Israel Local Customs

  Succot Four Species market in Bnei Brak
by iblatt
 
  • Succot Four Species market in Bnei Brak
      Succot Four Species market in Bnei Brak
    by iblatt
  • Scrutinizing a citron; 4-Species market, Bnei Brak
      Scrutinizing a citron; 4-Species market,...
    by iblatt
  • Examining the myrtle; 4-Species market, Bnei Brak
      Examining the myrtle; 4-Species market,...
    by iblatt
  • Four-Species market, Bnei Brak
      Four-Species market, Bnei Brak
    by iblatt
  • Boy with palm branch, 4-Species market, Bnei Brak
      Boy with palm branch, 4-Species market,...
    by iblatt
 

Most Viewed Local Customs in Israel

51.

Religious Holidays   Jerusalem

Religious Holidays, Jerusalem

 21 Reviews  Good Friday, the day on which Jesus was crucified, according to the Christian belief, is a festive day in the Old City of Jerusalem. Pilgrims from every continent flock to the Via Dolorosa Church of... 

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52.

Language   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Language, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 1 Review  The people speak hebrew or Arabian. They don't speak english or good english everywhere. Learn some words in hebrew and arabic, it will help you. A few examples: toda means thank you in hebrew.... 

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53.

Panorama Shopping Mall   Haifa

Panorama Shopping Mall, Haifa

 1 Review  Go to the Panorama Shopping Mall. They have excellent Israeli items as well as the usual wares. The Panorama Center was established in 1986. It is located in the heart of the Carmel, adjacent to the... 

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54.

Tradition   Jerusalem

Tradition, Jerusalem

 36 Reviews  In Jewish Orthodox synagogues men and women sit separately, usually the men in the hall and the women on the balcony, although other arrangements also exist. As the Wailing Wall also serves as a place... 

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55.

Israeli Currency   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israeli Currency, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 1 Review  The Israeli Currency is NIS = New Israeli Shekel, in in short as we say Shekel. From time to time im updating here the Currency rates just to give an idea of the aprx current rate: If you must have an... 

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56.

Local Food   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Local Food, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 2 Reviews  Every year since 1996, at the end of May the "Taam Hair" food festival takes place. The location is at Ganei Yehoshua (huge park), just near the exhibition center. For a few days, the most famous... 

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57.

Weather   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Weather, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 1 Review  Here is some information about the weather in Israël. I went in august, when a heatwave was there. The temperature in Tel Aviv was then about 38 degrees Celcius, this is not normal for the end of... 

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58.

Independence Day   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Independence Day, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 3 Reviews  This photo was taken in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on the eve of our Indepence Day (26.4). It shows part of a fireworks display and people watching it. We were celebrating 56 years since Israel was... 

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59.

Mimouna Celebrations   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Mimouna Celebrations, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 1 Review  The Mimouna is unique to Moroccan Jewry, and its festivities are celebrated by Israel's Moroccan Jewish community immediately following the conclusion of Passover. The community opens its doors to all... 

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60.

Phone Calls   Tel Aviv-Yafo

Phone Calls, Tel Aviv-Yafo

 1 Review  Making a phonecall? Buy a phonecard at the local store. Just put it in and dial the landcode, arecode without a zero and the number. Calling in Tel Aviv? Area code is three. Furthermore just dial the... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Hebrew Calander

by FruitLover

tishrey, Heshvan, kislev, tevet, shvat, adar, nisan, eiyar, sivan, tamuz, av, elul We have our unique 12 months that are different from the most widely used Gregorian calendar of January-......-December.Our New Year (Hebrew: Rosh HaShannah, verbally, the head of the year) always falls in autumn season, actually in September. In the history of our ancient people the year began on Pessach (Passover) time, spring season, usually April, but this is past history (you can find it in The Bible, the Old Testament).In everyday life most of Israelis use the Gregorian calendar, and we are well connected to the western world. Some Israelis celebrate the Christmas and the New Year of 1st January, still....We share with you the Christian New Year but... HAVE OUR ANCIENT HOLIDAY OF ROSH HASHANNAH 3 MONTHS EARLIER. =-=-=-=

Shalosh Regalim

by FruitLover

Many of the six hundred and thirteeen Jewish commandments [taryag mitzvot] require residency in Israel and service in the Temple to fulfill.The SHALOSH REGALIM, the three festivals mandating pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the sacred feasts of:- Pesach [Passover]- Shavuot [Weeks]- Sukkot [Tabernacles]are tied to the land. As agricultural festivals they celebrate the timetable, the harvests, of the ancient Judean farmer. As walking festivals, they celebrate a particular walk, a pilgrimage, bearing gifts to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

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We call it Sufganiya

by Nathalie_B

This is "sufganiya", or simply a doughnut, our traditional Hanukkah pastry. It's fried in oil and then filled with a jelly. Most of Israelis will tell you that they are happy to be able to get those delicious dougnuts only during the Hanukkah, because most of us put on a lot of weight enjoing this special holiday treat. Lately, our bakeries decided to change the traditional sufganiya and put on the market different versions of it. Nowadays, besides the traditional jelly, they can be topped with chocolade, filled with caramel, and even decorated with candies.In Germany, "sufganiya" is a traditional food too, the only difference is that they eat they doughnuts during the Christmas time and call it a "Berliner". However the taste is absolutely the same as well as the time of the year, because Hanukkah is celebrated in December too.

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Sabra

by Nathalie_B

This is our desert "rose" - preakly pear cactus. We call it "sabres" and this is where the name Sabra or Tzabar takes its roots from. Tzabar is how we call native born Israelis. Why to describe an Israeli as a cactus you'd ask. Because exactly like this fruit we may appear defensive and tough from the outside, but we're are actually very nice and gentle inside.

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Jahnun

by Nathalie_B

As our country has many cultural faces so does our cuisine. Jahnun is a Yemenite dish made of dough and served with tomato sauce (or better mashed fresh tomatoes) and a boiled egg. It is our traditional Saturday morning food however you can always treat it as a meal that will fill you up for a good few hours. It is hard to describe its taste so you will have to try it yourself. There are many opportunities to do so. First you can try and make it from scratch, but that would take you 24 hours! Therefore there are other, faster choices. You can buy jahnun in supermarkets, those are ready to be served after 10-15 minutes in a stove or a microwave. Additionally, there’s a great fast food service named Jahnun Call that will gladly deliver your meal to your door. And if this is not enough, there are plenty restaurants and even street stands that will serve jahnun on Friday and Saturday...

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Gefilte Fish

by Nathalie_B

What you see on the picture is our famous Gefilte Fish. The name came from Yiddish and means "Filled Fish" although we don't fill it with anything. We just separate it from its bones and make slightly sweet fish balls, which we later eat with homemade horseradish. This dish is very popular among Ashkenazi (mainly European) Jews. My Mom is an excellent cook when it comes to Gefilte Fish, but she says that it is impossible to give a perfct recipe or to teach how to prepare it. You either know it or you don't. All I know is that she uses carp and no other fish.We usually have it twice a year, during the holidays. It takes a lot of work and energy to prepare it. So if you'd like to try one, you can purchase Gefilte fish in any supermarket all year round, I doubt it will taste the same though.

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Respect the local

by Nathalie_B

Although the main religion of Israel is Judaism, don't be surprised if you see Christmas tree blinking in somebody's home window, for some people here it's a tradition that has nothing to do with religion. Although our New Year (Rosh ha'Shanah) is celebrated in August - September, many of us will still celebrate it with the rest of the world in December.Our state is not separated from the religion and therefore all of the religious rules apply here. Our food is kosher, but.... We're highly developed country and we are tolerant as well, therefore every one here has the choice of whether to follow these rules or to live in sin. This country is full of stores and restaurants that will sell you whatever you want and even pork and seafood. Just make sure you don’t grab seafood sandwich and run to exhibit it in a religious neighborhood. Just be rational. During Passover, when bread and other...

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Purim a costume celebration

by Martin_S.

Purim, the Jewish holiday where we all dress up, similar in that respect to the American Holloween. Purim is one of the fun holidays and it commemorates the Jews, living in Persia, who were saved from being exterminated by the King of Persia. The story of Esther relates the history. You can read more about it on the website below.

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Weatherman reporting

by Martin_S.

This is Israel's foremost or maybe best known weather reporter, Dani Rupp. During one year he was doing the weather reporting from different sites around Isarel. He arrived in Arad and asked the Arad Desert Search and Rescue Team to help him. Nimrod (in the Jeep) and I agreed to take time off work to help out. Yes that young guy in the third and last picture on the left is ME, circa 1993. The trick here was that after doing a set with the umbrella and jeep, that I would lower him over a cliff on ropes and he would report from there...after he reported and was still between heaven and earth on rope in the middle of a cliff face, I asked him nicely to report that "The Arad Rescue Team is the best in the world"....and his camera crew were enjoying this very much, and I guess I do not need to add that he did what I asked andyou can see that we still shook hands afterward ^O^Dani is still...

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Put Some Bamba in Your Bag

by gilabrand

Bamba doesn’t actually mean anything, but it sounds a lot like “Abba,” the Hebrew word for father. How Israeli dads used to rejoice when their little darlings said their first recognizable word: Abba. (“Ima,” the Hebrew word for mother, always lagged behind, for some inexplicable reason). Since the invention of this peanut-butter flavored snack in the 1960s, many Israeli babies have a new first word: “Bamba.” Bamba is definitely the snack of choice among the younger set (and lots of grown-ups, too). It beats potato chips and popcorn by a long shot. Actually, Bamba is quite nutritious, as far as snack foods go. It is a yellowish, finger-shaped puffed corn and peanut snack that is just the right size for tots to grasp in their little fists. They don’t even need teeth to eat it. It sort of collapses and melts in their mouths. Nowadays, Bamba is enriched with vitamins. It contains no...

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Local traditions and culture in Israel

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Local Customs: Cities in Israel
  1. Jerusalem Local Customs
  2. Tel Aviv-Yafo Local Customs
  3. Eilat Local Customs
  4. Haifa Local Customs
  5. Herzliya Local Customs
  6. Netanya Local Customs
  7. Nazareth Local Customs
  8. Akko Local Customs
  9. Masada Local Customs
  10. Lake Tiberias Local Customs
  11. Arad Local Customs
  12. `En Gedi Local Customs
  13. Ashdod Local Customs
  14. Ramat Gan Local Customs
  15. Mizpe Ramon Local Customs
  16. Ra`ananna Local Customs
  17. `En Boqeq Local Customs
  18. Bat Yam Local Customs
  19. Daliyat el Karmil Local Customs
  20. Zefat Local Customs
  21. Qiryat Shemona Local Customs
  22. Yeroham Local Customs
  23. Beit Jann Local Customs
  24. Nahariyya Local Customs
  25. Hadera Local Customs

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Tel Aviv District Local Customs  Jerusalem District Local Customs  Haifa District Local Customs  Southern District Local Customs  Central District Local Customs 

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Questions and Answers

sisca_s712 profile photo

Q:  Shallom, I'll be in Israel for holiday on 16th feb i just wonder how is the weather so i could prepare for clothes since i come... 

Martin_S. profile photo

A: Hi and Shalom. First of all, welcome to Israel ^O^ Most places in Israel, even in the big cities are considered totally safe and all the public transportation is safe... 

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