com
If you want to stream things such as iPlayer or 4oD, as well as
keep your internet connection secure while abroad - which
is worth it if you connect to lots of random wifi spots - then
you’ll need to use a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs hide
your IP address and location and can “tunnel” you to another
country.
Hopper: for flight booking
Free, iOS and Android, hopper.com
What sets Hopper apart from other flight-booking apps
such as Skyscanner and Cheapflights is that it not only lets
you book flights on your phone, it tells you when to do
it, and how to get the best price and the biggest savings.
Once you’ve searched for a flight, the app will let you know
whether to wait or buy.
5
Packpoint: for packing
• Free, iOS and Android, packpnt.com
Packpoint automatically generates a bespoke packing list for
your trip: you just enter the destination, date of travel and
length of stay along with some details about the activities
you are planning. In the event that the app has misjudged
your desire to have a different outfit for every evening, it’s
easiest to tweak the list once it has been generated.
6 7
Tripit
• Free, iOS and Android, tripit.com
A bit like a pocket travel agent, Tripit
pulls together travel information from
your confirmation emails for flights,
hotels, rental cars, events bookings and
converts it into a single itinerary. Just
forward your emails to the app and it will
do the rest.
Free, iOS and Android, appintheair.mobi
Not exactly slick by name, though certainly slick by nature,
App in the Air is a smart, straightforward, flight tracking
app that has the best coverage of airlines and airports. It
will keep you updated about flight status – even if you don’t
have internet coverage – and helps you manage your time at
the airport, breaking down each flight into four stages; check
in, boarding, takeoff and landing time. It also integrates with
Tripit (#6) allowing you to import all your flights.
Splittr
splittrapp.com
Price: £1.49
App in the Air
There is a selection of apps out there to help you split
bills (Tipulator, Splitwise etc), but Splittr is geared up for
travelling, providing a simple platform to share costs
between friends. You can enter expenses as you go,
including who paid what and the app will do the rest. A
nice touch for longer, multi-destination trips is that all
currencies are supported and you can mix currencies
without having to do the conversion yourself.
9
Google Translate
Free, iOS and Android- Google Translate
This translator can be a useful tool to support your own,
more serious language learning, but realistically, it’s most
useful on a practical level quickly translating day-to-day
words you come across on your travels. For example, you can
hold your camera up to text – such as a sign, or a menu – and
Google will translate it for you instantly. It’s an essential app
for any traveller.
Wolfram Sun Exposure
on iOS only - Price: £0.79
There are a few apps out there that help
11
you manage your time in the sun safely,
but this one offers the most detailed
information to keep you informed. You
enter your skin type and it calculates
how long you can spend sunning
yourself before getting burned, based on
the time of day, where you are and the
strength of sun cream you’re wearing.
It also provides UV forecasts for your
location.
8Free, iOS and Android, livetrekker.com
This ambitious app creates a digital journal of your travels so
LiveTrekker
you can look back on your trips on an interactive map. The
app tracks you as you go, marking a red line along a map on
the exact route you take; the app also monitors your speed
and altitude, making it great for adventure travellers, though
it’s just as fun to look back at your route around a city.
You can add pictures, video, audio and text along the way,
creating a multimedia travel diary you can share.
10
Tipulator
• Free, iOS and Android
The standard tip in Israel is 10% at a restaurant, which is
pretty easy to calculate, but this app makes it even easier!!
12 •
If you need to get somewhere much faster, this app is
Get Taxi
Free, iOS and Android
exactly like Uber for Israel.
13 •
Red Alert
Free, iOS and Android
Just to be extra cautious, you can get real time alerts
from this app to receive security updates from all over the
country.
14
•
Even though you might be learning about it in school or
Israeli News
Free, iOS and Android
seeing it on T.V. anyway, this is another way to stay on top
of what’s going on around the country!
15
•
Israel App
Free, iOS and Android
Be your own personal tour guide and get tips on
everything, from places to travel to on weekends and how
you can spend afternoons off.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 87
THE
MONEY
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 89
CURRENCY,
VAT, AND
BANKS
מקור
חשבונית מס
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 91
Jerusalem:
an
introduction
to the Holy
City
What springs to mind when you hear the word Jerusalem?
Is it ancient stone alleyways brimming with Jews and
Arabs on their way to prayer? Or perhaps a picture
postcard vista of the Western (Wailing) Wall? Or perhaps
the hustle and bustle of a Jerusalem market, with market
traders howling out their latest prices and bargains in
Hebrew and Arabic?
What you feel for Jerusalem will, of course, depend on
your faith. But forget that for a second, because however
much you might convince yourself that you’re a nonbeliever,
there’s something raw and empowering about
being in the Holy City that it makes you want to start to
believe…in whatever.
Jerusalem is a fascinating city; a city where old meets new,
holy meets secular, and where nature and beautiful
architecture merge into a melting pot of smells, sounds
and sights. I will never forget my first visit to Jerusalem
and the Old City, many moons ago, it was amazingly
inspiring!
Jerusalem is, of course, the meeting point of the three
main faiths: for centuries, Jerusalem has played a
significant role in Christianity as the place of Christ’s
crucifixion, while for Jews Jerusalem is the place of David’s
ancient throne, and the indivisible capital of modern
Israel. To Moslems the city is a sacred place of worship,
centered on the Dome of the Rock.
Located in the Judean Mountains, just north of the Dead
Sea, Jerusalem is home to some 747,600 residents over an
area of 125 square kilometers (including the disputed East
Jerusalem). Out of that 125 km it is, in fact, one square
kilometer which holds incredible importance to so many
over the world – the area known as the Old City.
The Old City is home to sites of key religious significance, including
the Temple Mount, the Western Wall (a remnant of the supporting
wall of the Second Temple), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the
Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. The old walled city, has been
traditionally divided into four quarters — the Armenian, Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim Quarters, and as you can imagine, tensions and
squabbles often break out: you might not be surprised to hear that the
Old City is historically the world’s most fought over city….
So, yes, we highly recommend you check out the Old City. The places
listed above should all be visited, though some may be off-limits,
depending a little on your faith and the security situation (which very
occasionally takes a turn for the worse). Also check out the narrow
streets of the Old City, which are lined with shops where merchants
sell foodstuffs and traditional handicrafts (TIP: bargain ferociously –
what starts at 50 shekels can often be bought for 5 shekels!).
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 93
Dead Sea Facts
10 things you didn’t know about the lowest place on Earth
We love the Dead Sea round these parts, we really do. And if you’ve never been, it really has to be on your list of must sees when visiting Israel.
We’re guessing (OK, presuming) you might have picked up a few bits and bobs about the Dead Sea along your Internet travels, like the amazing
ability to float on your back and the health benefits associated with the area, but we have a feeling you don’t know the really good stuff, so…
1
Water
5
Aristotle
HOT READ
never flows out of Dead Sea because it is surrounded
by land on three sides. The only open side is actually the
route through which water enters Dead Sea from rivers and
streams. Water flows into the Dead Sea (the Jordan River is
the main source of water), but it doesn’t flow out! Why the
heck not, I hear you cry…Well, largely due to evaporation as
it’s very hot in this area.
3
The
minerals in the Dead Sea all
naturally occur within our bodies – yes,
you could become your own health
resort!
used to scribble things about the
Dead Sea in his renowned writings.
6
2
Maybe
somebody before her spotted the potential
(some say Herod the Great), but it was Cleopatra
who first loved and thus promoted the Dead Sea,
even ordering cosmetic factories and resorts be built
along its shores.
4
Many centuries ago, one of the popular
names of the Dead Sea was “The Stinky Sea”.
And it had nothing to do with Cleopatra’s
fondness for hummus.
The Dead Sea is a dinosaur – it’s 3 million years old!
7
You can take a spin along Road 90, the world’s lowest road,
which runs along the shores of the Dead Sea at 393 meters
below sea level.
It is called Dead Sea but the truth is that it is not a sea. It is actually
a salt water lake.
If we are to measure the depth of Dead Sea with respect to sea
level of this planet, it becomes even deeper. Its shores and the
water surface are located 1,401 feet or 427 meters below sea
level, making it a water body on Earth’s lowest elevation of land.
8
Oh
Mummy! Egyptians used to splash some of that Dead Sea mud and asphalt all over in their mummification
process of the deceased. Dead Sea has a very unusual phenomenon. It spits out asphalt almost
constantly. Asphalt used in ancient Egypt for mummification was imported from Dead Sea. Because of this
unusual asphalt spitting phenomenon, the Greeks named the Dead Sea as Lake Asphaltites.
9
Yes, Dead Sea cannot support life but it is useful in several healthcare and treatment types. The pollen
content of this lake is extremely low. It is also free of other allergens. On top of it, it is the home of different
types of minerals. Also, solar UV radiation is greatly reduced near Dead Sea. Additionally, atmospheric
pressure near this lake is high because of its low elevation. These factors together make it beneficial for
human health.
Rain is very rare in the Dead Sea – less than 10cm of rain falls in the area every year (an average winter
temp of 20-23C might give you a clue as why).
10
This hypersaline lake is one of the most salty lakes in this world. The salt concentration of Dead Sea is
33.7%. But this does not make it the saltiest water body because Caspian Sea’s Lagoon Garabogazköl has
35% salinity, Lake Assal in central-western Djibouti has 34.8% salinity, Antarctica’s Lake Vanda has 35%
salinity and Don Juan Pond located in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys has 44% salinity!
It is world’s deepest salt water lake to exist on this planet. It is 1,004 feet or 306 meters deep.
Source: https://igoogledisrael.com/dead-sea-facts-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-lowest-place-on-earth/
http://factslegend.org/25-interesting-dead-sea-facts/
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 95
CAESAREA
MARITIMA
H A R B O R A N D H E R O D `S C I T Y
Herod, the ancient world’s master
builder, constructed a magnificent
port city on the Mediterranean
coast of Palestine. He called it
Caesarea in honor of his Roman
patron Augustus Caesar. Maritima
distinguished it from the many
other cities that bore this much
honored name, notably Caesarea
Philippa, another city in Herod’s
kingdom, located inland at the
source of the Jordan River.
According to the first century
historian Josephus, who left us a
detailed description, the port of
Caesarea Maritima was as large as
Piraeus, the port of Athens. If so,
Caesarea was one of the two or
three largest ports on the
Mediterranean, indeed in the world.
The port of Caesarea was all the
more remarkable because it was
located on a 40-mile length of the
Mediterranean shore that had no
natural harbor, bay or inlet. The
Mediterranean coast in the area of
Caesarea is an uninterrupted line
of sand and cliffs.
Here, for the first time in history,
Herod constructed a port on the
open sea without benefit of any
natural features.
The small town of Straton's Tower
was established during the Persian
period, when the Palestinian coast
was governed by the Phoenician
kings of Tyre and Sidon.
The town was part of the territory
that Herod received from Octavian
(Augustus Caesar) after the battle
of Actium in 31 B. C.E., when
Octavian reconfirmed Herod as
king of Judea and increased the
size of his kingdom. Herod rebuilt
Straton's Tower as a showcase
Greco-Roman port city and
renamed it Caesarea.
Herod's establishment of Caesarea
followed the precedent of
Alexander the Great and his
Hellenistic successors, but instead
of naming it after himself he
named it in honor of Octavian — a
brilliant move that demonstrated
Herod's loyalty to his new patron.
Herod's city of Caesarea had two
components: the settlement (on
land), called Caesarea Maritima,
and the harbor, called Sebaste
(Sebastos is Greek for Augustus).
A glance at a map of Palestine
reveals that the coastline is
relatively even and lacks large
natural harbors and anchorages.
Herod's new harbor filled this gap,
and the city quickly became
Palestine's major port city.
Caesarea had a long history and
flourished for centuries. Its
importance increased after Herod
Archelaus was removed from rule
in 6 C. E., when it became the seat
of the local Roman governor
(prefect or procurator) in Palestine
(although Herod had a palace at
Caesarea, Jerusalem was the
capital of his kingdom). After Paul
was arrested, he was imprisoned in
the Roman governor's palace at
Caesarea for two years before
being shipped off to Rome for trial
and (presumably) execution (Acts
23:23—24, 33). Caesarea was a
Greco-Roman city.
With a large Gentile population and a minority of Jews. By Paul's time, the inhabitants also included some
members of the early church: “The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip
the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. . . . After these days we got ready and started to go up to
Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came along and brought us to the house of Mnason of
Cyprus, and early disciple, with whom we were to stay" (Acts 21:8, 15—16). Tensions between Jews and Gentiles
at Caesarea contributed to the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt in 66 C. E., when a pagan ceremony conducted
on the Sabbath near the entrance to a synagogue sparked riots.
Vespasian made Caesarea the headquarters of his operations during the First Revolt. After the revolt, Vespasian
raised Caesarea to the rank of a Roman colony, a status that conveyed certain benefits to the population, which
now included Roman military veterans. In the centuries that followed, Caesarea continued to grow, reaching its
maximum extent during the fifth and sixth centuries C. E. (the Byzantine period). Caesarea was the last major city
in Palestine to fall to the Muslims, surrendering in 640 C. E. after a seven-month-long siege. Although Caesarea
contracted in size after the Muslim conquest, it continued to be an important commercial hub, as indicated by
large quantities of imported pottery from around the Mediterranean. Caesarea was conquered during the First
Crusade (1101) and became a key stronghold of the Crusader kingdom in the Holy Land. The Genoese found a
green-colored glass vessel in the city and declared it to be the Holy Grail, the goblet used by Jesus at the Last
Supper. It was taken to Genoa and placed in the Church of San Lorenzo. Caesarea fell to Saladin in 1187 and was
retaken by the Crusaders in 1191.
When the Mamluke ruler Baybars conquered
Caesarea in 1265, he razed it to the ground,
bringing to an end the city's long history. In
the 1870s and 1880s, the Ottomans settled
Bosnian refugees at Caesarea (Kaisariyeh).
This settlement existed until the
establishment of the state of Israel in 1948;
some descendants of the Bosnian families
still live in the nearby Israeli town of
Hadera. After 1948, the Israeli authorities
cleared and restored the Crusader
fortification walls and moat.
We hear first of Caesarea as the final
destination of the wandering Philip the
Evangelist (8:40), who, besides a modest
missionary range, also had four prophesying
daughters living with him (21:8-9). When in
Jerusalem certain Hellenists wanted to kill
Paul, the brethren spirited him away to
Tarsus via Caesarea (9:30).
Also in Caesarea, the centurion Cornelius
saw a vision in which he was told to sent
for Peter, who was in Joppa at the time
(10:1). Peter too saw a vision, the famous
Great Sheet via which the Lord explained
Peter that the gospel was also for the
gentiles, and the first of those to receive
the gospel and the Holy Spirit was Cornelius
of Caesarea (11:24-48).
Some while later, Peter was arrested in
Jerusalem but miraculously freed from
prison. When Herod (Herod Agrippa I)
couldn't find him, he had the guards
executed and took off to his Roman
buddies in Caesarea himself, and there he
died rather spectacularly (12:19-23, also
Josephus Ant.19.8.2).
On his way from Greece to Antioch, Paul
came ashore in Caesarea (18:22), and later
on his way to Jerusalem, did the same
(21:8) and even picked up some Caesarean
disciples who accompanied him for untold
reasons to Mnason of Cyprus (21:16).
Finally in Jerusalem, Paul was arrested
and after some ado, toted back to
Caesarea, to be tried by Felix the
governor (23:23, 23:33).
After two years, Felix was succeeded by
Porcius Festus, whose inquiries into the
Pauline situation took him to Jerusalem
from Caesarea (25:1), while Paul stayed in
Caesarea (25:4), where he joined him after
eight or ten days (25:6). Several days
later, King Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II) and
Bernice arrived at Caesarea (25:13), and
joined their host Festus in hearing Paul.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 97
ּ
עֵין כ ֶרֶם عين كارم
ʿ ʿ
ḥ
حيفا χ i̯ˈ ˈχ i̯ חֵיפָה
חפה
חוֹף
חוֹף י ָפֶה
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 101
ˌ ɛ əˈ ːə ɪˈ ɪ
ɪ
Καισαρεία Φιλί
εια
əˈ ːə Πανειάς
ˈ ɑː
ə
Πάνειον
ā́
əˈ ʊ ə Νερωνιάς
əˈ
ɪə
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 103
שִׂרְיֹן
جبل حرمون
جبل الشيخ
הר חרמון
جبل بنطل جبل الغرام
הר בנטל
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 105
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 107
נֵצֶר ṣ
נָצַר
ṣ
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 109
مجیدو
מגידו
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 111
ROCK CLIMBING FOR EVERYONE
S T E P - B Y - S T E P
J O R D A N T R A V E L
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 113
′ ″ ′ ″
גשר אלנבי
جسر الملك حسين
′ ″ ′ ″
′ ″ ′ ″
מסוף
معبر نهر الأردن
נהר ירדן
تقاطع وادي
מעבר יצחק רבין
عربة
מסוף יצחק רבין
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 115
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 117
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 119
C O M I N G
B A C K T O I S R A E L
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 121
T R A V E L
C O S T S
" L A U G H ,
A N D T H E W O R L D
L A U G H S W I T H
Y O U ; W E E P , A N D
Y O U W E E P
A L O N E . "
J O R D A N I A N P R O V E R B
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 123
JUDAISM 101
Judaism
Judaism is a lively and diverse monotheistic world religion that shares
characteristics with both Christianity and Islam. Its creative contribution to
cultural history is immense. Jewish Holy Scripture, the Torah, is fundamental
for the organization of Jewish life across the whole world. Various Jewish
communities can today be found in all parts of the world. The Jewish
religion is closely linked with the history of all Israelites.
COOLFACTS
- Judaism is the oldest
monotheistic religion in the old.
- A common Jewish faith
first emerged in the Babylonian
exile.
- The Torah is the
primary holy book of Judaism,
making up the first five chapters
of both the Hebrew Bible and
Christianity`s Old Testament.
The Origin and Beginning of “God`s Chosen People”
According to ancient tradition, Judaism emerged between the Euphrates and
Tigris rivers. The nation of Israel in the Bible originates with Abraham of Ur,
who worshipped a unique God that permeates everything. Six generations
later, descendants of Abraham lived in Egypt as slaves. Moses rose up as a
leader among them, taking his people across the Red Sea and back toward the
“promised land”. During the Exodus, Moses received the Ten Commandments,
a set of laws central to the Jewish religion. These laws are considered by the
Jews as a gift of God and as the holy path.
Settled in the Promised Land, the 12 tribes of Israelites finally unite as a single
nation under Saul, who ruled from 884 to 882 B.C. After him, David, then
Solomon served as powerful leaders, building the temple of Jerusalem, considered
the most important altar of the God Jehovah and the spiritual center
of the Jewish religion. After the death of Solomon, the Israelite nation split
in two. Israel, the northern kingdom, was captured by the Assyrians while the
southern kingdom was taken over by the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar in
597 B.C. Ten years later, he destroyed the temple of Jerusalem and deported
large portions of the upper and middle classes to Mesopotamia. This period of
time, called the Exile, unified Jews in their belief in Jehovah and their return to
the Promised Land.
The Promised Land
After the Persians (538 B.C.) captured Babylon, many Jews returned to Israel
and reconstructed the temple in Jerusalem. The country was the tributary
province of the Persian kingdom and remained so even after the victory of
Alexander The Great over the Persians in 333 B.C. With this, the Hellenistic
culture reached Judaism. When the Seleucid king Antiochus IV banned the
temple culture in 168 B.C., a Jewish resistance movement arose. Four years
later, they, under the leadership of the Maccabees, drove out the occupying
forces and newly consecrated the temple. The Romans, called to settle a
dispute between the Maccabee brothers, captured Jerusalem in 63 B.C. Later,
Herod was made Judah`s vassal king, during whose rule Jesus of Nazareth was
born.
Holy Scriptures
The Jewish Bible or
“Tanakh” is the product
of more than 1,000
years of history.
During the rabbinic
period (ca 70 A.D. –sixth
century), the tripartite
canon (traditionally
counted as 24 books)
was created.
Those holy Hebrew
Scriptures are
considered inspired and
consistent, and include
the five books of Moses
(Torah), prophetic
writings (Nevi`im) and
hagiographies or writings,
(Ketuvim), which
include the Psalms.
The organization of the
books into chapters can
be traced back to the
Middle Ages; the numbering
of the verses to
the 16th century.
Above: Jewish scripts
often contain magnificent
artistic images.
- Devotion to God and a
lineage reaching back to Abraham
unite Jews all over the world.
- God`s covenant with
Israel made them His chosen people.
The promise was conveyed by
the agreement with Noah after the
flood, the promise of children to
Abraham, and the transmission of
the Torah to Moses.
- During the time of
the judges, many prophets like
Jeremiah arose to interpret God`s
Commandments.
- The diversity of
modern Judaism can be traced to
the different interpretations of
the Torah. Orthodox Jews adhere
strictly to the commandments;
meanwhile in the liberal Judaism
there are even female rabbis.
- There were pogroms
against the Jews during the
Crusades.
- The National Socialists
(Nazis) murdered over six
million Jews.
- Today, Anti-Semitism
is growing in the Arab world.
- The “Judensau” was
ridiculing propaganda against
the Jewish religion in the Middle
Ages.
- Since antiquity, Jews
have been living in Palestine.
- The ancient city of
Jerusalem is the holy city for
three world religions. In 1980,
it was made the lawful national
territory of Israel.
- Over 5 million Jews
live in Israel. It is the only country
in the world in which Jews
hold the majority.
The Classic versus The Modern Judaism
Jewish Learning
The theological-legal structure of classical Judaism shows that the Old Testament easily reveals historical views that could be interpreted wrong,
as of Judaism being a monotheistic religion with unmistakable traces of polytheism. However, before considering this to be an oxymoron, we
need to consider the fact that many misconceptions came from “the Judeo-Christian tradition” (the non-Hebrew), where like in almost all the
foreign-language religions, have been interpreted in different ways.
The most popular delusions and interpretations mentions are that in most books of the Old Testament there is an existence of “other gods”. This
having been said, it is true that “other gods” have been acknowledged, but Yahweh (Jehovah), being the most powerful of all the gods forbids his
people to worship them. Some Jews believe that these writings have been mentioned on purpose, to point out the fact that no” other gods” exist
before Yahweh and that the meaning of “other gods” could also be interpreted as “other religions”. Some other Jews believe that the existence
of the “other gods” is to accentuate the importance of those characters in their Old Testaments, like the first god, also called “Father” and the first
goddess also called “Mother”. In Christian religions, these characters are called Adam and Eve. In some of the later prophets in the Bible, the
existence of all gods other than Yahweh is denied; therefore everything became quite clear that Judaism is far from pure monotheism, even for
the non- Hebrew believers. The doctrines dominant in present-day Orthodox Judaism, which is a direct continuation of the classical Judaism has
a strong influence of the cabbala. Cabbala is a mystical tradition based on the interpretations of the Old Testament. According to Cabbala, the
universe is ruled by several deities, of many characteristics and originated from a First Cause.
From the First Cause, we see a male god called “Wisdom” or “Father” and a female goddess called “Knowledge” or Mother”. The “Wisdom” god
and the “Knowledge” goddess gave birth to “Son” (also called “Small Face” or “The Holy Blessed One”) and Daughter (also called “Lady”), to
“Queen” and many others. Satan has an important personage in the Hebrew Old Testament, because he managed to break the union of the first
two sons and also came very closely to the divine Daughter. The Satan not only ruined the divine union, but he also destruction of the Temples,
the exile of the Jews from the Holy Land and the “whoring after strange gods”. The knowledge and comprehending of the Old Testament is
important for the Classic Jews for many reasons. The Classic Judaism is the foundation of the Modern Judaism (that got developed in the 12th
and 13th centuries) and it plays an important contemporary political role in the system of beliefs on many religious politicians. It contains many
traditions, festivities, prayers and religious acts that (as they believe) could help to bring back the perfect divine unity (in the form of sexual union
between the male and female deities) and to deceive various angels (that are independent minor deities) or to trick Satan. Classic Judaism also
celebrates each stage of life: the circumcision of male infants on their eight day; the 13th year coming of age (in Reform Judaism females hold
a similar celebration, the “Bar Mitzvah”); both the proposal and act of marriage, and then finally the death. Important annual festivals are: Rosh
Hashanah (New Year), Hanukkah, and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Many points of view have been revealed regarding the cabbalistic system and its importance. Even though the Classic Judaism and its present
political involvement in the Zionist practice have contradicting theories, one should never ignore the past and its influences, because only by
knowing it can one rise above its sightless power.
Israel Shahak notes that:” whatever can be said about this cabbalistic system, it cannot be regarded as monotheistic, unless one is also prepared
to regard Hinduism, the late Graeco-Roman religion, or even the religion of ancient Egypt, as “monotheistic.”
The Torah
The Torah scrolls, which are read out during services
of the synagogue, are held within the ark. The prayer
leader stands upon a raised platform and begins
recitations of consecutive sections of the Torah.
During the main religious services on the Sabbath
and holidays, chapters from the books of the prophets
are also read. Local liturgical customs, prayers,
and hymns continue to play an important role in the
synagogues. Traditional Judaism insists upon women
being seated in a separate gallery.
Synagogues always face eastward. The ark, which
encases the Torah, is on the eastern wall.
The Rabbi
The rabbi was primarily a scholar of the Torah who
was revered by virtue of his charisma and
competence. The authority granted to rabbis by the
Learning and Teaching
Jewish community was restricted to questions pertaining
to the interpretation and application of the
The foundation of the Jewish
faith is the Torah. Within
Torah to everyday life, but held no religious functions.
From the High Middle Ages, rabbis acted in the
these scriptures are the Ten
Commandments, expanded
by the rabbinical tradition
service of the Jewish community and were expected of scriptural interpretation.
They are the sources of the
to deal completely with all questions regarding
Halakha – the Jewish code of
religious laws. By the modern ages they received a
religious law.
position of increasing importance as the religious
and moral authority representative of the Jewish
community, especially when faced with non-Jewish
authorities. In modern Judaism, duties of the rabbi
came to include pastoral duties such as leading worship
services. Since the 19th century, the majority of
traditional Talmudic schools have become academic Synagogues symbolize the
rabbinical seminaries. As a result of the progressive preservation of the collective
Jewish way of life and often
Jewish reform movement going on since the 20th
house social, cultural, and
century, even women have been ordained as rabbis.
administrative facilities.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 125
Who is a Jew?
by Rebecca Weiner
Judaism is a religion as well as a nation and culture. Approximately 13.75 million people worldwide indentify as Jewish,
with the vast majority living in either the United States or Israel.
Jews come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and nationalities. There are black Jews from Ethiopia, Chinese Jews from Shanghai
and Indian Jews. There are Jews from Morocco and Iran, Jews from South America and Oceania. The practices and
beliefs held by Jews range from those who openly identify as Orthodox and strictly observe ancient precepts to those that
have nothing to do with the religion or culture.
Images Courtesy of Unsplash
Origins of the Words “Jew” & “Judaism”
Today, Judaism is comprised of four major movements: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. Most Israelis are often described
as “secular,” but the majority observe Jewish holidays and are very knowledgeable about Jewish history and culture, which is taught in public
school. The Conservative and Reform movements are particularly strong in the United States, but have yet to make significant inroads in Israel.
Reconstructionism is a small and relatively new movement. Orthodoxy has grown in recent years in the United States and remains the strongest
movement in Israel. The Orthodox, more so than the other movements, are also divided among different sects.
The Jewish movements have different interpretations of the Torah, which lead to different rituals, spiritual practices and beliefs. The diversity of
beliefs and practices has led to different definitions of “Who is a Jew.” This question is not just philosophical, it has political and legal ramifications.
In Israel, questions of Jewishness have implications for immigration, conversion, marriage, divorce and the allocation of government money.
The original name for the people we now call Jews was Hebrews. The word “Hebrew” (in Hebrew, “Ivri”) is first used in the Torah to describe Abraham
(Gen. 14:13). The word is apparently derived from the name Eber, one of Abraham’s ancestors. Another tradition teaches that the word comes
from the word “eyver,” which means “the other side,” referring to the fact that Abraham came from the other side of the Euphrates, or referring to
the fact Abraham was separated from the other nations morally and spiritually.
Another name used for the people is Children of Israel or Israelites, which refers to the fact that the people are descendants of Jacob, who was
also called Israel.
The word “Jew” (in Hebrew, “Yehudi”) is derived from the name Judah, which was the name of one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Judah was the ancestor
of one of the tribes of Israel, which was named after him. Likewise, the word Judaism literally means “Judah-ism,” that is, the religion of the
Yehudim.
Originally, the term Yehudi referred specifically to members of the tribe of Judah, as distinguished from the other tribes of Israel. However,
after the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel (I Kings 12; II
Chronicles 10). After that time, the word Yehudi could properly be used to describe anyone from the kingdom of Judah, which included the tribes
of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, as well as scattered settlements from other tribes. The most obvious biblical example of this usage is in Esther 2:5,
where Mordecai is referred to as both a Yehudi and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
In approximately 722 B.C.E., the kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria and the ten tribes were exiled from the land (II Kings
17), which left only the tribes in Judah’s kingdom to carry on Abraham’s heritage. The people of Judah’s kingdom called themselves
and were known to other nations as Yehudim(Jews), a name still used today.
In common speech, the word “Jew” is used to refer to all of the physical and spiritual descendants of Jacob/Israel, as well as to
the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac and their wives, and the word “Judaism” is used to refer to their beliefs. Technically, this usage
is inaccurate, just as it is technically inaccurate to use the word “Indian” to refer to the original inhabitants of the Americas.
However, this technically inaccurate usage is common both within the Jewish community and outside of it, and is therefore used
throughout this site.
Who is a Jew according to halakhah (Jewish Religious Law)?
Trend Privé Magazine 126
According to Jewish law, a child born to a Jewish mother or an adult who has converted to Judaism is considered a Jew; one does
not have to reaffirm their Jewishness or practice any of the laws of the Torah to be Jewish. According to Reform Judaism, a person
is a Jew if they were born to either a Jewish mother or a Jewish father. Also, Reform Judaism stresses the importance of being
raised Jewish; if a child is born to Jewish parents and was not raised Jewish then the child is not considered Jewish. According
to the Orthodox movement, the father’s religion and whether the person practices is immaterial. No affirmation or upbringing is
needed, as long as the mother was Jewish.
Besides for differing opinions on patrilineal descent, the various streams also have different conversion practices. Conversion
done under the auspices of an Orthodox rabbi, entails Jewish study, brit milah (for men), mikvah (for both men and women) and a
stated commitment to follow the laws of the Torah. Conservative conversions use the same requirements as the Orthodox do;
however, conversions by the Reform movement and other streams do not have the same requirements.
Since the conversion practices are not uniform, many Orthodox Jews do not recognize Reform
or Conservative conversions as valid and, hence, do not consider the converts Jews. Once a person
has converted to Judaism, he is not referred to by any special term; he is as much a Jew as anyone
born Jewish.
About Matrilineal Descent
Many people have asked why traditional Judaism uses matrilineal descent to determine Jewish status,
especially because for tribal affiliation, priestly status and royalty, patrilineal descent determines
membership.
The Torah does not specifically state anywhere that matrilineal descent should be used; however,
there are several passages in the Torah where the child of a Jewish woman and a non-Jewish man is
considered a Jew, and several other passages where the child of a non-Jewish woman and a Jewish
man is not considered a Jew.
In Deuteronomy 7:1-5, G-d prohibits intermarriage, saying “he [ie, the non-Jewish male spouse] will
cause your child to turn away from Me and they will worship the gods of others.” The Torah does not
include a similar concern is for the child of a non-Jewish female spouse. From this, one can infer that
a child of a non-Jewish male spouse is Jewish and can be turned away from Judaism, but the child
of a non-Jewish female spouse is not Jewish andturning away is not an issue. Also, Leviticus 24:10
speaks about the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man as “among the community of Israel”
(i.e., a Jew).
On the other hand, in Ezra 10:2-3, the Jews returning to Israel vowed to put aside their non-Jewish
wives and the children born to those wives. They could not have put aside those children if those
children were Jews.
Several people have asked how King David could be a Jew given that one of his female ancestors,
Ruth, was not a Jew. However Ruth converted to Judaism before marrying Boaz and bearing Obed. (In
Ruth 1:16 she states her intention to convert.) After she converted, Ruth was Jewish, and her children
born after the conversion were Jewish as well. Even so, Ruth is David’s paternal ancestor, so Ruth’s
Jewish identity or lack thereof would not impact King David’s status as a Jew because King David’s
Jewish status is determined matrilineally.
Implications on Israeli Society
Immigration:
In 1950, the Law of Return was passed in Israel stating that every Jew has the right to immigrate to
Israel, and granting automatic citizenship and benefits to any Jew who makes aliyah. Jewish immigrants
receive better benefits than non-Jewish immigrants, including guaranteed housing, ulpan
(Hebrew language study), full tuition for graduate degrees, and other benefits including discounts on
major purchases, such as cars and appliances. The absorption process is more arduous for non-Jews
and may take many years, during which they might not have health insurance and other government
services.
Three famous cases tested the Law of Return and a Jew’s right to immediate citizenship. The first
example involved Brother Daniel (born Oswald Rufeisen), a Jew who converted to Christianity during
the Holocaust and had become a Carmelite Monk. During his youth, Rufeisen was active in a Zionist
youth movement and fled to Vilna, Lithuania at the start of World War II. There he worked as a slave
laborer and escaped to Mir where he worked for the police as a translator. Rufeisen took advantage of
his position and smuggled arms to his Jewish friends and helped drive the police out from Mir before
it was liquidated, saving nearly 300 Jews. Rufeisen hid in the forest and later a convent, where he decided
to convert to Christianity. In 1962, Rufeisen, now Brother Daniel, applied to immigrate to Israel
and, after being denied, he appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that despite the
fact he was born to a Jewish mother, he had since converted and should not be recognized as a Jew
by the State of Israel.
Following the Brother Daniel case, a new regulation was adopted stating that individuals registered
as Jews for the “nationality” and ‘religion” section of their identity cards must be Jews according to
halakhah and they must not practice another religion. The Shalit case challenged this new ruling.
Benjamin Shalit married a non-Jewish Scottish woman. Since he was an Israeli, she and their children
automatically received Israeli citizenship. The two considered themselves atheists, but part of a Jewish
nation and wanted their children’s identity cards to state Jewish for the nationality designation
and to remain blank for religion. The Ministry of Interior wanted to keep both designations blank, so
the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in the Shalits’ favor.
The decision sparked controversy and, in 1970, an amendment to the Law of Return passed stating
that only persons born to a Jewish mother or who had converted to Judaism were allowed to immigrate
to Israel under the Law of Return. This amendment did not specify what type of conversion is
needed, thereby allowing different interpretations. The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 127
Since the amendment was passed, religious parties in the Knesset have tried to change it to apply only to Orthodoxconversions, a move that angered
the Reform and Conservative movements in the United States, which felt that it was an attempt to delegitimize their movements.
The Shoshanna Miller Case in 1980 tested the new amendment. She applied for citizenship under the Law of Return as a Reform convert. Initially
her petition was refused and she appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled that she should be granted citizenship, in what became known as the
Miller precedent.
Conversion:
Non-orthodox conversions done outside Israel are allowed; however, in Israel, only Orthodox conversions are accepted by the government and the
Rabbinate. While the issue of conversion had sparked controversy in Israel for many years, the need for a comprehensive conversion policy was
heightened after the arrival of 800,000 Russian immigrants in the late 1980’s. They immigrated under the Law of Return, however, about 200,000
-300,000 were not Jewish according to halakhah. To find a solution acceptable to Orthodox and non-Orthodox streams, the Neeman Committee
was formed. In February 1998, Finance Minister Yaakov Neeman recommended that conversions should be done according to halakhah through a
special Conversion Court, and that a special institute would be created to prepare applicants for conversion, in which they could take courses offered
by all streams of Judaism. The Neeman Committee’s proposal was endorsed by the Cabinet and the Knesset, however it was not accepted by
the Chief Rabbinate. Lacking the support of the Rabbinate, the Neeman Committee’s proposals were never implemented.
In December 1998, Jerusalem District Court Judge Vardi Zeiler ruled that Conservative and Reform converts are allowed to be registered at the
Interior Ministry as Jews, regardless of where the conversion took place. Following this case, appeals were expected and legislation has been proposed
to allow only Orthodox conversions. The conversion issue has yet to be resolved.
The issue of conversion also became controversial after the arrival of thousands of Jews from Ethiopia. Ethiopian Jews did not practice any rituals
or laws pertaining to the Oral Torah and, instead, practice a purer form of Biblical Judaism, which is different than mainstream Ashkenazic and
Sephardic Judaism. Because of these differences and for other ritual purposes, the Rabbinate proposed a symbolic conversion of all Ethiopian
Jews to be done before they married. The Ethiopians refused stating that it delegitimized them as Jews. Eventually the issue was circumvented as a
rabbi sympathetic to their cause was able to register their marriages. Ethiopian rabbis still have difficulty gaining legitimacy for their marriages and
divorces performed in Israel.
Marriage and Divorce:
Marriage ceremonies and divorce proceedings are not allowed to be performed or issued by Conservative or Reform rabbis in Israel. In fact, only
Orthodoxrabbis are allowed to marry Jews and many secular Israelis travel to Cyprus and other foreign countries to have a civil ceremony, which
they can not receive in Israel. Israel does recognize marriages performed abroad by the Conservative and Reform movements; however, divorces
issued abroad by rabbis from these movements are not recognized by the Rabbinate in Israel.
One of the reasons why issues of conversion, marriage and divorce are so important to religious Jews is because of the possibility of mamzerim
(illegitimates). In a Jewish divorce, a get must be signed by the husband. If he does not sign, then the divorce is not official and the couple is still
legally married according to Jewish law. If the get is not issued, the woman is not free to remarry and have children, and if she does remarry and
have children, then those children are considered to be bastards according to Jewish law. (There is no biblical injunction against multiple wives,
however, it has been ruled illegal according to the Rabbis.) The bastard child cannot be issued a Jewish identity card and will not be permitted to
marry another Jew in Israel. The illegitimate child is only permitted to marry other illegitimate children. Hence, many Orthodox Rabbis claim the
reason they want to retain control over conversions, marriage and divorce is to avoid the problem of mamzerim.
Allocation of Funding:
In Israel, another political implication for the “Who is a Jew” question is the allocation
of government funds. The government of Israel sets aside part of their
annual budget for religious purposes, much of these funds are then distributed
by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In 1994, the High Court of Justice ordered
the allocation of funds to non-Orthodox institutions in Israel. The Ministry of
Religious Affairs agreed to abide by the ruling of the court, however, officials
decided that they would not earmark funds for non-Orthodox supplementary
religious education or for non-Orthodox Torah culture funds.
In 1995, the Ministry of Religious Affairs gave less than a half of a percent of
the available funds to Hebrew Union College (HUC), the Reform Rabbinical Institute
in Israel. Angered by the poor funding, petitions were sent to High Court
to request increased funding for HUC and other Reform institutions.
Funding is also determined by local religious councils. Until recently, non-
Orthodox rabbis were unable to sit in religious councils, which control funds to
local institutions.
Alternative sources of funding have been found by the Conservative and
Reform movements for their schools and programs. Funding for non-Orthodox
schools, such as the Tali schools (run by the Masorti movement in Israel) has
received funds from foundations, non-governmental organizations and the
Jewish Agency.
Photo by Blake Campbell on Unsplash
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 129
What is Aliyah?
Aliyah in Judaism
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel in Hebrew). Also defined as “the act of going up”—that is,
towards Jerusalem—”making Aliyah” by moving to the Land of Israel is one of the most basic tenets of Zionism.
For much of Jewish history most Jews have lived in the diaspora where aliyah was developed as a national aspiration for the Jewish people,
although it was not usually fulfilled until the development of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century.
Aliyah is an important Jewish cultural concept and a fundamental component of Zionism. It is enshrined in Israel’s Law of Return, which accords
any Jew (deemed as such by halakha and/or Israeli secular law) and eligible non-Jews (a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a
Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew), the legal right to assisted immigration and settlement in Israel, as
well as Israeli citizenship. Someone who “makes aliyah” is called an oleh (m.; pl. olim) or olah (f.; pl. olot). Many religious Jews espouse aliyah
as a return to the Promised land, and regard it as the fulfillment of God’s biblical promise to the descendants of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. Nachmanides (the Ramban) includes making aliyah in his enumeration of the 613 commandments.
The discussion on this passage in the Mishnah emphasizes the importance of living in Israel: “One should always live in the Land of Israel,
even in a town most of whose inhabitants are idolaters, but let no one live outside the Land, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are
Israelites; for whoever lives in the Land of Israel may be considered to have a God, but whoever lives outside the Land may be regarded as
one who has no God.”
Sifre says that the mitzvah (commandment) of living in Eretz Yisrael is as important as all the other mitzvot put together. There are many mitzvot
such as shmita, the sabbatical year for farming, which can only be performed in Israel.
According to the traditional Jewish ordering of books of the Tanakh (Old Testament), the very last word of the last book in the original Hebrew
(2 Chronicles 36:23) is veya‘al, a jussive verb form derived from the same root asaliyah, meaning “and let him go up” (to Jerusalem in Judah).
2 Chronicles 36:23 (KJV) Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath
charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Who[is there] among you of all his people? The LORD his God [be] with
him, and let him go up.
Return to the land of Israel is a recurring theme in Jewish prayers recited every day, three times a day, and holiday services on Passover and
Yom Kippur traditionally conclude with the words “Next year in Jerusalem”. Because Jewish lineage can provide a right to Israeli citizenship,
aliyah (returning to Israel) has both a secular and a religious significance.
For generations of religious Jews, aliyah was associated with the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Jews prayed for their Messiah to come, who
was to redeem the land of Israel from gentile rule and return world Jewry to the land under a Halachic theocracy.
The number of Jews migrating to the land of Israel rose significantly between the 13th and 19th centuries, mainly due to a general decline in
the status of Jews across Europe and an increase in religious persecution. The expulsion of Jews from England (1290), France (1391), Austria
(1421), and Spain (the Alhambradecree of 1492) were seen by many as a sign of approaching redemption and contributed greatly to the messianic
spirit of the time.
Aliyah was also spurred during this period by the resurgence of messianic fervor among the Jews of France, Italy, the Germanic states, Poland,
Russia, and North Africa. The belief in the imminent coming of the Jewish Messiah, the ingathering of the exiles and the re-establishment of
the kingdom of Israel encouraged many who had few other options to make the perilous journey to the land of Israel.
Aliyah in the Modern Era
In Zionist history, the different waves of aliyah, beginning with the arrival of the Biluim from Russia in 1882, are categorized by date and the
country of origin of the immigrants.
The first modern period of immigration to receive a number in common speech was the Third Aliya, which in the World War I period was referred
to as the successor to the First and Second Aliyot from Babylonia in the Biblical period. Reference to earlier modern periods as the First
and Second Aliyot appeared first in 1919 and took a while to catch on.
Between 1882 and 1903, approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated to the southwestern area of Syria, then a province of the Ottoman Empire.
The majority, belonging to the Hovevei Zion and Bilu movements, came from the Russian Empire with a smaller number arriving from Yemen.
Many established agricultural communities. Among the towns that these individuals established are Petah Tikva (already in 1878), Rishon
LeZion, Rosh Pinna, and Zikhron Ya’akov. In 1882 the Yemenite Jews settled in the Arab village of Silwan located south-east of the walls of the
Old City of Jerusalem on the slopes of The Mount of Olives.
Between 1904 and 1914, 40,000 Jews immigrated mainly from Russia to southwestern Syria following pogroms and outbreaks of anti-
Semitism in that country. This group, greatly influenced by socialist ideals, established the first kibbutz, Degania Alef, in 1909 and formed
self-defense organizations, such as Hashomer, to counter increasing Arab hostility and to help Jews to protect their communities from Arab
marauders. Ahuzat Bayit, a new suburb of Jaffa established in 1909, eventually grew to become the city of Tel Aviv.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 131
During this period, some of the underpinnings of an independent nation-state arose: Hebrew,
the ancient national language, was revived as a spoken language; newspapers and
literature written in Hebrew were published; political parties and workers organizations
were established. The First World War effectively ended the period of the Second Aliyah.
Between 1919 and 1923, 40,000 Jews, mainly from Eastern Europe arrived in the wake
of World War I. The British occupation of Palestine and the establishment of the British
Mandate created the conditions for the implementation of the promises contained in the
Balfour Declaration of 1917. Many of the Jewish immigrants were ideologically driven
pioneers, known as halutzim, trained in agriculture and capable of establishing self-sustaining
economies. In spite of immigration quotas established by the British administration,
the Jewish population reached 90,000 by the end of this period. The Jezreel Valley
and the Hefer Plain marshes were drained and converted to agricultural use. Additional
national institutions arose such as the Histradut (General Labor Federation); an elected
assembly; national council; and the Haganah, the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces.
Between 1924 and 1929, 82,000 Jews arrived, many as a result of anti-Semitism in Poland
and Hungary. The immigration quotas of the United States kept Jews out. This group
contained many middle-class families that moved to the growing towns, establishing small
businesses, and light industry. Of these approximately 23,000 left the country.
Between 1929 and 1939, with the rise of Nazism in Germany, a new wave of 250,000
immigrants arrived; the majority of these, 174,000, arrived between 1933 and 1936, after
which increasing restrictions on immigration by the British made immigration clandestine
and illegal, called Aliyah Bet. The Fifth Aliyah was again driven almost entirely from Europe,
mostly from Eastern Europe (particularly from Poland, Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia),
but also from Greece. A small number of Jewish immigrants also came from
Yemen. The Fifth Aliyah contained large numbers of professionals, doctors, lawyers, and
professors, from Germany. Refugee architects and musicians introduced the Bauhaus style
(the White City of Tel Aviv has the highest concentration of International Style architecture
in the world with a strong element of Bauhaus) and founded the Palestine Philharmonic
Orchestra. With the completion of the port at Haifa and its oil refineries, significant industry
was added to the predominantly agricultural economy. The Jewish population reached
450,000 by 1940.
At the same time, tensions between Arabs and Jews grew during this period, leading to
a series of Arab riots against the Jews in 1929 that left many dead and resulted in the
depopulation of the Jewish community in Hebron. This was followed by more violence
during the “Great Uprising” of 1936–1939. In response to the ever-increasing tension
between the Arabic and Jewish communities married with the various commitments the
British faced at the dawn of World War II, the British issued the White Paper of 1939,
which severely restricted Jewish immigration to 75,000 people for five years. This served
to create a relatively peaceful eight years in Palestine while the Holocaust unfolded in
Europe.
Shortly after their rise to power, the Nazis negotiated the Ha’avarot or “Transfer” Agreement
with the Jewish Agency under which 50,000 German Jews and $100 million worth of
their assets would be moved to Palestine.
The British government limited Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine with quotas,
and following the rise of Nazism to power in Germany, illegal immigration to Mandatory
Palestine commenced. The illegal immigration was known as Aliyah Bet (“secondary immigration”),
or Ha’apalah, and was organized by the Mossad Le’aliyah Bet, as well as by the
Irgun. Immigration was done mainly by sea, and to a lesser extent overland through Iraq
and Syria. During World War II and the years that followed until independence, Aliyah Bet
became the main form of Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine.
Following the war, Berihah (“escape”), an organization of former partisans and ghetto
fighters was primarily responsible for smuggling Jews from Poland and Eastern Europe to
the Italian ports from which they traveled to Mandatory Palestine. Despite British efforts to
curb the illegal immigration, during the 14 years of its operation, 110,000 Jews immigrated
to Palestine. In 1945 reports of the Holocaust with its 6 million Jewish killed, caused
many Jews in Palestine to turn openly against the British Mandate, and illegal immigration
escalated rapidly as many Holocaust survivors joined the Aliyah.
At the beginning of the immigration wave, most of the immigrants to reach Israel were Holocaust
survivors from Europe, including many from displacedpersons camps in Germany,
Austria, and Italy, and from British detention camps on Cyprus. Large sections of shattered
Jewish communities throughout Europe, such as those from Poland and Romania also
immigrated to Israel, with some communities, such as those from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia,
being almost entirely transferred. At the same time, the number of immigrants from Arab
and Muslim countries increased.
Special operations were undertaken to evacuate Jewish communities
perceived to be in serious danger, such as Operation
Magic Carpet, which evacuated almost the entire Jewish population
of Yemen, and Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, which
airlifted most of the Jews of Iraq to Israel. Nearly the entire
Jewish population of Libya left for Israel around this time.
This resulted in a period of austerity. To ensure that Israel,
which at that time had a small economy and scant foreign
currency reserves, could provide for the immigrants, a strict
regime of rationing was put in place. Measures were enacted
to ensure that all Israeli citizens had access to adequate
food, housing, and clothing. Austerity was very restrictive
until 1953; the previous year, Israel had signed a reparations
agreement with West Germany, in which the West German
government would pay Israel as compensation for the Holocaust,
due to Israel’s taking in a large number of Holocaust
survivors. The resulting influx of foreign capital boosted
the Israeli economy and allowed for the relaxing of most
restrictions. The remaining austerity measures were gradually
phased out throughout the following years. When new
immigrants arrived in Israel, they were sprayed with DDT, underwent
a medical examination, were inoculated against diseases,
and were given food. The earliest immigrants received
desirable homes in established urban areas, but most of the
immigrants were then sent to transit camps, known initially
as immigrant camps, and later as Ma’abarot. Many were also
initially housed in reception centers in military barracks. By
the end of 1950, some 93,000 immigrants were housed in 62
transit camps. The Israeli government’s goal was to get the immigrants
out of refugee housing and into society as speedily
as possible. Immigrants who left the camps received a ration
card, an identity card, a mattress, a pair of blankets, and $21
to $36 in cash. They settled either in established cities and
towns, or in kibbutzim and moshavim.Many others stayed in
the Ma’abarot as they were gradually turned into permanent
cities and towns, which became known as development
towns, or were absorbed as neighborhoods of the towns they
were attached to, and the tin dwellings were replaced with
permanent housing.
In the early 1950s, the immigration wave subsided, and emigration
increased; ultimately, some 10% of the immigrants
would leave Israel for other countries in the following years.
In 1953, immigration to Israel averaged 1,200 a month, while
emigration averaged 700 a month. The end of the period of
mass immigration gave Israel a critical opportunity to more
rapidly absorb the immigrants still living in transit camps. The
Israeli government built 260 new settlements and 78,000
housing units to accommodate the immigrants, and by the
mid-1950s, almost all were in permanent housing. The last
ma’abarot closed in 1963.
In the mid-1950s, a smaller wave of immigration began from
North African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria,
and Egypt, many of which were in the midst of nationalist
struggles. Between 1952 and 1964, some 240,000 North
African Jews came to Israel. During this period, smaller but
significant numbers arrived from other places such as Europe,
Iran, India, and Latin America. In particular, a small immigration
wave from Poland, known as the “Gomulka Aliyah”, took
place during this period. From 1956 to 1960, Poland permitted
free Jewish emigration, and some 50,000 Polish Jews
immigrated to Israel.
Since the founding of the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency
for Israel was mandated as the organization responsible for
aliyah in the diaspora.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 133
Jewish
Piety and Festivities
Jewish piety is determined by the Commandments of the Torah and by centuries of “midrash,”or scholarly
interpretation of the Torah and its meaning. They seek to live a life in accordance with the will of God and
provide structure and significance for day-to-day life and celebration days.
T
O R
Laws of Everyday Life
A
H
The Torah
Dietary laws include avoiding certain types of
meat, such as pork, as well as prohibiting the
common storage and consumption of meat
and dairy products together. All foods that are
permissible to eat by the Commandments of the
Torah are referred as “kosher.” Every week Jews
observe the Sabbath, the seventh day of the
week, as a day off from work.
Worship Services and Festivities
The Torah brings salvation and orientation in all aspects
of Jewish life. Fundamental aspects of the Torah Commandments
include circumcision, observation of the
Sabbath, purity provisions, and dietary laws. The purity
of people reflects upon the sanctity of God. Impurities
include types of skin diseases, bodily excretions, blood,
and above all, contact with the dead. People can retain
purity by immersion within a ritual bath (mikvah) while
impure objects also can be made fit for use through a
method of purification.
Shabbath
Celebrated in the home or synagogue, it is permissible
to break the Commandment of the Sabbath
only when danger is perceived to life and body. (On
Sabbath day, doctors will only operate on those that
are near death. If you`re not about to die, don`t even
bother going to the emergency room on a Friday
night.) In addition, personal piety involves prayers,
fasts, and good works.
The public ceremonies of Judaism are celebrated in the synagogue.
According to the Orthodox Judaism, ten adult Jewish
males must be present during sermon. As common prayer and
reading of the Torah are the focal points of service, within a one
year (three years within Reform communities) the entire text is
recited. Today, the Hebrew Torah is commonly recited within a
sermon held in the local language. Main prayers of the Jewish
service are the “Shema” (“Hear Israel”) and the “Amidah” (“18 Blessings”).
In Orthodox Judaism, a “tefillin”(prayer belt and jacket), a
“tallit” (prayer cloak or shawl), and a “kipa” (cap) are worn during
the prayer.
The annual Jewish festivals and customs were mostly linked with
luminary movements and the vegetative cycle. They were first
established as celebrations of the actions of God such as the
Exodus from Egypt.
Community rituals celebrate each stage of life: The circumcision
of male infants on their eight day; the religious ceremony (“Bar
Mitzvah”) associated with males in their 13th year coming of age
(in Reform Judaism females hold a similar celebration, the “Bat
Mitzvah”); both the proposal and act of marriage, and then finally
death. Important annual festivities are Rosh Hashanah (New Year),
Hanukkah, and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
COOLFACTS
- Zionism
Due to widespread anti-Semitism,
Jewish scholars since the late
19th century have hope for the
modernization of the Jewish
people through the establishment
of Israel as a nation.
Theodor Herzl (also an important
street in Tel Aviv named after him)
is considered as the founder of
the Zionist movement with his
work “The Jewish State” (1896).
The seventh World Zionist Organization
in Basel voted for the
establishment of Palestine as the
homeland for Jews throughout
the world. In May 1948, the Israeli
Declaration of Independence was
publicly read in Tel Aviv.
The ascent to power by the
National Socialists in Germany
overshadowed the 18th Zionist
Congress in Prague in 1933.
- Middle Ages to
the Early Modern Period
Judaism achieved a cultural period
of bloom in the Middle Ages,
primarily on the Iberian Peninsula
and the German cities. However,
it also experienced persecutions
and expulsions.
High points of terror came with
the Crusades, which were increasingly
accompanied by pogroms
– organized persecution- of the
Jews as well as their expulsion
from England (1290) and Spain
(1492). Around 12,000 Jews lived
in Germany at the start of the
Early Modern period.
The first Jews settled in North
America in 1646.
- Enlightenment to
the Foundation of Israel
Different branches of Judaism
began developing from the 19th
century onward in Western Europe
and the U.S. as a reaction to the
Enlightenment. While Orthodox
Jews chose a more isolationist position,
others sought assimilation.
More than ever before, Jews strove
to gain equal rights within societies
in which they were a minority.
This was first achieved in France
following the French Revolution.
The Nazi ascension to power in
Germany in 1933, resulted in unprecedented
anti-Semitic actions.
With the Wannsee conference in
January 20, 1942, the systematic
mass murder of Jews living in the
German-controlled regions was
decided.
On May 14, 1948, David Ben
Gurion proclaimed the state of
Israel, which was successfully
established.
Israel`s main airport is named
after David Ben Gurion.
How to study theTorah?
In Jewish practice, Torah study often takes on a ritualized role similar to that of prayer. A specific place — the beit midrash,
or “house of study” — is a designated room set aside in many Jewish communal buildings. Many Jews carve out set times
during the day or week for Torah study. Torah study may begin with the recitation of a prayer thanking God for “commanding
us to occupy ourselves with the words of Torah” and another asking God to enable us and our descendants to enjoy
knowledge of God through the study of Torah. The Talmud even records specific prayers for entering and leaving a beit
midrash.
Jewish study focuses not on simple absorption of material, but on a dialogue
among students and between students and text. This dialogical mode of study is
exemplified by the standard page layout of many classical texts. Generally, the
focus text — which may be Talmud, Bible, midrash, or a law code — stands at the
center of the page and is surrounded by two or more levels of commentary: one
or more commentaries on the text, and sometimes a later commentary on those
commentaries.
A page of Babylonian Talmud, for instance, includes the commentary of Rashi (Rabbi
Shlomo ben Yitzchak), an eleventh-century rabbi and the pre-eminent talmudic
commentator, and of his grandchildren, collectively known as the Ba’alei Tosafot, or
colloquially, Tosafot (“Additions”). While Rashi is primarily interested in explaining
the text at hand, the Tosafot attempt to reconcile disparate sections of Talmud.
In the course of their discussions, they often expand on and/or challenge Rashi’s
explanations. Later commentators, in turn, expand on and challenge the Tosafot.
The traditional mode of Jewish study maintains an emphasis on dialogue and
disagreement. Jews often study in havruta — in pairs — with each member of the
havruta challenging and asking questions of the other. A person who walks into a
traditional beit midrash is struck immediately by the noise level — havrutot (plural
of havruta) read the text aloud and often argue at some volume, pushing one
another to come to a better understanding of the text at hand.
The placement of Talmud and law codes at the center of the curriculum of the traditional
yeshiva (study institution) reflects an emphasis on halakha — Jewish law
— as the core of Jewish knowledge. The study of Bible and midrash was, for many
centuries, viewed as the domain of women, and not the province of the exclusively
male yeshiva. Today, as the boundaries of Jewish knowledge have expanded, and
as both women and men have gained greater access to the areas previously assigned
to the other, the parameters of Torah study have expanded to include the
study of all types of classical texts, as well as the study of philosophy, literature
and other non-legal works.
Regardless of what one chooses to study, the emphasis on questioning and
dialogue marks the process of talmud torah or sacred Jewish learning. While it
is certainly possible to study on one’s own, studying with a partner or in a group
facilitates this questioning process.
In approaching a text, one may first try to understand the plain meaning, or the
p’shat, of the text: What is the text trying to say in its original context? What do
the individual words mean? Why are certain words and phrases used rather than
others?
One might then ask broader questions about the meaning of the text and about its
relation to other texts: What are the hidden meanings of the text? Why does the
text speak as it does? How do we relate to the text? In what ways does the text
reflect or conflict with our own beliefs and values? What about the text do we find
problematic or challenging? How does this text compare with other Jewish texts, or
with the contemporary practice of Judaism?
Asking these types of questions may rarely lead to a definitive resolution, but will
certainly contribute to a deeper understanding of the texts at hand and of one’s
companions in study. Ultimately, it is the process of study, with its emphasis on
questions and dialogue, which distinguishes talmud Torah from other forms of
study.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 135
What Is the Temple Mount?
The Temple Mount refers to the elevated plaza above the Western Wall in Jerusalem that was the site of both of Judaism’s ancient
temples. The site is also the third holiest in Islam (after Mecca and Medina) and has been a focal point of inter-religious tension for
decades. At present, the site is under Israeli sovereignty but is administered by the Muslim Waqf (religious trust). Jews and other non-
Muslims are permitted to visit, but Jewish prayer is forbidden there — a provision long contested by a small number of Israeli Jews who
oppose Muslim control over the site. Violence has flared at the site on numerous occasions, and Israeli forces sometimes restrict access
to Muslims at times of elevated tensions.
Why is the Temple
Mount holy to Jews?
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew
as Har Habayit, is traditionally said to be
the site where Abraham demonstrated
his devotion to God by taking his son
Isaac to be sacrificed. The mount is also
the site of both ancient Jewish temples.
The first, built by King Solomon, was
destroyed by the Babylonians in 586
BCE. The second was built in the sixth
century BCE and stood for nearly 600
years before it was destroyed and the
Jewish people exiled in 70 CE by the Roman
Empire. Jews continue to mourn the
destruction on the fast day of Tisha B’Av.
According to Jewish tradition, a third
temple will be built on the site during
the messianic age.
Why is the Temple
Mount holy to Muslims?
The Temple Mount is known to Muslims
as the Haram al-Sharif (the Noble
Sanctuary) and, according to Islamic
tradition, is the site of Muhammad’s
ascent to heaven in the seventh century.
Today, the mount is home to the Al-Aqsa
Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam,
and the gold-topped Dome of the Rock,
one of the most recognized symbols of
Jerusalem.
Are Jews permitted to
visit the mount?
Yes. However, traditional Jewish law has
been understood to bar entry to the the
site. Jewish tradition regards entry to the
Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctum
of the temple where God’s presence
dwells, as strictly forbidden, and as a
result Jews traditionally did not enter the
Temple Mount at all for fear of treading
on sacred ground. (The exact location of
the Holy of Holies is not known.) Though
some have challenged this ruling, in
2005 a group of prominent Israeli rabbis,
including both the Ashkenazi and
Sephardic chief rabbis, reiterated an
earlier religious edict that “no man nor
woman should set foot in the entire
area of the Temple Mount.” The Western
Wall, the last standing retaining wall
of the Temple Mount, is the closest to
the mount that Jews are traditionally
permitted to pray.
Who controls the
Temple Mount?
Since Israeli forces regained control of
the Old City of Jerusalem during the
Six-Day War of 1967, Israel has extended
its sovereignty over the site, though
most of the world regards Israeli authority
in all of eastern Jerusalem to be
illegitimate. Day-to-day authority over
the site rests with the Jerusalem Islamic
Waqf. A waqf is a charitable trust recognized
by Islamic law. Jordan, which had
controlled eastern Jerusalem and the
Islamic holy sites prior to 1967, continued
to exercise a special guardianship
over the mount, an arrangement later
codified in the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace
treaty, under which Israel “respects the
present special role of the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy
shrines in Jerusalem.” Overall security
for the site, including entry to visitors
and worshippers, rests with Israeli
security forces.
What is Israel’s policy
on access to the Mount?
The Temple Mount may be accessed by
anyone, but entry to the Dome of the
Rock is restricted to Muslims. Though
there are multiple gates to access the
site, non-Muslims must enter through
the Mughrabi Gate, located near the
Western Wall plaza. Israeli security
controls the entry points. At moments
of elevated tensions, Israel has occasionally
closed the site to visitors, including
Muslim worshippers.
Why are some
Israeli Jews pushing
for greater access to
the site?
Efforts to secure Jewish prayer rights at
the Temple Mount have gained traction
in recent years, despite the mainstream
rabbinic opinion that Jews should not
set foot there. A number of rabbis have
issued contrary rulings, saying that visitation
and prayer should be permitted, and
by some estimates the number of Jewish
visitors has vastly increased. Among the
most prominent activists is Yehuda Glick,
an American-born rabbi and current
member of the Israeli Knesset . Glick is a
leading figure in efforts to secure Jewish
prayer rights on the mount, framing his
campaign in the language of civil rights.
In 2014, he survived an assassination attempt
by a suspected member of Islamic
Jihad.
Who is King David?
The biblical King David of Israel was known for his diverse
skills as both a warrior and a writer of psalms. In his 40 years
as ruler, between approximately 1010 and 970 B.C.E., he
united the people of Israel, led them to victory in battle,
conquered land and paved the way for his son, Solomon, to
build the Holy Temple. Almost all knowledge of him is derived
from the books of the Prophets and Writings: Samuel I
and II, Kings I and Chronicles I.
David was the eighth and youngest son of Jesse from the
kingly tribe of Judah. He was also a direct descendent of
Ruth the Moabite. David began his life as a shepherd in
Bethlehem. One day, the prophet Samuel called him out of
the field and anointed him without the knowledge of the
current king, Saul. David simply returned to his sheep. His
first interaction with Saul came when the king was looking
for someone to play music for him, and the king’s attendant
summoned the skilled David to play for him. Saul was
pleased with David and kept him in his service as a musician.
The first time David publicly displayed his courage was
when, as an inexperienced boy armed with only a stick and
a few stones, he confronted the nine-foot, bronze armored
Philistine giant, Goliath of Gath. After skilled warriors had
cowered in fear for 40 days, David made a slingshot, invoked
God’s name, and killed the giant. After this, Saul took David
on as commander of his troops and David formed a close
friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan.
David was successful in battle against the Philistines and
this aroused the jealousy of Saul, who tried to kill David by
throwing a spear at him. David stayed with Saul, however,
and Saul offered him his own daughter, Merav, as a wife. He
later reneged on his promise, but offered David his second
daughter, Michal, in exchange for the foreskins of 100 Philistines,
a price that David paid.
Saul’s jealousy of David grew and he asked his son Jonathan
to kill David. Jonathan was a friend of David’s, however, and
hid David instead. He then went to his father and convinced
Saul to promise not to kill David. Saul promised, and David
returned to his service. This promise did not last and, after
Saul attempted to kill David a second time, Michal helped
David run away to the prophet Samuel in Ramah. David
returned briefly to make a pact of peace with Jonathan and
to verify that Saul was still planning to kill him. He then continued
his flight from Saul, finding refuge with the king of
Moab. On the way, the priest Ahimelech of Nob gave David a
weapon. When Saul heard this, he sent Doeg the Edomite to
kill 85 of the city’s priests.
In the course of his flight, David gained the support of 600
men, and he and his band traveled from city to city. At one
point, in Ein Gedi, David crept up on Saul while he was in a
cave, but instead of killing him, cut a piece from his cloak
and confronted Saul. Saul broke down and admitted that
David would one day be king and asked David to swear that
he would not destroy Saul’s descendants or wipe out Saul’s
name. David swore to this, but it did not stop Saul from
continuing to pursue him. Finally, David and his supporters
joined the service of Achish, the Philistine king of Gath who
entrusted David with control of the city of Ziklag. Under
Achish’s employ, David raided the cities of nomads who
harassed the Jews and gave the spoils as gifts to the leaders
of Judah to win their support for him against Saul. The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 137
Eventually, while David was out battling a
tribe called the Amalekites, Saul and Jonathan
were killed on Mt. Gilboa in a fight
with the Philistines. David mourned, and
then began a new stage in his life, as king
of Judah. He moved to Hebron, along with
his wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail
of Carmel, and his followers. The people
of Judea were grateful to David for saving
them from desert raiders while he was in
Ziklag, and they appointed David king.
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner crowned
Ish-Boshet son of Saul king over the tribes
of Israel. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel
fought, with David’s dynasty growing
stronger as Saul’s grew weaker. Finally,
after Abner had a fight with Ish-Boshet,
Abner approached David and made a pact
with him, which allowed David to unite
the two kingdoms and rule over all of Israel.
As Abner was leaving David, however,
David’s advisor and army commander,
Joab, killed Abner without David’s knowledge.
Soon, Ish-Boshet was also killed and
the tribes of Israel anointed David as their
king. David was 30 years old at the time,
and had ruled over Judah for seven years
and six months. Over the years, he had
taken more wives and had many children.
He had also made pacts with kings of various
surrounding countries.
David’s first action as king was to capture
what is now the City of David in Jerusalem,
fortify it and build himself a palace.
When the Philistines heard that David had
been anointed king and was threatening
their hegemony over all of Palestine, they
attacked, spread out over the Valley of
Raphaim and captured Bethlehem. David
retaliated and, in three battles, forced the
Philistines out of Israel.
Once David had established the safety
of his kingdom, he brought the Holy Ark,
which had been passed from city to city,
to Jerusalem. He then wanted to build a
temple to God and consulted Natan the
prophet. Natan replied to David that God
would always be with David, but it would
be up to David’s son to build the Temple
because David had been a warrior and
shed blood.
David then began fighting wars against
Israel’s neighbors on the east bank of
the Jordan. He defeated the Moabites,
the Edomites, the Ammonites and the
Arameans. These wars began as defensive
wars, but ended with the establishment
of a Davidic empire that extended over
both sides of the Jordan River, as far as the
Mediterranean Sea.
David enforced justice in his empire and
established civil and military administrations
in Jerusalem, modeled after those of
the Canaanites and Egyptians. He divided
the country into twelve districts, each
with its own civil, military and religious
institutions. He also established Jerusalem
as the secular and religious center
of the country. Each district paid taxes to
Jerusalem and the people began to make
pilgrimages to Jerusalem each year on the
holidays of Passover, Shavout and Sukkot.
Despite this flawless reign on a national
level, David had many problems in his personal
life. One day while the men were at
war, David spied a beautiful woman, Bathsheba,
from his rooftop. He discovered
that she was married to Uriah the Hittite,
but this did not stop him from sending
for her and getting her pregnant. He then
recalled Uriah from battle and pretended
that Uriah was the father of Bathsheba’s
baby. Uriah refused to go home to his
wife, so David sent Uriah to the front lines
of battle, where he was killed. David then
married Bathsheba. When confronted by
Natan the prophet, David admitted his
sin. In punishment, Bathsheba’s child died
and David was cursed with the promise
of a rebellion from within his own house.
Bathsheba and David soon conceived a
second son, Solomon.
David’s personal strife continued when
his son Amnon raped Tamar, Amnon’s
half-sister. Absalom, who was David’s son
and Tamar’s brother, then killed Amnon.
Absalom fled, but David could not stop
thinking about him. Finally, Joab convinced
David to allow Absalom to return.
Absalom was a handsome man and
became popular with the people of Israel.
Then, 40 years after Samuel had anointed
David king, Absalom, along with 200 men,
journeyed to Hebron with the intention
of rebelling against his father and taking
over his kingdom. He had the support of
the men of Hebron who were insulted by
the removal of the kingdom from Hebron
to Jerusalem, the elders whose status was
undermined by parts of David’s policy and
the Benjamites who wanted to avenge
Saul’s family.
David feared that Absalom would return
and conquer Jerusalem, so he and all his
followers fled the city, leaving only 10
concubines to guard the palace. David
told the priests Zadok and Abiathar to
remain in the city along with his friend
and now spy Hushai the Archite.
Meanwhile, Absalom reached Jerusalem,
took over the city and slept with
David’s concubines. Hushai befriended
Absalom, advised him, and told the
priests to send messengers informing
David of Absalom’s plans. David gathered
his troops and then killed 20,000
of Absalom’s Israelite soldiers, including
Absalom himself. David returned to
power. A second revolt broke out at the
hands of Sheba son of Bichri, but with
the help of Joab, David succeeded in
crushing this rebellion as well, and in
killing Sheba.
Eventually David grew old and had
to stop fighting. He constantly felt
cold and could not get warm. At this
point, Adonijah, David’s oldest son,
declared himself king. David, however,
had promised Bathsheba that her son
Solomon would be king, and publicly
anointed Solomon. Fearful of retribution
Adonijah ran to the altar in Jerusalem,
but Solomon pardoned him and
sent him home.
David delivered a last set of instructions
to his son, telling him to follow
the words of God and to repay in kind
specific people that had either wronged
David or helped him. David then died
after 40 years as king, 33 of those in
Jerusalem. He was buried in the City of
David.
David was a poet and the rabbis believe
that David wrote the Book of Psalms,
or at least edited it. Throughout his life,
David prepared for the construction of
the
Holy Temple by setting aside the necessary
physical materials, commanding
the Levites and others in their duties
for the Temple, and giving the plan for
the Temple to Solomon. It is then fitting
that according to tradition, the Messiah,
who will build the third temple, will be
from the Davidic dynasty. Today, Jews
pray daily for the coming of the “Messiah,
son of David.”
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 139
The Western Wall
Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning and
despair, but within the sadness of the
day there is also a message of hope.
That message being that despite much
suffering, the Jews will survive and be
redeemed as promised by the prophets
of old. That message of Tisha B’Av is
conveyed in the history of the Western
Wall.
The Byzantine emperor Constantine
adopted Christianity in the early part
of the fourth century. Upon the defeat
of the emperor of the east, Licinius, at
Chrysopolis on September 18, 324 C.E.,
Constantine became ruler of the Holy
Land.
Constantine built churches throughout
the land and strongly encouraged
the proselytism of Jews. It is theorized
that Constantine enacted anti-Jewish
laws.(See The Jews Under Roman and
Byzantine Rule: A Political History of
Palestine from the Bar Kochba Revolt
to the Arab Conquest , page 165.) He
also reinstated legislation of the Roman
emperor Hadrian 117-138 C.E.
The Byzantine emperor Constantine
adopted Christianity in the early part
of the fourth century. Upon the defeat
of the emperor of the east, Licinius, at
Chrysopolis on September 18, 324 C.E.,
Constantine became ruler of the Holy
Land.
Constantine built churches throughout
the land and strongly encouraged
the proselytism of Jews. It is theorized
that Constantine enacted anti-Jewish
laws.(See The Jews Under Roman and
Byzantine Rule: A Political History of
Palestine from the Bar Kochba Revolt
to the Arab Conquest , page 165.) He
also reinstated legislation of the Roman
emperor Hadrian 117-138 C.E.
Following his suppression of the Bar
Kochba Revolt (132-135 C.E.), Hadrian
enacted laws that prohibited the entry
of Jews into Jerusalem or the surrounding
region of Judea. Over time
those laws remained on the books but
were not enforced by all emperors;
many allowed Jewish pilgrimages on
the holidays. Constantine reinstated
those laws, but with some changes.
Jews were again permitted to reside in
Judea. In addition, he also allowed the
Jews to enter Jerusalem and pray at
the Western Wall on one day annually
— Tisha B’Av.
Being the last standing wall surrounding
the Temple, the Western Wall already
possessed a special significance
to the Jews. Perhaps the emperor permitted
the Jews access to the Western
Wall on Tisha B’Av so they could revel
in their sufferings and misery; maybe
he had the notion that such thoughts
would lead them to apostasy. But the
sight of the remnant of the Temple
gave the Jews hope and a sense of
resolve rather than weakening them.
They saw it as a sign of strength and
took solace upon their annual opportunity
to visit the site of their beloved
Temple.
The Talmudic sages of that era spoke
of the special and eternal nature of
the Wall. Rabbi Acha stated that the
Shekhinah, special Divine Presence
of God, will never depart from the
Temple’s Western Wall. The Midrash
cites a quote from Solomon’s Song of
Songs, “Behold, He stands behind our
wall” (Midrash Tanhuma Exodus, 10;
Song of Songs; Exodus Raba 2:2).
The Temple was destroyed,
but a part remained. The
Western Wall served as a
reminder that the Temple
could never be totally destroyed.
The hope for its rebuilding remained
strong in that era and over the centuries.
The seemingly minor changes in
the laws by Constantine allowed the
Jews some solace and inspiration on
their day of mourning.
The Kotel (Western Wall) is the setting
in which the annual cycle, individual
and communal histories, and consecrated
space come together.
In ancient times, the Temple was the
focus of mass pilgrimages, three times
during the year, as prescribed by biblical
law. Pilgrims from all over the land
came to the spot chosen by God to
“place His name there” (Deuteronomy
16), and during the Second Commonwealth
both pilgrims and contributions
reached the Temple from the
Diaspora.
Although the Temple has not been
standing for close to two millennia,
the memory of these events has been
preserved in the synagogue liturgy,
particularly in the “additional prayer” of
the festivals, which recalls the former
sacrifices and the ascent to the Temple.
The fact that the pilgrimage festivals
are a major occasion for present-day
visitors to the Kotel places ancient
expressions of collective memory in
metonymic relation to a contemporary
“place of memory,” creating a sense of
continuity, and perhaps even identity,
between their devotional visit and that
of their ancestors.
Each festival attracts thousands to
the Wall, but each takes on a special
atmosphere reflecting the requirements
of the holiday. The first night of
Passover represents the most intense
ingathering of the family during the
ritual year, and travel to the Kotel later
in the week is preceded by careful
preparations to bring food from home
that has been made according to the
strict Passover rules. Even when the
Wall is not the focus of celebration, as
during Lag B’Omer, 33 days after Passover,
when more than 100,000 Israelis
flock to Meron, it stays in contact with
the ritual pace of the people. It also accommodates,
easily, modern festivities
and solemnities; the sameness of place
provides a persuasive link between the
old and the new.
The Kotel thus appears to be the
natural setting for modern celebrations
such as Israeli Independence
Day or Holocaust Remembrance
Day, even as the forms of these
recently established celebrations
evolve amid debates over their
significance. In some of these
ceremonies religious themes are
given prominence, while in others
the national component clearly
dominates.
In the energetic Friday evening
dance to the Kotel from the Jewish
quarter on the part of young male
yeshiva students, it is difficult to
untangle the political overtones
from the religious commitment. The
meshing of modern Israeli identity
and traditional religious symbols
is salient at military swearing-in
ceremonies, which have become
more frequent at the Wall since the
previous favorite site, Masada, has
relinquished its primacy. In these
ceremonies the recruit, after his
basic training, holds a Bible in one
hand, a rifle in the other, and is told
that without the Book he is nothing
but a murderer.
Other ceremonies reflect current
political events as in the case of
demonstrations concerning distressed
Jewish groups in Russia, Syria,
or Ethiopia. A particularly impressive
event takes place on the eve of
the anniversary of the reunification
of Jerusalem, when thousands of
yeshiva students from all over the
country, stirred by the ideology of
the Gush Emunimmovement, come
to the Kotel carrying torches.
Observing Tisha B’Av
Tisha B’Av, which falls in midsummer
when the sun has dried
up vegetation everywhere, is a
Fast Day that commemorates the
destruction of both the First and
Second Temples and has become
a fundamental observance at the
Kotel. Dressed in slippers, sneakers,
or other footwear without leather,
observant Jews come to spend part
of the day and night at the Wall.
Heightened solemnity intermingles
with pronounced intimacy. Fathers
and sons, mothers and daughters,
boyfriends and girlfriends, yeshiva
students share mats or blankets
spread out both inside and outside
the synagogue plaza.
On this night (and day) all the Jewish
communities and ethnic groups,
all the religious tendencies–including
the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic
“mitzvah tank,” which provides phylacteries
(tefillin ) for the afternoon
prayers — are present. Individual
and collective, communal and national,
can be found, compounded
with one another.
The police guard the area all night
long. Ultra-national groups may try
to reach the Temple Mount, while
pseudo-messiahs and would-be
prophets both lament the existence
of the Diaspora and announce the
imminent reunification of the people.
Inside the synagogue area and
outside, pilgrims read the biblical
Book of Lamentations, chant dirges,
or fraternize in this unique setting
of a foodless picnic in which daily
needs are hardly a distraction.
A mourning ceremony animated
by a pervasive but disorganized
sociality, Tisha B’Av, since the retaking
of the Wall, has emerged as a
point in time and space in which
the meeting of messianic aspiration
and national sentiment has been
crystallized.
This process is reminiscent of the
famous conceit of the Talmud ic
sage, Rabbi Akiva. When asked
why he laughed upon seeing a
fox running through the Temple
ruins, Akiva assured his puzzled
colleagues that his mirth stemmed
from his witnessing the evidence
of the prophecies of destruction
and the implicit certainty that this
guarantees the fulfillment of the
prophecies of redemption.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 141
The HiddenWall
For centuries the small stretch of the
Western Wall of the Temple Mount used
for Jewish prayers was the only part of the
Herodian Temple Mount complex
non-Muslims could actually approach and
touch. The once-important southern wall
of the Temple Mount was largely hidden
by accumulated earth and debris, and by
later buildings that rose and fell with each
successive wave of history.
Now excavations have made the southern
wall and extreme southern part of
the Western Wall accessible all the way
down to the Herodian street level. At
a quiet time of day, when no tour groups
are trudging through, you can sit in
the shade of an ancient shop doorway and
contemplate the charisma and
enormity of the Herodian ashlars. Wild
capers grow out of the monumental walls.
If you look up near the extreme southern
end of the Western Wall where the
level of earth would have been centuries
ago, you can see a large ashlar on
which, probably in the Byzantine era (before
Islamic times), archaeologists
believe a Jewish pilgrim to the ruined
Temple Mount carved the Hebrew words
from Isaiah 66:14: ”And when you see this,
your heart shall rejoice, and your
bones shall flourish like an herb.” For 1,500
years, this visitor‘s message lay hidden in
the earth.
Islamic palace uncovered by archaeologists
at the foot of the Temple Mount, the
Davidson Center contains a small museum
with artifacts found at the site, as well as
videos and computer information on the
Temple Mount history.
The video and digital recreatlon of the
Herodian Temple Mount are interesting,
but there are a number of anachronistic
and questionable details. See if you can
spot them!
There are 1-hour tours available of the
Davidson Center (which is already relatively
self-explanatory) and also of the
Archeological Park (worthwhile for those
who want to understand all the details
of the site). Each tour is $32 per person.
But a map and recorded audio tour of the
site, available at the Davidson Center, is
sufficient for most visitors.
Entrance from near inside of Dung Gate. @
02/627-7550. www.archpark.org.il. NIS 30 ($6.60)
adults; NIS 16 ($3.40) students, children, and
seniors. Sun—Thurs 8am—5pm; Fri 8am—2pm.
Closed Sat.
What is a Hamsa?
Although it may derive from Islamic or pagan
culture, the hamsa today has become a Jewish
and Israeli symbol.
This
symbol of an eye
embedded in the palm of
an open hand has had numerous
other names throughout the ages,
including the eye of Fatima, the hand of
Fatima, and the hand of Miriam. The form is
sometimes rendered naturally and other times
symmetrically with a second thumb replacing the
little finger.
The hamsa has been variously interpreted by scholars
as a Jewish, Christian, or Islamic amulet, and as a pagan
fertility symbol. Yet even as the magical form remains
shrouded in mystery and scholars debate nearly every aspect
of its emergence, it is recognized today as a kabbalistic
amulet and as an important symbol in Jewish art.
Hamsa Origins
As the references to Fatima (Mohammed’s daughter) and to
Miriam (Moses’ sister) suggest, the amulet carries significance to
both Jews and Muslims. One of the most prominent early appearances of the hamsa is the image of a large open hand
that appears on the Puerta Judiciaria (Gate of Judgment) of the Alhambra, a 14th-century Islamic fortress in southern
Spain. The Alhambra hand of Fatima seems to draw upon the Arabic word “khamsa,” which means “five,” a number that
itself is identified with fighting the Evil Eye. The Alhambra motif, as well as other Spanish and Moorish hand images, hints
at the five pillars of Islam (faith, fasting, pilgrimage, prayer, and tax) in the five fingers of the hand.
According to Islamic folklore, Fatima’s hand became a symbol of faith after her husband Ali came home with a new wife
one day. Fatima, who at the time had been cooking, dropped the soup ladle she had been using. Yet she was so preoccupied
by the new arrival that she continued stirring using her bare hand, hardly noticing that she was burning herself.
It would not be unusual for an Islamic symbol to find its way into Sephardic Jewish culture, which flourished alongside
Islam. However, amulets are somewhat problematic in Judaism because the Bible prohibits magic and divination.
Still, the Talmud refers on several occasions to amulets, or kamiyot, which might come from the Hebrew meaning “to
bind.” One law allows for carrying an approved amulet on the Sabbath, which suggests that amulets were common
amongst Jews at some points in history. (Shabbat 53a, 61a). Art historian Walter Leo Hildburgh also raises the
possibility that the hamsa has Christian roots, and might be influenced by the Christian artistic form where Mary
often carries her hands in a”fig” pose, or a configuration where the thumb is tucked under the index finger
beside the middle finger. According to University of Chicago professor Ahmed Achrati, the hamsa did not
necessarily arise in a religious context. The form of the open hand appears in Paleolithic caves in France,
Spain, Argentina, and Australia, including one site in Algeria that earned the name The Cave of the
Hands.
In Egyptian art, the human spirit (called ka) is represented by two arms reaching upward
(forming a horseshoe shape), albeit with only two fingers on each hand. The symbol
of the Phoenician lunar goddess Tanit resembles a woman raising her hands, and
hands also found their way into tomb decorations. Etruscans painted hands
with horns on their tombs, and some Jewish burial practices featured
images of hands (suggesting the priestly blessing) on stone
markers of Levite graves. All of these could be considered
very early precursors to the hamsa.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 143
TIPS FOR AN EASIER FAST
Kosher Food: What
Makes Food Kosher or
Not
The word “kosher” literally means “fit” or
“appropriate.”
Ask an average person to describe food and
they might say it is food “blessed by a rabbi.”
The word “kosher,” however, is Hebrew for
“fit” or “appropriate” and describes the food
that is suitable for a Jew to eat. With its roots
in the Hebrew Bible, the system of defining
which foods are kosher was developed by
the rabbis of late antiquity. Its application to
changing realities has been the work of subsequent
generations, including our own.
Confused why kosher food is categorized
as dairy, meat or pareve (neither meat nor
dairy)?
Kashrut’s Biblical and
Talmudic
Origins
Close readers of the Torah might notice that
according to the book of Genesis, vegetarianism
was commanded by God as the ideal diet
(see Genesis 1:29). However, in the course of
the biblical narratives, this changed to include
a variety of different animals.
Israel produces
93% of its own
food requirements;
however most of
the country’s wheat
is imported.
According to the Torah (Leviticus 11), only
certain kinds of animals are considered
inherently kosher. For land animals, any
creature that both chews its cud and has
split hooves is kosher. For sea creatures,
any fish that has both fins and scales is
acceptable, and for birds, only those birds
approved by the Torah (or others that later
authorities have judged to be like them,
a list that excludes scavengers and birds
of prey). In addition, it is repeated three
times in the Torah that it is forbidden to
cook a baby goat in its own mother’s milk.
The rabbis in the Talmud further developed
these principles of kashrut (Pronounced:
kahsh-ROOT, Origin: Hebrew,
the Jewish dietary laws.). In order to
consume kosher land animals and birds,
it is necessary to slaughter them in a
prescribed way, in a manner that has been
described as a more humane method than
is practiced commercially. In addition,
the prohibition of cooking a baby goat in
its own mother’s milk is the basis for the
complete, physical, hermetic separation of
all milk and meat products. These are the
fundamental elements of kashrut.
Keeping Kosher
Today
All questions, problems or issues about
keeping kosher ultimately revolve around
the basic principles of kashrut described
above.
Usually, the questions have to do with the
last basic element, the complete separation
of milk and meat products. The use of
different sets of dishes and pots and pans,
developed in order to ensure a greater
separation between milk and meat foods.
This is also the basis of waiting several
hours after eating a meat dish before eating
a dairy product, so that the two types
of food shouldn’t even mix together in our
stomachs!
Whether a particular food is considered
kosher or not usually has to do with
whether any substance or product used
in its manufacture was derived from a
non-kosher animal or even an animal that
is kosher but was not slaughtered in the
prescribed manner. Rabbinic supervision
of the production of food (a practice called
hashgacha) enables it to carry a “seal of
approval” (but no, it is not “blessed by a
rabbi”).
The 3 Categories of
Kosher Foods
Dairy
Often described with the Yiddish word
milchig (Pronounced: MILL-khig, Origin:
Yiddish, dairy, as an adjective to describe
food containing dairy, or dishes used
for foods containing dairy. (Kosher laws
prohibit serving meat and dairy together.),
these are foods, such as cheese, milk,
yogurt, ice cream, etc.
Meat
Often referred to with the Yiddish word
fleischig, this includes all kosher animals
and fowl slaughtered in the prescribed
manner, and their derivative products.
Pareve
A Yiddish word meaning “neutral,” this
describes foods that are neither dairy nor
meat, such as eggs and fish, tofu, nuts,
seeds, fruits and vegetables, and the like,
provided they are not prepared with any
milk or meat products.
In keeping kosher, it is necessary to keep
all dairy and meat foods completely separate
— which, unless one is vegetarian,
necessitates separate sets of dishes and
cooking utensils. Pareve foods, however,
may be mixed in and served with either
category of food since these foods are
neither milk nor meat.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 145
Kosher Symbols:
How to decode the different kosher
labels.
Question: I’ve noticed that there are a lot
of different symbols that indicate something
is kosher (Pronounced: KOH-sher, Origin:
Hebrew, adhering to kashrut, the traditional
Jewish dietary laws.) An OU, a triangle K, a
cRc in a triangle, etc. One of my friends only
eats things with some of the symbols, and not
others. What’s the difference?
–Pam, Austin
Answer: You’re right that there are dozens of
different symbols that indicate something is
kosher. Each symbol, known as a hechsher
(Pronounced: HEK-sher, Origin: Hebrew,
kosher certification for foods, and some other
items, identifies product as complying with
Jewish law),comes from a different organization
or rabbi.
Arguably, the best known and most widely
available one in North America is the Orthodox
Union’s, which looks like this:
The Hebrew spelling of “kosher,” which appears
on certain seals and certificates, looks
like this:
Since kosher laws require keeping meat
and dairy separate, kosher products always
specify whether or not they are meat (also
known as fleishig - Pronounced: FLAYshug,
Origin: Yiddish, meaty, an adjective to
identify foods containing meat or dishes that
are used for meat. Jewish dietary laws prohibit
combining meat and dairy foods, -) dairy (also
known as milchig - Pronounced: MILL-khig,
Origin: Yiddish, dairy, as an adjective to describe
food containing dairy, or dishes used for
foods containing dairy. Kosher laws prohibit
serving meat and dairy together.- or chalavi),
or pareve (Pronounced: PAHRV or pah-REV,
Origin: Hebrew, an adjective to describe a food
or dish that is neither meat nor dairy. Kosher
laws prohibit serving meat and dairy together-
), (containing neither meat nor dairy).
Foods certified as kosher for Passover get a
separate label that says “kosher for Passover”
or “kasher l’Pesach.”
Sometimes the label has the Hebrew words
only, which look like this:
Here is an example of a kosher-for-Passover
label on a product:
When shopping for kosher products, it is
important to remember that just because
some items produced by a company are
kosher does not mean all of the company’s
products are kosher.
Why So Many
Different Symbols
and Agencies?
If all products with kosher symbols on
them have been certified as kosher by
someone, then why do we need so many
symbols? Well, because some people only
trust certain organizations to do a good
job of making sure something is kosher.
For this reason, if you are buying something
to bring to the home of a friend who
keeps kosher — maybe as a hostess gift or
because you are making a shiva (visiting
a mourner) call — it is a good idea first to
find out which certifications they trust.
To help explain why people don’t all trust
the same labels, I consulted with Rabbi
Asher Lopatin, president of Yeshivat Chovevei
Torah (Pronunced: TORE-uh, Origin:
Hebrew, the Five Books of Moses.) Rabbinical
School. He said that sometimes a rabbi
or organization will accept a halachic
(Pronounced: huh-LAKH-ic, Origin: Hebrew,
according to Jewish law, complying with
Jewish law. ) (or Jewish legal) leniency
regarding food that others take issue with.
What’s a good example?
“While there have been some lenient opinions
over the centuries regarding gelatin,”
Rabbi Lopatin said, “current Orthodox
practice, at least in the Diaspora, is to not
accept gelatin from non-kosher animals.
Therefore, supervisions which do accept
the leniencies of gelatin from non-kosher
animals are not acceptable to (Orthodox)
community standards.” And once you have
an organization that allows for gelatin
from a non-kosher animal, the community
might be nervous accepting that organization’s
supervision on any food, even if it
doesn’t contain gelatin.
Think of it like hiring a babysitter. If you
find out that your babysitter has been
giving your kids ice cream for dinner, you
might decide not to trust that babysitter
to be in charge of your kids ever, even if
you ensure that there’s no ice cream in the
house.
Rabbi Lopatin brought up other concerns
a community might have: “The second
issue might be that while the rabbi giving
the supervision might be a great scholar,
he might not have the expertise to supervise
a complicated system which requires
expertise in modern machinery and
processing systems. The third issue is that
sometimes a supervision is just not seen
as rigorous enough in really watching
what is going on. There are some supervisions
— local and national — where people
have seen first hand that the mashgiach
[the person in charge of supervising the
facility for its kashrut (Pronounced: kahsh-
ROOT, Origin: Hebrew, the Jewish dietary
laws.) is not around and that things are
going on that might make the products
non-kosher.”
Ensuring that a product is kosher is
something many people take very seriously,
so they want to be positive that the
people charged with that duty know what
they’re doing, and are present consistently
enough to be sure that nothing improper
is going on.
There are two more factors that differentiate
among the kosher symbols. One
is money. In order for a product to be
certified kosher, the company has to pay
a rabbi or kosher supervision organization
to come in and supervise. This can be
very expensive, and it’s fair to assume that
when a company decides which organization
they want to bring in to certify their
product, they will choose a certification
that fits within their budget.
Finally, it’s worthwhile to note that all
of the kosher certification bodies are
competitors with each other, and so it behooves
them to maintain firmly that their
own hashgacha (supervision) is the most
trustworthy.
As you might expect, a rabbi whose brother
is the head of a kosher certification
body might be inclined to tell his community
that his brother’s organization is the
best one out there. There can be (and have
been) all kinds of political shenanigans
related to kashrut and kosher supervision,
but it’s difficult to know exactly if and
when this is going on. Most people come
up with a standard policy about which
symbols they’ll accept in conjunction with
their rabbi and/or community.
All this talk of food supervision is making
me hungry. I think it’s high time that I
supervise the making of some cookies.
You can look up all the symbols and their
organizations at the link below:
http://www.kashrut.com/agencies/
Kosher Details:
Waiting Between
Meals
How much time is required between
eating meat and dairy?
Because those observing kashrut cannot
eat meat and dairy foods together, this
means that a meal is either a meat meal
or a dairy meal (or a pareve meal for that
matter). You cannot even have meat and
dairy at the same table; that is, one person
can’t eat a bagel with cream cheese at the
same table where someone is eating fried
chicken.
To clarify further, you can’t have a piece
of steak on one plate, prepared without
any dairy, then turn to a second plate and
chomp down on a piece of cheese, even if
you’ve swallowed the steak.
To ensure that meat and milk not be eaten
together in any way, it is customary to
wait a certain amount of time between
meals. After eating meat, the wait time
varies, but the generally accepted amount
of time to wait is six hours.
Different Traditions
Different traditions developed as to the
exact amount of time that must pass
between meat and dairy meals. Wait time
is required because of the nature of meat.
In The Laws of Kashrus, Binyomin Forst
explains that the sages give two primary
reasons: Meat leaves behind a fatty residue
in the throat, and particles of meat might
remain between your teeth. Time is necessary
for the digestive powers of saliva to
break down both that fatty residue and the
meat particles.
For Orthodox Jews, the most common
wait time is six hours. According to
Sephardic (Pronounced: seh-FAR-dik,
Origin: Hebrew, describing Jews descending
from the Jews of Spain.) tradition, six
hours is not merely tradition, but halakhah,
required by Jewish law. Ashke nazic
tradition says that more lenient options
are also halakhically correct. Most agree
that the meat meal should be concluded
with appropriate blessings, signifying the
meal is over. You should then clean and
rinse your mouth and wash your hands.
Some say one hour is sufficient time, and
this has been the accepted tradition of
Dutch Jews.
German Jews follow a tradition of waiting
three hours. Forst says this may be
based on the idea that in winter the time
between meals is shorter; therefore, it is
acceptable to wait a shorter amount of
time year round.
These are three generally accepted waittime
traditions. However, even today, I’ve
encountered people who’ve developed
their own traditions within their communities.
Some wait four hours after eating
chicken, five hours after meat. Some
start counting the wait time after saying
blessings, some start counting as soon as
they’ve swallowed the last bite of meat.
With dairy foods, the wait time between
dairy and meat is minimal. This is based
on [the talmudic tractate] Chullin 105a,
where it says, “How long must one wait
between cheese and flesh? And he replied,
Nothing at all.” Still, you should eat something
like bread to effectively wipe your
mouth of any milky taste, and you should
rinse your mouth and wash your hands.
Hard cheese, described as cheese that
has aged over six months, such as Swiss
cheese, has a stronger flavor and is
thought to leave a fatty residue, so it
requires a six-hour wait.
Chullin 105a
Rather, Bait Shammai say: wipe and the
same is true for rinse and Bait Hillel say:
rinse and the same is true for wipe. one
said this and one said that but they don’t
disagree. The statement itself: Rabbe Zayra
said: wiping the mouth is only with bread.
This is only with wheat bread but not barley
bread. and wheat bread is only if it is cold,
but if it is hot it becomes pasty. and this is
only if it soft but not if it hard. However,
the Halacha is ... with all things can be used
to wipe [the mouth] besides for flour, dates
and vegetables. Rav Asi asked Rabbi Yochanan
How long should one wait between
[eating] meat and cheese? He said, “Not at
all.” Really? But Rav Chisda said, One who
eats meat isn’t allowed to eat cheese, [one
who eats] cheese is allowed to eat meat.
Rather [Rav Asi must have asked] How long
should one wait between [eating] cheese
and meat?... He said, “Not at all.” Regarding
what we quoted above “Rav Chisda said,
One who eats meat isn’t allowed to eat
cheese, [one who eats] cheese is allowed to
eat meat.” Rav Aha bar Yosef said to Rav
Chisda, “The meat this is between the teeth,
what do we make of it?” We reference the
verse, “The meat was still between their
teeth” (Numbers 11:33) Mar Ukva says, In
comparison to my father, regarding this
matter, I am vinegar the son of wine. My
father, when he ate meat, would not eat
cheese until the same time the next day. But
I, even if I won’t eat it at this meal, I’ll eat it
at the next meal.
What It Means to
Keep Kosher for
Passover
Keeping Kosher for Passover means
abstaining from hametz, the fermented
products of five principal grains: wheat,
rye, spelt, barley and oats. Though matzah,
the unleavened bread eaten on Passover, is
made from grain, it is considered acceptable
because it is produced under highly
controlled conditions to ensure that it
does not ferment.
Ashkenazi (Pronounced:
AHSH-ken-AH-zee, Origin: Hebrew, Jews of
Central and Eastern European origin.) Jews
who keep kosher for Passover have also
traditionally avoided eating kitniyot, a
category of foods that includes corn, rice,
beans and lentils, though the Conservative
movement’s rabbinic authorities overturned
the kitniyot prohibition in 2015.
Sephardi Jews do not abstain
from kitniyot (Pronounced: kit-nee-YOTE,
Origin: Hebrew, meaning “little things,” the
term here refers to legumes, corn, rice and
other non-hametz foods prohibited for use
on Passover by some Ashkenazic rabbis in
the medieval period. Many Sephardic Jews
(and Conservative Jews) do allow them on
Passover.)
A minority of Jews add an additional
stringency by avoiding “gebrochts” —
unleavened matzah products that become
wet, such as matzah balls or matzah meal.
Some products that are kosher year-round
are modified slightly to be kosher for Passover
— most famously Coca-Cola, which
substitutes cane sugar for corn syrup
in some regions over the holiday and is
marked by a distinctive yellow cap.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 147
JEWISH HOLIDAYS
Shabbat
Shabbat is considered the most important
of all Jewish holidays. It is the day of rest
and weekly observance of God’s completion
of creation. Starting on Friday night an hour
before sunset, it lasts for 25 hours until sunset
on Saturday night.
“The Feast of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn”
(Solomon Alexander Hart/The Jewish Museum)
Shemini Atzeret
This holiday literally means the “8th day of
assembly.” It is a festive day after the weeklong
festival of Sukkot, and is marked by the
annual prayer for rain recited in synagogue. In
Israel and in liberal (Reform, Reconstructionist,
Renewal) communities outside of Israel it is
combined with the holiday of Simchat Torah.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is the most solemn and introspective
day on the Jewish calendar. It emphasizes
personal responsibility for one’s actions. Jewish
tradition teaches that to atone for deeds
committed against another person you must
approach that person directly and apologize.
The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur is the traditional time to ask forgiveness
from one’s friends and neighbors, so that
on Yom Kippur one can attain forgiveness and
purification for all misdeeds. The act of atonement
makes the claim that as human beings
we are able to change and improve ourselves.
On Yom Kippur we strive to improve our relationships
both with other human beings and
with God.
The most prominent tradition of the Yom
Kippur holiday is a 25-hour fast from all food
and drink from sunset to sundown the next
day. Many spend the entire day in synagogue
engaged in study and prayer. The holiday ends
with a festive break-the-fast meal.
Sukkot
This seven–day festival celebrates the fall harvest
and also commemorates the time when
the Jews dwelt in the Sinai wilderness on
their way to the Promised Land of Israel. The
holiday is celebrated by building (and then
dwelling in) ceremonial huts called Sukkot,
waving of four different plant species (palm,
myrtle, willow and citron), and many foodfilled
festive gatherings in the Sukkah.
The night before Sukkot, Jewish people sleep
outside in the nature (in their yards and in
tents). On the day of Sukkot, Jewish families
have a big feast. If you get invited to one, it`s
an honor to attend. As a Jewish host, inviting
people to your feast is considered one of
the things you`d have to do in order to get to
Heaven.
Tu B’Shevat
This is the Jewish New Year of the Trees. Observances
include planting of trees, purchasing
trees to be planted in Israel, and a mystical
Tu B’Shevat ritual meal that includes different
colored wine (from white to red) and different
kinds of fruits and nuts.
Rosh Hashanah
During the fall when the days begin to shorten
and the leaves begin to change, Jewish
tradition encourages us to look inward as we
prepare for the New Year ahead. The Jewish
New Year (Rosh Hashanah) is a holiday marked
by festive meals with foods symbolizing
our hopes for the new year—such as apples
dipped in honey for a sweet new year and
pomegranates for a year of plenty—and a day
spent in prayer or quiet meditation.
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah marks the end and the beginning
of the annual Torah reading cycle. Every
week all over the world, the same Torah
portion is read in Jewish communities. On Simchat
Torah the cycle ends and begins again.
This is accompanied by parading the Torah
scrolls about and with singing and dancing.
Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day)
On this Memorial Day, we commemorate the
soldiers who have fallen fighting for Israel’s
independence and defending its security.
This holiday falls the day before Israel’s Independence
Day.
Hanukkah
This beloved 8–day Jewish winter festival
celebrates the miracle of a small cruse of oil
when it burned for 8 days, instead of only
one. It also celebrates the military victory of
the Jewish Maccabees over the powerful Syrian
Greek army in 167 BCE. The victory was
followed by a rededication (Hanukkah) of the
Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. It is from this act
that the holiday gets its name.
The holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the miraculous
replenishment of the lanterns of the
temple in 164 B.C. Each day one candle is lit
within a “menorah.”
Passover
This seven or eight day festival of freedom
marks the Hebrew exodus from Egypt long
ago. The story is told during a festive ritual
meal called a “Seder.” During the festival, it is
traditional to abstain from all foods containing
leaven; that is, foods made from grain
that have not been prepared according to a
strict Passover cooking procedure. Among
the grain foods that are permitted is matzah,
an unleavened bread that is baked before it
has a chance to rise. Jews celebrate Passover
as a commemoration of their liberation by
God from slavery in ancient Egypt and their
freedom as a nation under the leadership of
Moses.
Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day)
This holiday celebrates the independence
of the Modern State of Israel. In Israel this
day is marked with fireworks, barbeques, and
outdoor revelry.
Purim
The name of this holiday means “lots”, so
named for the lots that were drawn to determine
a dark day in Jewish history. As luck
would have it, those dark days never arrived,
as the evil villian’s plans were thwarted by
the clever Jewish Queen Esther, whose story
is recounted in the Biblical Scroll of Esther.
Celebrations include a public reading of the
scroll, giving gifts to friends and to the needy,
dressing up in costume, eating a special triangle-shaped
pastry, the hamantaschen, and the
drinking of alcohol for those of drinking age.
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day)
Jews all over the world mourn the loss of six
million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust
as part of Hitler’s genocidal “Final Solution.”
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 149
Lag B’Omer
This holiday marks the 33rd day of the 49-day
“Omer” period between Passover and Shavuot.
This 7 week period called “the Omer” is traditionally
a quiet time on the Jewish calendar,
but Lag B’Omer, which occurs on the 33rd day
is an exception. Bonfires, outdoor parties and
revelry rule the day, which is also a popular
Jewish wedding date.
Shavuot
Shavuot is the holiday celebration of the
giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. The
celebration of Shavuot is also the Festival
of First Fruits and Grains, a fulfillment of the
promise of spring. The name means “weeks”,
so named for the 7-week period from Passover
to Shavuot.
Tisha B’Av
An important fast day in the Jewish calendar
is Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month
of Av. The day commemorates the destruction
of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE
and 70 CE.
Tu B’Av
Held six days after the fast day of Tisha B’Av
comes a festival of love! A popular wedding
date, the day is celebrated in the best way
possible with wine, chocolate and roses! In
modern-day Israel, it is celebrated as a holiday
of love, similar to Valentine’s Day.
What to Expect at a Shabbat Dinner
What to Do
And Not to Do!
Shabbat is a day of rest that lasts from sundown on Friday evening through nightfall on Saturday night. In addition
to a plethora of things that observant Jews will famously not do on Shabbat (such as driving, working, or
turning on a light switch), there are a host of things we do do in order to “make the Shabbat a delight” (in the
words of Isaiah 58:13). A big part of the “delight” of Shabbat is the enjoyment of three Shabbat meals, mainly
the first two—Friday night dinner and Shabbat lunch—that are elegantly prepared, preceded by the sipping of
ceremonial kiddush wine and the breaking of traditional challah bread, and lingered over with songs, inspiring
thoughts and camaraderie. (The third meal, eaten late on Shabbat afternoon, is normally lighter.)
If you are joining as a guest, the first thing for you to know is that guests are considered an integral part of any
Shabbat meal. Your hosts are very happy to have you—their meal just would not feel right otherwise!
When to Come
Confirm with your hosts what time they would like you to show up, and make sure you have good directions,
as they will not be answering their phones starting at sundown on Friday night. The timeframe given may be
loose—“sometime between 12 and 1”—and so you can be flexible in your arrival.
If you are a woman attending a Friday night meal, your hostess may invite you to come early, before Shabbat
starts at sundown, so that you can join her for candle-lighting. If you do this, the time spent between candlelighting
and eating will likely be filled with a combination of chatting, preparing for the meal, or just simply relaxing
on the couch. Your help setting up or reading to restive children will likely be appreciated.
Both the Friday night meal and the Shabbat day meal are preceded by services in the synagogue. Even if you
don’t generally attend synagogue, or don’t attend the same one as your hosts, you can consider joining them this
week, and then simply go home with them afterwards.
What to Bring
Though not necessary, a small hostess gift is appropriate. If the gift is a food item, such as wine or chocolate,
make sure that it is kosher (and if it is wine, that you see the word mevushal on the label). The world of kosher
certification can be complicated. When in doubt, flowers always make a good gift (except for in Israel, where
agricultural rituals make that complicated as well).
Avoid giving a dairy dessert, even a kosher one, as most Shabbat meals feature chicken or meat, and they do not
serve dairy in the same meal as chicken or meat.
If you do choose to give a gift, bring it to your hosts’ home before Shabbat starts. This may seem strange, but is
actually quite normal in observant circles, since Torah does not allow us to carry or conduct transactions—including
the giving or receiving of gifts—on Shabbat. Please don’t bring your gift when you come for the meal, as your
hosts will not be able to receive it then. (If it feels very awkward to you to skip a gift altogether, you can always
follow up with a thank-you note and a gift after Shabbat has ended . . . but rest assured that your hosts are absolutely
not expecting you to do so.)
What to Wear
Clothing on Shabbat is a notch more formal and festive than on a
weekday, so if you think “dinner party,” you will likely strike the right
note. Men will fit right in with a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt
(coat and tie optional) and kippah, and women with a modest dress or a
modest top and skirt.
What to Expect?
After everyone has arrived and indulged in a few minutes of chit-chat,
family and friends will move to the table and find their seats.
At this point on a Friday night, your host (often accompanied by others)
will sing two hymns:
The “Shalom Aleichem” hymn, with which we welcome the angels who
visit every home at the start of Shabbat, request their blessing and bid
them farewell.
The song of “Eishet Chayil,” which is a tribute to the Jewish woman,
written by King Solomon, extolling her for the wisdom and hard work
with which she makes her home the lovely and nurturing place it is.
Typically everyone stands for the singing of these hymns, but if it is difficult
for you for any reason, you may certainly sit down.
At the Shabbat day meal, we begin immediately with kiddush.
Kiddush
Your host will recite kiddush holding a cup of wine, and everyone will
receive a few sips of wine to drink. The recitation of this blessing over
a cup of wine is a way of fulfilling the mitzvah of sanctifying the day of
rest (the word kiddush translates as “sanctification”).
On Friday night all typically stand for the recitation of kiddush, while on
Shabbat day some people sit. Take your cues from those around you.
Challah
Immediately following kiddush, everyone will leave their chairs and go
to the sink for the ritual hand-washing for bread. If you are not familiar
with this procedure, your hosts will be happy to guide you through it
and help you recite the blessing.
After washing hands, we don’t speak until after we’ve eaten some
challah, so just return to your chair and wait quietly. Hand motions and
facial expressions are often used for necessary communication at this
point. When everyone is seated again, your host will recite the blessing
over bread and then distribute challah, first dipping each piece in salt.
After you’ve eaten a bite, feel free to talk again.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 151
The Food
The traditional Friday night Shabbat meal
features a fish course (with gefilte fish as
an Eastern European classic, often nowadays
accompanied by salads inspired by
Israeli cuisine), followed by a soup course
(most classic is chicken soup), and then a
meat or chicken course.
Shabbat day generally features a fish
course and then a meat course containing
a hot stew called tcholent. Since it is
forbidden to cook food on Shabbat, the
tcholent has been slowly cooking since
Friday afternoon before sundown, either
on the stovetop or in a crockpot. (Tcholent
is the Eastern European term; in Sephardic
parlance, the equivalent, often spicier,
dish is known as chameen.)
These multi-course menus are traditional
but not mandatory, and it is increasingly
common to serve a one-course Shabbat
meal, but be prepared . . . what seems
like an entire meal may be just the first
course.
All that, of course, followed by dessert!
Don’t worry, you are not obligated to eat
or even taste everything.
What to Do
Enjoy the food and the company! In addition
to table talk, we make sure to include
words of Torah at our Shabbat tables, and
at some point someone will probably take
the floor for a few minutes to present a
Torah thought. If your hosts have children,
they may share their knowledge of the
weekly Torah portion and enjoy some
positive attention. There will also likely
be some singing, of traditional Shabbat
hymns as well as other Jewish songs of a
joyful or spiritual nature.
You can feel comfortable discussing all
the usual topics that might be discussed
a dinner party—politics, recent experiences,
the weather . . . and don’t be
afraid to ask questions. If anything seems
mystifying or unclear to you, don’t be shy.
Your hosts or fellow guests will be happy
to explain.
If you lend a hand with clearing plates or
carrying serving dishes, it will likely be
appreciated.
What Not to Do
When you come, don’t ring the doorbell.
Knock instead.
Don’t take pictures.
Don’t use your phone.
When using the bathroom, avail yourself
of the tissues or pre-torn toilet paper,
rather than tearing toilet paper.
Important: Please don’t turn off any lights,
as there will be no Shabbat-permissible
way to turn them back on. (If you have
already mistakenly turned off the light in
the bathroom, you can at least know that
you are not the first one to have made
this mistake . . . even those who have
observed Shabbat for many years may
unthinkingly do this.)
Don’t worry, there is no problem at all
with flushing the toilet.
Grace After Meals
As the meal is winding down, someone
will suggest bentching. This Yiddish word
means “blessing,” and is a reference to
the Grace After Meals. Small booklets will
be brought to the table containing the
text of the Grace After Meals. There are
sure to be some booklets with an English
translation, so you can read it comfortably
yourself.
Help! I’m invited to an Orthodox Shabbat.
Now what??
For those of you that are not familiar,
Shabbat-observant folks do not activate
electricity or cook or a host of other
creative activities, many of which may
be surprising to you, on Shabbat. They
have dinner that also involves singing
(not kumbaya), “washing” (not with soap),
“benching” (that doesn’t involve a bench)
and some other quasi-freaky stuff. To
be sure, the dinner is usually delicious,
the atmosphere divine (assuming the
kids don’t fight too much and the guests
don’t radically disagree about politics and
you haven’t mistakenly seated a doctor
and attorney directly across the table
from one another), the guests and hosts
well-meaning, etc. Nevertheless some
clarity is in order, as expectations and
assumptions on either side may well be….
insanely divergent.
Here are 10 things I’d like MY Shabbos
guests to know:
(As an aside: I use the terms Shabbat and
Shabbos interchangeably; both refer to
the Jewish Sabbath as it is observed according
to Jewish law from sundown on
Friday or even a bit earlier, to nightfall on
Saturday night.)
1. I know you may have driven to my home. It’s a little
awkward, because I don’t drive on Shabbos, and you
do. The question of whether a Shabbat-observant Jew
is allowed to invite a fellow Jew over on Shabbat, when
it’s obvious that he will drive, is actually the subject of
intense halachic debate. On the one hand, better to drive
to celebrate Shabbat than to drive to the mall – no? On
the other hand, may I be the instrument of the drive? So
“don’t ask, don’t tell” is the way we deal with it. Because
even if I follow the opinion that I can invite you despite
the drive, it’s much better if I don’t have to give explicit
permission. Which is why I try to avoid the topic!
2. I really appreciate the fact that you didn’t park in
my driveway. When you parked around the block and
walked, you may have felt like an imposter but I viewed it
as a respectful act of not wishing to disturb the Shabbat
atmosphere that exists in the neighborhood. Thank you!
And if you really did walk all the way – double thank you!
You’ve honored your hosts and Shabbat, all in one.
3. So the flowers you brought to dinner, and I kinda left
them hanging out on the counter? You’re so sweet to
bring them… but I can’t put flowers into water on Shabbos.
It’s part of the creative process of growing plants.
I felt uncomfortable, but didn’t want to make you feel
worse about not knowing, so I just decided to hope you
didn’t notice. (More suggestions here for what guests can
bring.)
4. It’s really OK with me that your kids are coloring and
playing piano, activities that are not allowed on Shabbat.
I know you don’t observe Shabbos the way I do. They’re
only kids. My kids do that too, and I overlook it because
they’re only kids, even though mine ARE brought up with
Shabbos. Don’t worry.
5. Yes, you’re allowed to flush the toilet on Shabbos.
6. I’m a little hesitant to ask you if you’d like help with
lighting candles or “washing” hands before challah. See,
if these customs are familiar to you, I don’t want it to
seem like I think you’re ignorant. But if they’re not, I don’t
want to be a bad host and not offer you info and help. It’s
hard for me to know how to strike the balance. I’m not
clairvoyant, so I don’t know how much you know. I hope
you’ll be OK with my mistakes.
7. If anything seems unusual, please ask! It’s not rude or
disrespectful and it makes me so happy that you are asking
so the lines of communication can be open. I don’t
want my life to be inscrutable to you. Please feel free to
ask. Really.
8. It’s great when you involve my kids in the conversation.
See, I’m trying to strike the balance between paying attention
to them and paying attention to you, so if you pay
attention to them, it’s win-win-win.
9. It’s so sweet when you offer to bring something. I
know you don’t keep kosher so please don’t feel bad if
I just ask you to bring flowers or dessert from a kosher
bakery. You might want to check with me which bakery is
kosher because “Farbstein’s Kosher Rugeleh Shop” may
not, in fact, be kosher. Also, many people serve meat or
chicken at Shabbos dinner and therefore would not serve
dairy at dessert, even if it’s not together. Just good to
know.
10. What we really want is for you to have a nice time.
Relax, don’t worry so much about the rules, and just try to
have fun. We know you may not be familiar with the customs
and that’s OK! We like you and that’s what matters.
11. I know I said ten but I couldn’t resist. If you’ve spent
time avoiding my invitation, deleting my email, ignoring
my voicemail, and pretending you didn’t check Facebook,
please know that if you do, indeed, accept my invitation,
you may actually have a very nice time.
How to Make
Challah
Make perfect, fluffy challah every time with this classic recipe.
Classic challah is almost as sacred as Shabbat itself, and we know how gratifying and delicious
it is to prepare homemade challah at home.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/8 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbs dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten, plus 1 whole egg for glazing
1/2 Tbs salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Poppy or sesame seeds (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Dissolve the yeast in the water with 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Beat well and leave 10
minutes, until it froths.
2. In a very large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then add the salt, sugar, and oil and beat
again. Add the frothy yeast mixture and beat well. Now add the flour gradually, and just
enough to make a soft dough that holds together, mixing well, first with a large spoon, then
working it in with your hands.
3. Knead vigorously for about 15 minutes, until it is very smooth and elastic, adding flour if
the dough is too sticky.
4. Pour a little oil in the bowl and turn the dough, so that it is greased all over.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and put it in a warm place to rise for
2‐3 hours, or until it has doubled in bulk. Punch the dough down and knead again, then
divide into 2 pieces to make 2 loaves.
6. Braid challah into desired shape and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
or a silicone baking mat, leaving plenty of room for them to expand. Allow them to rise
for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
7. Now brush gently with the beaten egg, or if you want to sprinkle with poppy or sesame
seeds, brush first with the whole beaten egg.(The seeds stick better if the white is there too.)
8. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25-30 minutes or until the loaves are beautifully
golden-brown. They are done if they sound hollow when you tap the bottoms.
The Difference Between Halvah and Tahini
Halvah is a sweet treat that is almost universally
beloved by Jews from around the world.
Even in many American grocery stores you can
find packaged halvah, and Israel is well known
for the rows upon rows of beautiful and varied
halvah flavors featured in its many outdoor
markets.
What is tahini?
Tahini is quite simple: It is ground sesame
seeds. Just like ground peanuts create peanut
butter, ground sesame seeds creates a rich,
sweet and savory paste that is delicious and
versatile.
Not all sesame seeds are created equal, and,
the best-quality tahini is made from Ethiopian
sesame seeds. When ground, they have a delicious
nuttiness with a natural sweetness.
What should you look for when you buy
strongly recommend storing it in the fridge for
sanitary reasons. And when the tahini fibers and
oil do separate over time (which they will), just
give it a good stir before using.
What can you do with tahini?
The question is really: What can’t you do with
tahini? It can be savory, or sweet. It can be simply
drizzled over roasted vegetables, made into a
salad dressing or even added to baked goods like
tahini?
gluten-free tahini and halvah brownies and tahini
Let’s say you want to buy tahini at the grocery chocolate breakfast buns. It can also be drizzled
store, you should check for freshness. While on top of ice cream.
tahini has a long shelf life (it can remain in your So, what is halvah?
pantry for 2-3 years), if you see that the tahini Halvah, which literally means “sweet” in Arabic,
has already separated, with a thick layer of oil is made by mixing tahini and sugar at a high temperature.
Other flavors are often added, including
on top, it is not fresh and not ideal to purchase.
Where should you store tahini?
coffee, marble, pistachio, cardamom and white
While you can store it at room temperature, we chocolate.
OldTestament
Abraham’s Blended Family
The relationship between Sarah and Hagar — and their two
sons — is more complicated than you think.
Commentary on Parashat Chayei Sara, Genesis 23:1-25:18
Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of
Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, “I am
a resident alien among you............These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names by their villages and by their encampments: twelve chieftains of
as many tribes.— These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to
his kin.— They dwelt from Havilah, by Shur, which is close to Egypt, all the way to Asshur; they camped alongside all their kinsmen.
ABRAHAM, SARAH and HAGAR
Hebrew for “the life of Sarah.” That’s in spite of the fact that it opens with Sarah’s death and then proceeds to detail Abraham’s
mourning, him finding her a burial plot and then selecting a wife for their son, Isaac. But to understand what’s happening here,
I think it’s best to look back.
Just prior to this Torah portion is the binding of Isaac, when Abraham almost sacrifices Isaac. Two things happen after Isaac’s
life is spared by God. First, he flees to his mother’s former handmaid, Hagar, and older brother, Ishmael. Then, his mother,
Sarah, dies. She dies, perhaps, of heartbreak at not only the potential loss of her son in the sacrifice but the physical loss of
her son to Hagar, a woman with whom she has a strained relationship to say the least. It is at this juncture in the lives of our
forebears that Chayei Sara opens.
In this Torah portion, which is so much more about Isaac than about Sarah, we don’t actually see Isaac until after he’s returned
from Beer-lahai-roi, which the passage says he “settled in the region of the Negev.” If you recall from earlier in Genesis, Beerlahai-roi
roughly translated means “the well of he who sees me. “ This same place to which Hagar retreated after being cast
out by Sarah is where Isaac goes to find comfort after the betrayal of his father and death of his mother.
I first noticed the complexity of the familial relationship of Isaac, Ishmael, Sarah, Hagar and Abraham while studying at Pardes,
a coed pluralistic yeshiva in Jerusalem, in the summer of 2015. Our forebears lived in a time of complicated family structures.
It was not unheard of for a man to have several wives, each with several children. These women and children often go unnamed.
Sarah and Hagar are different. These sisterwives
not only are each beloved by God (he
makes great nations, 12 chieftains from them
both) and Abraham (he is twice distressed by
Sarah’s treatment of Hagar and Ishmael), but
by the sons they share. I find it hard to believe
that the strife we read about between Hagar
and Sarah is ongoing; instead, I think the two
Torah mentions of Sarah treating Hagar harshly
are extreme events. It is through this lens that
it makes sense for Isaac to seek refuge, safety
and a piece of home with Hagar after these two
terrible events — almost being murdered by his
father and then losing his mother. He grew up
with both these women as his caretakers, his
mothers. He grew up with Ishmael as his playmate,
his brother. With Hagar and Ishmael sent
away and his mother dead, he was left alone.
It’s only after Sarah has been buried and a wife,
Rebecca, is selected for Isaac that we see him
again.
We read that Isaac loves Rebecca and takes her
to his mother’s tent, where he is finally comforted
after Sarah’s death. It seems that Abraham,
too, finds comfort after his wife’s death and his
son’s marriage, because in the next chapter we
learn that Abraham takes a second wife called
Keturah. There are some scholars who believe
that Keturah is a new figure, while others
believe that Keturah is merely a new name for
Hagar who returns to the family after the death
of Sarah. I tend to place myself in this column.
I have never viewed Hagar as a mere handmaiden
or servant of Sarah, but rather a woman
who Abraham loved as a wife. A woman who
possibly loved Sarah with a complex intimacy
because of their shared husband. A woman
who loved her children, both the son she bore
and the son she helped to raise. It may seem
uncomfortable to reconcile, but if we look at
the way the story plays out, Hagar is the Jewish
people’s stepmother and her son, Ishmael, our
brother.
To me the connection of Hagar as Keturah is
evident by the fact that the sons of Keturah are
named as well as the names of their descendants.
Naming of people in the Torah is often a
sign of significance. The text tells us that children
of Abraham’s other concubines are given
gifts while he is alive and sent to the east. But
these children aren’t named, indicating a lack of
importance.
This idea of Keturah as Hagar is also supported
by how the text ends, with the death of Abraham.
When Abraham dies we read that both
of his sons bury their father in the same cave
where Sarah is buried. We close with a recitation
of the 12 sons of Ishmael, the grandchildren
of Hagar/Keturah and Abraham.
Some pieces of Midrash (Pronounced: MIDDrash,
Origin: Hebrew, the process of interpretation
by which the rabbis filled in “gaps” found in the
Torah.) argue that this recitation of Ishmael’s
children is proof of the promise that God makes
to both Abraham and Sarah and Abraham and
Hagar; that his descendants will be as numerous
as grains of sand and stars in the sky. God
fulfills his promise to Abraham not just through
Isaac, but also through Ishmael. And therefore
through Hagar.
These lessons of Torah push us to think beyond
our comfort and encourage us to consider the
nuances of identity, peoplehood and family. I
think God’s lesson is to lean into that complexity,
because it’s evident that we prosper only
together.
Did You Know?
1. Bamba, Israel’s favorite snack food, is
made exclusively here. First produced in
1964 as cheese-flavored, two years later it
acquired its famous peanut butter taste.
2. Israelis, per capita, are the world’s
biggest consumers of fruits and vegetables.
3. Israelis, per capita, are the world’s
biggest consumers of chicken?
3. Israeli cows produce more milk per cow
than almost any country in the world.
4. Cherry tomatoes were originally
engineered in Israel in 1973.
5. Breeding and raising pigs in Israel is
illegal for Jews.
6. The glue on Israeli stamps is kosher.
7. There are over 100 sushi restaurants in
Tel Aviv…making it the city with the most
sushi restaurants per capita after Tokyo
and NYC.
8. At a shop in Jaffa you can buy hummus
flavored ice cream.
9. The diet of the animals at Jerusalem’s
Biblical Zoo is altered annually so it’s
kosher for Passover?
10. In 2012 Israelis began the Cottage
Cheese Revolution. These were national
demonstrations launched against the high
cost of living prompted by sharp increases
in the price of cottage cheese.
11. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship
in the world.
12. Israel has the highest rate of entrepreneurship
among women and people over
55 in the world.
13. Israel was the first country to ban
underweight models.
14. Israeli banknotes have braille markings
on them.
15. Israel won the Eurovision song competition
three times.
16. The last time they won, they were represented
by a transgender pop star, Dana
International. The only other time that’s
happened is this year’s winner, Conchita
Wurst, from Austria.
17. When Golda Meir became prime minister
of Israel in 1969, she was only the third
woman elected to lead a country in the
modern world.
18. The largest known dog cemetery in the
ancient world was discovered in the coastal
city of Ashkelon.
19. There’s a rollerblading party that happens
every Tuesday night in Tel Aviv.
20. Out Magazine names Israel “the gay capital
of the Middle East.”
21. The country has the most Bauhaus
buildings in the world.
22. Israel has 137 official beaches (but only
273 km of coastline).
23. In regards to its population, Israel has
the highest ratio of college degrees.
24. The same goes for the ratio of its museums,
and startup companies!
25. Motorola developed the cell phone in
Israel.
26. Voicemail technology was developed in
Israel.
27. The first antivirus software for computers
was created in Israel in 1979.
28. Israel has two official languages: Hebrew
and Arabic.
29. Israel published more books translated
from other languages than any other nation
in the world.
30. The city of Beersheba has the highest
number of chess grandmasters per capita
in the world.
31. Only two countries began the 21st
century with a net gain in their number of
trees; Israel was one of them.
32. The opening scene of the Al Pacino film
The Insider was shot in Israel.
33. Haifa, Israel has one of the smallest
subway systems in the world with a 1.8-km
track and only four carriages — how cute!
34. Israel is one of only three democracies
in the world without a codified constitution.
The other two are New Zealand and Britain.
35. The Sea of Galilee — located .212 km
below sea level — is the lowest freshwater
lake in the world (and the largest in Israel).
36. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on
Earth.
37. Israel is the only country to revive an
unspoken language and establish it as its
national tongue.
38. Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives is the
world’s oldest continuously used cemetery.
39. El Al, Israel’s national airline, set the
world record for the most passengers on
a commercial flight.
40. The world’s largest pepper was
grown in Israel’s Moshav Ein Yahav, as
recorded by The Guinness Book of World
Records in 2013.
41. Life expectancy in Israel is at 82 years
(two years more than the OECD average).
42. Eilat and the Hula Valley Reserve are
some of the best bird-watching sites in
the world. Israel’s national bird is the
hoopoe.
43. Heart tissue regeneration is possible
in the U.S. thanks to Israeli stem-cell
technology.
44. A cooking oil developed in Israel is
capable of breaking up cholesterol and
other blood fats.
45. An Israeli company has developed
the world’s first jellyfish repellent.
46. Israel is one of only nine countries in
the world that can launch its own satellites
into space.
47. AOL Instant Messaging was designed
by an Israeli software company.
48. Yityish Aynaw became Israel’s first
Ethiopian Miss Israel in 2013.
49. Israeli scientists have discovered the
cause of chronic bad breath and an easy
way to fix it.
50. More than 44% of all lawyers registered
in Israel are women.
51. Israel chose its first woman president
of the Supreme Court, Dorit
Beinisch, who served from 2006-2012.
52. Israel has the world’s second highest
per capita of new books.
53. A group of Israeli artists have started
bus stop libraries that are available free
of charge to commuters traveling across
Israel.
54. Israel’s national flower is the
Cyclamen persicum.
CHRISTIANITY101
Christianity
Christianity is one of the most significant monotheistic religions in the
world. Its beliefs are closely linked to Judaism, from which it originated.
The central focus of the Christian faith is based upon the belief of salvation
made possible through the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish sovereign of
“Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The Anointed One”.
COOLFACTS
• Jesus is the Greek form
of the Aramaic name Joshua.
• The life and actions
of Jesus rooted within the Jewish
tradition.
• The Gospels describe
the life and teachings of Jesus,
which act as the constituents of
faith.
The Roots of Christianity
The inspiration for Christianity is Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth marks the
start of the Western era. Central beliefs and the teaching of Jesus, deemed
the son of God, and interpretations of his death and resurrection.
Located in the New Testament of the Bible, the Gospels, of
which the Gospel of Mark is the oldest, describe the ministry of Jesus of
Nazareth.
Christian beliefs were promoted after Jesus` death by retelling his
parables and lessons within the emerging Christian communities. Initially
retold orally, Jesus` ministry was later collected and organized within a
literary format. The beliefs of early Christian authors are reflected in the
stories of Jesus` birth and life as a young man.
The main message of Jesus was the renewal of Judaism in accordance
with the kingdom of God. As the preachings of Jesus were often portrayed
through allegories of rural life, stories of Him healing the sick and helping
the fringe groups of ancient Jewish society conveyed the Christianity
message to His mainly agrarian audience. The Sermon on the Mount
(found in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew) compiled these teachings.
Their primary theme was love, both for God and for one another. This
message responds to intensely restrictive commandments in the Jewish
Torah, which places limits on behavior and promised exacting punishment
for wrongdoing. Jesus instead encouraged inclusive love and charity as a
guide to behavior and social organization.
By addressing God as “Father,” Jesus relayed a remarkably close relationship.
Arriving in Jerusalem, the religious and political center of Judaism,
this provocative claim was bound to trigger conflict between Jesus and
the temple aristocracy, working under the law of the Romans. Arrested on
charges of blasphemy, Jesus was executed.
The descriptions of his death in the Gospels emphasize the fulfillment of
prophecies of a Messiah, sent by God to redeem humankind, found in the
Old Testament.
The Christian Bible contains
both, an Old and a
New Testament.
The Old Testament
corresponds to the collections
of Jewish Holy
Scriptures.
Christians read in the
Old Testament prophecies
and predictions
that foretell of the coming
of Jesus Christ, as
expressed in the New
Testament.
The canon of the 27
New Testament scriptures
evolved from the
third century. It consists
of the Gospels, stories
of the apostles, letters
(primarily by Paul) and
the revelation of John.
In 1546, the canon of
the Catholic Church
– the official list of
contents of the Holy
Bible- was decreed at
the Council of Trent.
Above: Guttenberg
Bible, printed ca 1455
• Early versions of the
Bible record an ox and donkey at
the Nativity scene.
• The apostles Peter
and Paul emerged as the primary
preachers within early Christianity.
With his letters, Paul provided
the basis of Christian theology for
new communities.
• During the period of
Christian persecution by the Roman
Empire, the Christians buried
their dead underground in catacombs
that were often painted
with Christian motifs.
• Regular communion
services were characteristic of
the collective lifestyle of Early
Christians.
• Since the 11th Century,
a pope has chosen his own
papal name.
• The title of the pope
is “holy father,” his self-designated
name is “servant of God`s
servants.”
• The pope is selected
by the cardinals.
• During the Crusades,
the concept of a pilgrimage was
associated with the idea of a
“just war” against pagans.
• In the 21rst century,
Christianity is increasingly disassociating
itself from its Europecentered
character.
• Martin Luther initiated
the greatest change in the
history of the Western Church
with his shocking assault on
traditional Christianity. In 1517,
Martin Luther sparked the
Reformation in Wittenberg with
his 95 theses against the sale of
indulgences by the papacy.
The Emerge of Christianity
CHRISTIANITY
The early Christians formed a local community that was attractive to many people. From its start as a small Jewish sect, Christianity soon exploded
into an expansive religious movement.
The early Christians believed that Jesus was the Messiah and had been resurrected following his crucifixion.
In the Hebrew version of the Bible, the Messiah (Hebrew: “The Anointed One”) came to represent one who was chosen by God as the rightful
ruler of the Israelites descending from the line of King David. The Christian concept of the Messiah as the apocalyptic bringer of salvation was
expressed in the prophetic books of the Bible.
As early Christians reflected on the meaning of the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, they came to identify Him as the Messiah and Christ
(Greek:”The Annointed One”). This identification of Jesus as the Christ is the central point of the Christian faith.
Within the early Christian society, all men were equal while women were also allowed to take on important communal positions.
In Antioch, they were joined by followers of the Hellenistic-Roman cults. Christian communities often exempted their members, whether converted
Jews or Gentiles (non-Jews), from strict Jewish laws including circumcision, cleanliness requirements, and food restrictions. Christian leaders
believed in baptism as the symbolic ritual of cleanliness and, after that, purity of the spirit and actions as the way to follow in the path of Jesus.
Soon the followers of Christ were accused of heresy and threatened by the majority of population who held other religious beliefs. Many fled to
Samaria and a few to Antioch, where they were first referred as “Christians”.
Success and Propagation
The transmission of the new religion saw increased
influence over the following decades. Overall, the
remarkable lifestyle of the Christians aroused interest
to join. Entire households, including both families
and their slaves, made the decision to convert.
Christianity spread rapidly from the Middle East,
attracting both the educated and wealthy as well as
the poor and enslaved.
The main reason for the success of Christianity was
the promise of salvation and resurrection. Furthermore,
the solidarity of early Christian communities
was attractive as wealthy Christians made donations
to the poor, the elderly, and the sick. The community
saw to the burial of its members, trans-migratory
Christians were housed, and healers worked without
payment. Once it was recognized that the end of
the world would not occur as soon as had been
expected, gradually more importance was attached
to the Christian lifestyle. As the communities came
to adapt to the norms and values of their environment,
hierarchies emerged, the social structures that
would later become the foundation of the organized
Church.
Christian Persecution
Affirming the Christian faith did harbor risk for followers,
in 64 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero decreed
the imprisonment and execution of Christians on
charges of alleged arson. Many in the Roman Empire
refused to concede in the face of public sacrifice.
Their resistance and persecution saw the eventual
acceptance of Christianity during the second and
third centuries A.D.
Differences between Denominations
According to the Catholic understanding of faith the
teachings of the Church are based on the Bible and
Christian tradition. The word of God is explained
through Church doctrines.
The Reformers stressed their belief that the Bible
alone was sufficient for the promulgation of faith,
thus contesting the Church’s traditional domination
over religious interpretation. While the Church
assumes that a person “pays dues” in the process
of receiving God’s salvation, Luther contended
that God’s grace was passive; thus faith alone was
sufficient. The hierarchically structured Church
was considered to be the sole mediator between
God and humanity; however, Luther emphasized a
“priesthood of all believers”. Luther accepted only
the first three of the Church’s seven sacraments
(baptism, Eucharist, penance, confirmation, matrimony,
priesthood and unction). Zwingli, on the other
hand, considered baptism and the Eucharist to be
mere symbols of faith.
The Christian Church in the 20th Century expanded
even more and many Protestant denominations
developed and grew in membership.
Fundamentalist and Evangelical religious movements
emerged throughout the developed and the
developing worlds. Highly emotive communal experiences,
such as the trancelike practice of “speaking
in tongues”, often characterized these new religious
expressions.
We are raised in the Church
so that we already know of
Christ’s triumph over death
through the Cross. Our
resistance is not based on a
lack of knowledge, but of a
real human dread of pain and
suffering. It may be difficult
to us to “see” the joy that
comes through the Cross
until we find ourselves “on
the other side,” for “now we
see in a glass darkly, but then
face to face” (1 Corinthians
13:12). It is our hope and the
“certainty” of our faith that
Christ has indeed triumphed
over death, “even death on a
Cross” (Philippians 2:8).
-By Fr. Steven Kostoff
• The Ressurenction of Jesus
is the central event of Christianity,
represented here in the
“Isenheim Altar” by Matthias
Grunewald.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 157
The central focus of the Christian faith is
based upon the belief of salvation made
possible through the crucifixion and
Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the son
of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish
sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The
Anointed One”.
The central focus of the Christian faith is
based upon the belief of salvation made
possible through the crucifixion and
Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the son
of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish
sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The
Anointed One”.
The central focus of the Christian faith is
based upon the belief of salvation made
possible through the crucifixion and
Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the son
of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish
sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The
Anointed One”.
The central focus of the Christian faith is based upon the belief of salvation made possible through the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The Anointed One”.
The central focus of the Christian faith is based upon the belief of salvation made possible through the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The Anointed One”.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 159
The central focus of the Christian faith is based upon the belief of salvation made possible through the crucifixion and Resurrection of
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The Anointed One”.
The central focus of the Christian faith is based upon the belief of salvation made possible through the crucifixion and Resurrection of
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God. “Christ” corresponds to the Jewish sovereign of “Messiah” or in Hebrew, “The Anointed One”.
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ISLAM 101
"Allah says in the Qur'an not to despise one
another. So the criterion in Islam is not color or
social status. It's who is most righteous. If I go to
a mosque - and I'm a basketball player with
money and prestige - if I go to a mosque and see
an imam, I feel inferior. He's better than me. It's
about knowledge." Hakeem Olajuwon
ʾ ʾ ḥ أسماء الله الحسنى
الله
ʾ
زبور
ʾ
ɔː ˈɑː
ʔ ː
القرآن
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith (/bəˈhɑːiː, -ˈhaɪ/; Persian: بهائی Bahā'i)
is a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions,
and the unity and equality of all people.
Established by Bahá'u'lláh in 1863, it initially grew in Iran
and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced ongoing
persecution since its inception. Currently it has between 5
and 8 million adherents, known as Bahá'ís, spread out into
most of the world's countries and territories.
It grew from the mid-19th-century Bábí religion, whose
founder taught that God would soon send a prophet in the
same way of Jesus or Muhammad.
In 1863, after being banished from his native Iran,
Bahá'u'lláh announced that he was this prophet. He was
further exiled, spending over a decade in the prison city of
Akka in Ottoman Palestine. Following Bahá'u'lláh's death
in 1892, leadership of the religion fell to his son `Abdu'l-
Bahá (1844–1921), and later his great-grandson Shoghi
Effendi (1897–1957). Bahá'ís around the world annually
elect local, regional, and national Spiritual Assemblies that
govern the affairs of the religion, and every five years the
members of all National Spiritual Assemblies elect the
Universal House of Justice, the nine-member supreme
governing institution of the worldwide Bahá'í community,
which sits in Haifa, Israel, near the Shrine of the Báb.
Bahá'í teachings are in some ways similar to other
monotheistic faiths: God is considered single and allpowerful.
However, Bahá'u'lláh taught that religion is orderly and
progressively revealed by one God through Manifestations
of God who are the founders of major world religions
throughout history; Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad being
the most recent in the period before the Báb and
Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'ís regard the major religions as
fundamentally unified in purpose, though varied in social
practices and interpretations. There is a similar emphasis
on the unity of all people, openly rejecting notions of
racism and nationalism. At the heart of Bahá'í teachings is
the goal of a unified world order that ensures the
prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 209
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