Israel Travel Tips
The Sabbath & Jewish Holidays
The working week runs from Sunday to Thursday, and most businesses are also open on Friday mornings. From sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, however, everything shuts down in observance of the Jewish Sabbath, or Shabbat. The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar with a leap month added every two to three years to ensure that the year is also a solar one. Jewish holy days, therefore, fall on different dates in the general calendar each year, so exact dates cannot be given:
January/February: Tu B'Shevat
February/March: Purim
March/April: Pesach
April/May: Independence Day
May: Lag Ba'Omer
May/June: Jerusalem Liberation Day; Shavuot
July/August: Tisha B'Av
September/October: Rosh Hashana; Yom Kippur; Succot; Simhat; Torah;
December: Hanukkah
Muslim and Christian Holy Days
In Arab areas, such as Nazareth and Bethlehem, Christian and Muslim holy days are observed, though most shops remain open on Friday and Sunday, the Muslim and Christian Sabbaths. Muslim places of worship are closed to visitors during prayers on Fridays, as they are on all holy days. Muslim holy days are decided in accordance with the appearance of the new moon, thus falling on different dates in the general calendar each year. The most important are:
Id el Adha, Sacrificial Festival (four days).
New Year
Mohammed's Birthday.
Feast of Ramadan (one month).
Id el Fitr, Conclusion of Ramadan (three days).
Different Christian denominations celebrate holy days on different dates. For example, the Catholic and Protestant Christmas is 25 December, the Orthodox Christmas 6 January, and the Armenian Orthodox Christmas 14 January. During some years all denominations celebrate Easter together, while at other times the Orthodox Easter falls a week after the Western Easter.
Israel dos & don'ts
Dress in Israel is informal by Western standards. Few people wear jackets and ties in the summer except for business occasions. Be sure to bring some conservative clothes for visiting religious sites.
Israelis can be a little curt, not bothering to say please or thank you, though increasingly greater efforts are being made to be polite to tourists. This is all part of Israel's famous casual attitude, in which formalities are often dispensed with. Do not judge Israelis harshly by their lack of courtesy. If you are really in trouble, they will often surprise you by their painstaking and generous efforts to help.
Israelis can be very physical, looking strangers hard in the eye and doing a lot of touching. This is usually done out of friendliness rather than sexual forwardness, but the situation can be confusing for a female tourist coming into contact with a strange man.
Of obvious sensitivity is religious etiquette. When visiting holy sites, women should dress conservatively (no bare legs or shoulders), and men should wear shirts and long trousers. When visiting Jewish shrines or memorials it's also standard for men to cover their heads; if you don't have a kepah or hat, a cardboard substitute is often provided. In some religious neighbourhoods, especially in Jerusalem, these conservative rules of dress apply as general practice. While not all Israelis are observant, you should be aware that religious Jews see the Sabbath as a holy day, when smoking or other behaviour can be considered offensive.
Tipping & bargaining in Israel
In restaurants, if a service charge is not included, then 10-15 percent is expected. Israelis do not tip taxi drivers, but drivers will expect a small tip from tourists. Hotel staff such as porters will be happy with a few shekels for each item of baggage.
In the Old City of Jerusalem and other Arab market places, bargaining is standard practice. Usually you can buy an item at 25 percent off by starting to haggle at half the quoted price. Avoid haggling if you are not really interested in buying or if an item is cheap. Brassware, carvings and fabrics are among the more popular buys.
Israel visas
Citizens of the USA, Canada, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand do not need a visa to enter Israel, only a valid passport. Those entering Israel on vacation can only stay for three months and are not allowed to work for money. Due to a rise in illegal workers in Israel, even visitors from North America and Western Europe may be refused entry if they do not have return tickets, sufficient funds for their stay or an Israeli citizen to vouch for them.
All visitors to Israel, including diplomats, are required to fill in an entry form upon arrival. Visitors who intend continuing to Arab or Muslim countries (except Egypt and Jordan) after their visit to Israel should ask the frontier control officer to put the entry stamp on this form instead of in their passports. Failure to do this may subsequently prohibit entry into countries hostile towards Israel if an Israeli stamp appears on the passport itself.
Israel customs
Every adult tourist may bring into the country, without payment of duty, the following articles, provided they are for personal use: eau de Cologne or perfume not exceeding 0.2 litres (0.44 pint), wine up to 2 litres and other alcoholic drinks not exceeding 1 litre; tobacco or cigars not exceeding 250 grams or 250 cigarettes; gifts up to US$200 (about £350) in value, including assorted foodstuffs not exceeding 3 kg (6œ lb), on condition that no single type of food exceeds 1 kg (2´lb).
Portable, expensive electronic items such as cameras, video cameras and laptop computers may be taken into the country duty-free on condition that they are taken out on departure. These are meant to be for your use in Israel. There are stiff fines (usually equal to the value of the item) for those attempting to smuggle such goods into Israel.
The following articles are subject to declaration and deposits of duties and taxes: professional instruments (which can be held in the hand during operation) up to a value of $1,650; boat (rowing, sailing or motor) and a caravan trailer; scuba-diving equipment, portable and appreciably used; records in reasonable quantities.
Israel money matters
Tourists may bring an unlimited amount of foreign currency into Israel, whether in cash, travellers' cheques, letters of credit or State of Israel Bonds. They may also bring in an unlimited amount of Israeli money. The currency is the New Israeli shekel (NIS), which is divided into 100 agorot. Bills are issued in five denominations: 10 NIS (but this note has now virtually faded out in favour of a coin), 20 NIS, 50 NIS, 100 NIS, 200 NIS. Change comes in coins of 5 agorot, 10 agorot, 1/2 shekel, 1 shekel, 5 shekels and 10 shekels. Exchange rates are the same in all banks and bureaux de change.
Visa, MasterCard/Euro Card, American Express and Diners' Club are honoured virtually everywhere. The cash machines outside almost every Israeli bank will dispense money against these cards (so remember your personal identification number). Travellers' cheques are widely accepted, though banks take a commission on each cheque so it is cheaper to bring them in large denominations.
Crime & security in IsraelIsrael has a high rate of non-violent crimes (theft of cars, property, pickpocketing, etc.) but little violent crime, apart, of course, from political violence. Do not leave valuables in hotel rooms, or cars, or leave wallets sticking out of pockets. Take all the usual precautions. In terms of violent crime the security situation is the most pressing problem. Under no circumstances leave unattended baggage lying around in a public place. The police will blow it up within a few minutes. You should report all suspicious packages. Before taking trips to the West Bank or Gaza ensure that you find out about the prevailing situation there.