Some hints and tips for visitors to the Institute
by Gershom Martin
Version 0.04 --- under construction
[Note: this document has not been updated in years and much of it is
now obsolete. Caveat lector. A more up-to-date collection of hints and
tips (part of it based on the present document) is available here on the
Visiting Scientists' Office website.]
DISCLAIMER: this document represents a summary of my own
experience. It does not purport to reflect official Institute policy or
opinion
Note on transliteration of Hebrew names: the underlined h
(representing the
Hebrew letter het) and the "ch" (representing the Hebrew letter
"kaf" without dagesh)
are both pronounced in modern Hebrew like the German or Dutch
"ch" in J.S.Bach or the Scottish "ch" in Loch Ness. See standard
transliterations of Hebrew.
Picture
Gallery |
picture tour of the Weizmann Institute gardens (click on the door)
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Table of contents
- Lodging
- Eating on campus
- Eating off campus
- Food shopping
- Shopping centers, malls etc.
- Other useful shopping tips
- Pharmacies
- Doctors and dentists
- Religious services
- International fraternal organizations
- Transportation
- Street maps
- Trains
- Buses
- Shared taxis (sherut)
- Ordinary taxis (monit)
- Travel to other Israeli universities
- Tel-Aviv
- Airport transportation
- Entertainment
- Newspapers
- Banking
- Snail-mail
- Dress code
- Museums in and around Rehovot
- Learning Hebrew
Lodging
Short-term visitors (a few days) usually stay in Casa
San Martin, the
Institute guest house. At present (June 2001) the breakfast room inside
the building
is closed: visitors get coupons which entitles them to a breakfast menu
in the on-campus
restaurants Charlie's Place (Sunday through Thursday) and Cafe Mad`a
(Friday).
Graduate students from abroad are generally lodged in Beit
Clore or one of the smaller student dormitories.
Visiting postdocs from abroad are usually put up in (simply) furnished
apartments in the Beit Lunenfeld and Beit Eiropa complexes, or in
Institute-owned apartments outside the campus proper. Visiting
professors (other than short-term) generally receive housing in Beit
Lunenfeld, Beit Eiropa, or Beit Kennedy.
Eating on campus
Explanatory note for first-time visitors to Israel: kashrut (the
Jewish dietary laws) forbid eating meat and dairy products together.
Therefore, as a rule, kosher restaurants are classified as either meat
or dairy.
Fish, eggs, and vegetable foods are "neutral" (parve) and usually
available at both.
Pork and shellfish are strictly forbidden by Jewish law. Chicken and
turkey
are the staple meats, although beef is almost always on the menu in
meat restaurants,
and lamb often is.
Kosher restaurants are closed on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath, which
runs from
Friday night until Saturday after sundown) and most Jewish holidays.
All restaurants on campus (except for the falafel stand at the
swimming pool, which is open on Shabbat) are kosher, under supervision
of the Rehovot rabbinate (one of the strictest in the country).
The Institute has two restaurants: Mis`adat ha-Yovel (the Jubilee
Restaurant)
on the upper floor of the Jubilee Plaza (Kikar ha-Yovel) mini-mall
(meat, open Sun-Thu, 09:00-15:00) and Charlie's Place, next door to the
Life Sciences Library (dairy, open Sun-Thu 07:45-about 17:00, sometimes
18:30 on busy days). The Jubilee Restaurant offers a set self-service
menu (soup or salad, main course, dessert) at a fixed price, the latter
a self-service buffet. Both
restaurants are subsidized, and by Israeli standards great value for
money. Pricier full-service meals are available at
both, but require prior ordering. In addition, there are simple
cafeterias (all dairy) in the Stone (administration) building (open
Sun-Thu 07:45-15:00,
popular with employees) and inside the Clore
Science Garden. Finally, Cafe Mada (Science Cafe, open Sun-Thu
09:00-17:00, Fri 09:00-14:00) in the Visitors Center (under the Wix
Library)
offers light fare (sandwiches, cakes) as well as hot and cold drinks.
All of them close for the entire week of Passover: Charlie's is open
during the intermediate days of Sukkot and provides a sukka for
the
religiously observant during these days.
Espresso addicts can get their "fixes" at all of the above (for
kashrut
reasons, cappucino and latte are not available at the meat restaurant).
The Stone cafetaria serves a local coffee blend, the others serve Illy
(a popular Italian espresso brand).
Eating off campus
Explanatory notes for first-time visitors to Israel: Kosher
restaurants are closed for business on Shabbat, such Jewish holidays
as require cessation of work, and on the Fast of Tisha b'Av. Often,
they close
throughout the Passover holiday in order not to have to deal with
kashering for Passover, but some go to the trouble and are open on the
intermediate days of Passover (hol haMo'ed). In recent years, an
increasing number of nonkosher restaurants has been opened in Rehovot,
and these as a rule are open on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Some serve
foods explicitly forbidden by Jewish law (pork, shellfish), others
merely operate without rabbinical supervision in order to be able to
open
on Shabbat.
Many places of public entertainment are closed on Yom haSho'a
(Holocaust
[Remembrance] Day) and Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day, i.e. the day before
Independence Day), and all of them are on Yom Kippur (when the entire
country
shuts down for a day of fasting, prayer and/or reflection).
More prosaic matters: in simple buffet-style or self-service
eateries, tips are
usually not expected. The accepted rate for tipping in restaurants with
table
service is 12 % of
the bill; your tip generally is the only income of the
waiters/waitresses (!). In recent years, an increasing number of
restaurants --- especially those with
a lot of business customers who tend to pay by credit card --- have
started adding 12 % service charges to the bill,
obviating the need to look for small change in your pocket. If you
received especially
attentive service, tips are still appreciated.
Near the Institute are a number of cafes, eateries and restaurants,
mostly
located on Herzl boulevard (the town's main thoroughfare). These
include among others
- Ping-pong, a Chinese restaurant with a Vietnamese manager.
(Decidedly not kosher, menu includes pork and shellfish.)
- Burger Ranch, Israel's vastly improved alternative to McDonalds
(OK, that's
damning with faint praise). Kosher. Hungry eaters should ask for
"burger kaful" (double) or "burger meshulash"
(triple)
- Palladium, a cafe-restaurant (mixture of Italian and Dutch
cuisines,
not kosher since open on Shabbat)
- Brisel's, a cafe-restaurant that seems to have a Belgian
connection.
(Brisel is the Hebrew spelling of Brussels.) Only place in Rehovot
that
sells Belgian waffles. Not kosher since open on Shabbat.
- Cafe Herzl (mostly espresso, drinks, and pastries). Not kosher
although
no "forbidden" items appear to be sold (open on Shabbat)
- Zuza (similar to Herzl)
- Margaux (Rehov Eisenberg 2, just off Herzl Boulevard).
Expensive,
full-service kosher French restaurant. In historical building (local
command
post of British Army during the Mandate).
- Cafeteria of Hen Cinema. Coffee, pastries, ice cream,
and dairy dishes.
Kosher under non-Rabbinate supervision (Committee for the Preservation
of
Tradition).
- the Sapiens building in the Yitzhak Rabin Science Park
(North of the Institute) has a branch of the popular Apropos chain
(said to be kosher but no supervision since open on Shabbat) and an
Italian
restaurant named "Toscana" (not kosher, reported to be good)
- the once popular delicatessen known as "Etzel Doda Ines" (chez
aunt Ines) apparently no longer exists. (The same extended family
presently operates Charlie's Place and the Jubilee Restaurant on
campus.)
- a variety of eateries (almost all of them kosher --- main
exceptions are McDonalds [feh] and the cafe next to the movie theater)
can be found in
Kanion Rehovot (main shopping mall next to bus station).
- Shoarma "connoiseurs" should consider Shipudei Rehovot,
at the beginning
of Rehov Binyamin near the Ministries of Absorption and the
Interior. Bread is freshly baked on the premises. Both shoarma takeaway
and more extensive full-service meals are available. Kosher.
- further south is Sha'arayim (the Yemenite district), which
offers a
number of good to very good spots for authentic Yemenite cuisine. Ask
around for recommendations. All of these are kosher, some LeMehadrin
(Glatt).
Pundak Haim (Rehov Abravanel 2) is something of an
institution among
them.
- while we're on the subject: if you have business in Rishon
l'Tziyon for
any reason, have a shoarma at "Mifgash Sha'ul" (Saul's Inn) next to the
old
central bus station. One taste of the shoarma "egel im sh'kadim" (veal
with
almonds) and you wonder why on earth Israelis would bother to go to
McDonalds
when they have something a hundred times better of their own. (I have
*no* business relationship with Mifgash Sha'ul other than as a faithful
customer.)
- Burekas --- I happen to be very fond of this Mediterranean dairy
food
(millefeuille pastries filled with goat cheese). For the uninitiated,
goat milk
contains much less lactose than cow milk, and hence its products are
much easier
digested by the partially lactose-intolerant (such as yours truly).
The two best sources would
be Bonjour (corner of Herzl and Weizmann, kosher) and Sami (next to the
police
station, claims to be kosher but is open on Shabbat).
Food shopping
There is a makolet (mini-supermarket) on Campus near the Bloch gate
(across
from the Faculty of Agriculture of Hebrew University). It has a fairly
wide selection of articles and gives a discount upon presentation of
an Institute employee ID.
Nearest the Beit Lunenfeld and Beit Eiropa guest houses for shopping
is a small
but rather well-stocked
supermarket (around the corner from HaNassi HaRishon on Bustanai).
On HaNassi HaRishon itself, and on Ben-Yehuda and on the corner of
Alkalai and
Mohilever are makolot (mini-supermarkets).
For more extensive shopping there is a SuperSol supermarket on Herzl
near
Rehov Weizmann, and an even larger HyperCol inside the Kanion Rehovot.
Both of these places will deliver your purchases to your door for a
small
surcharge (often for free for purchases above 300 NIS). This is often a
convenient solution if you do not own a car.
For delicatessen-type shopping needs, your top choice (now that
Etzel
Doda Ines is no longer with us) would be Tov Ta`am (somewhat
pricy but quality to match) on Rehov Ya`aqov. This also has a
wide selection of
baked goods. In addition, the supermarkets have delicatessen counters
of varying quality.
There are a couple of French bakeries in town (on Herzl across and
about a block down from the Institute, as well as on Rehov Ahad
Ha`am near Ya`aqov).
Shopping centers, malls etc.
There is a mini-mall on campus (below the Jubilee Restaurant), which
has:
- a travel agency (Lachish Tours) that does most of its business
with Institute faculty (and hence can be expected to know the relevant
"ropes")
- a branch of Bank Le'umi
- Dyonon (Hebrew for squid), a combination bookstore/office
supplies store/gift store
- a polyclinic of the Clalit HMO. Weizmann Institute employees who
are members
of other HMOs also have courtesy use of this clinic
- more to come
The Rehovot Kanyon (shopping mall) is next to the Central Bus
Station
and has a variety of stores. Upstairs is the municipal administration
(ha-irya).
Just south of Rehovot, at Tzomet Bil"u (Bilu Junction), there
is a
large shopping center featuring ACE Hardware, Greenberg's (a Canadian
supermarket chain), furniture and clothing stores,...
Just North, on Yitzhak Rabin Boulevard in Nes Tziyona, there
is a shopping center which among other things has Universe Club (the
local
equivalent of Price Club in the US or Makro in Europe), Office Depot
(office equipment, furniture, and supplies), Ace Kneh uBneh (Buy and
Build),
...
Near the new Rishon l'Tziyon central bus station there is a huge
complex with factory outlets and other large stores of just about
any persuasion.
People interested in "exclusive" shopping (like the latest Parisian
fashions) will find their liking in Tel Aviv. (1) The Ramat Aviv
shopping
mall (the "fanciest" in the country) is only a busride away: take bus
274 northbound (which also goes to Tel Aviv University) and ask to be
let off at Kanion Ramat Aviv (the stop just before Tel Aviv
University). Alternatively, you can take the train to Tel
Aviv-University and get on
the bus outside the station.
(2) The train to Tel Aviv stops just next to the Azrieli shopping mall
(station Tel Aviv
- haShalom) and the Ramat Gan malls (station Tel Aviv - Rakevet 2000).
The
latter is also near to the "bursa" (diamond exchange) :-)
Other useful shopping tips
For all sorts of cables, transformers, adapter plugs, etc... that you
often need for appliances etc. brought from abroad, try Hashmal
Berkowitz in the Passage Shekem (a pedestrian alley which runs between
Herzl and Ahad Ha`am, across from Beit HaPo`alim)
Second-hand books in English: try Beit Safron (Paperback House) on
Rehov Beit HaPoalim (about 100 meters down on the left). They
also
have a limited selection in French and German. For new technical
books, the Tel Aviv University branch of "Dyonon" has a wide
selection (by Israeli standards). [Take bus 274 northbound, which stops
at Tel Aviv University, or take the train and get off at Tel Aviv
University.
There it's either a fairly short but uphill walk or a short busride.]
CDs: there is a store about 50m down on Israel Teller which has
a fairly wide selection of particularly rock music. (But don't
be surprised if you have to look for the Doors under the Hebrew word
"daletot", for the Beatles under "khipushiyot" and, yes, for the Sex
Pistols under "akdahei ha-min".) For classical but also some
other types of music,
try Tower Record (formerly HaMeimad HaRevi'i/the Fourth Dimension) in
Kanion Rehovot. (The classical section is in a separate room in
the back.)
Video and DVD: Video Tzafrir has a reasonable selection of videos
(mostly dubbed in Hebrew) and DVDs (generally in English with subtitles
in the language of your choice).
DVD note: Israeli lending libraries routinely stock both Zone 1 (North
America) and
Zone 2 (Europe and Middle East) discs. So unless you either have a
region-free DVD player
or know how to bypass your computer's DVD region protection (see the MacDVD site
for
how to do this
on a Macintosh) you have to be very careful what you borrow. Individual
rentals are somewhat expensive (especially for the weekend), but taking
a subscription (manui)
for, say, 15 or 50 items greatly reduces the per-item price.
Pharmacies
The nearest pharmacy to the Institute is on the corner of HaNassi
HaRishon
and Bustanai. There are several others on Herzl, as well as SuperPharm
branches on Yaakov and in the Kanion. All of them will honor Kupat
Holim (sick fund) prescriptions, and most have a selection of
over-the-counter
items as well as beauty products. US visitors note: many drugs that
are
considered "over the counter" in the US or even the UK are only
available here
with prescriptions --- e.g. "emergency antibiotic ointment" and the
like.
Doctors and dentists
Visiting scientists that carry private medical insurance purchased
abroad
can go to any doctor and pay as private patients --- ask for a receipt
in English so you can get reimbursed. Visitings scientists
carrying the Shiloah-Harel insurance offered by the Institute
can use
doctors listed by [correct as of late 2000] Kupat Holim Me'uhedet
(United Sick Fund, whose
clinic is near the Central Bus Station).
Aficionados of American dentistry might consider the clinic of
Drs. Bier, Kessel, Krieger, and Reichman, next to the Central Bus
Station, (08)-9466024.
Dr. Leo Bier is quite good at "catering to cowards" :-) Rates are quite
reasonable by US standards but perhaps expensive by European standards:
e.g. a filling will cost NIS 250 exclusive of X-rays.
Religious services
Dozens of Orthodox synagogues of every conceivable persuasion
(Ashkenazi,
S'faradi, Yemenite,...) can be found all over Rehovot. Some of
the
larger or more notable ones are:
- Ahava v'Ahva, Shevet Yehuda (S'faradi, on Derech Yavne)
- Hazon Yehezqel (on Rehov Goldberg, off
Weizmann)
- Central Synagogue for North-European Immigrants, (on Batya
Makov,
off Herzl across gas station south of Binyamin)
- Ohel Yitzhak (dedicated in memory of slain prime minister
Yitzhak
Rabin, hy"d), in the Amit secondary school (Lehi street)
- "Rav
Berman Shul", meets on grounds of Yeshivat HaDarom. Congregation
consists mostly of Orthodox Americans, hence often nicknamed "Beit
haKnesset haAmerika'it".
- Beit Eliezer, Rehov Miller, inside Tahkemoni
school (not to be confused with Masorti synagogue on same street, see
below)
- "Beit haKnesset haHollandit" (Dutch synagogue), corner of Miller
and
Menuha v'Nahala
- Central S'faradi Synagogue "Magen Avraham", Abravanel Street (in
Rehovot's "Deep South").
Shabbat services start at sundown on Friday and early in the morning on
Saturday. First-time
visitors to Orthodox synagogues should be aware that men and women sit
separately (usually with separate entrances). Be mindful of Orthodox
sensitivities about Shabbat observance (e.g. do not ostentatiously wear
a cellular phone to a Shabbat service) and appropriate dress for
women --- some congregations are more (or less) tolerant than others of
"eccentricities".
There are no Progressive (Reform) synagogues in Rehovot (the
nearest one is Beit Daniel in Tel-Aviv) but there is a popular Masorti
(Conservative) synagogue called Adat Shalom-Emanuel on Rehov
Miller. The
congregation includes a large minority of Institute faculty and staff.
Services are very traditional by Diaspora standards, but are almost
entirely in the local vernacular... Hebrew :-) Seating is mixed.
Practicing adherents of religions other than Judaism will have to
travel to other towns to attend services. Contact the Visiting
Scientists Department for further information. [The weekend edition of
the International Herald
Tribune carries a directory of churches.]
Daily minyanim on campus
Observant Jews among the Weizmann faculty and staff meet for daily mincha
(midday/afternoon)
prayers on Sunday through Thursday. A minyan (quorum of ten
adult male Jews required for
certain prayers) is essentially guaranteed. Meeting times and places
are:
- Ashkenazi rite: At 13:20 in Room 4 of the Feinberg Graduate
School
- Sephardi/Eastern rite: At 14:30 in the bomb shelter under the
Life Sciences Library
For those who have (Heaven forfend) recently lost a close relative and
desire to recite
daily kaddish prayers, these minyanim offer an excellent
opportunity.
International fraternal organizations
Both the Rotary Club and the Grand Orient of
Israel have lodges in Rehovot, and welcome overseas members in
good standing. B'nai B'rit has its lodge in the back of Supersol on Rehov
Herzl.
Transportation
Street maps
An online street map for all of Israel (in Hebrew) can be found here.
Navigate and zoom in/out using the buttons provided, or enter an
address
in Hebrew. Most hotels have (sort-of) English street maps of the city
they are in.
Trains
The train station is just north of the campus. The only line serves the
coastal plain, including Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya, Haifa,
and Nahariya,
among others. Train schedules in English are available on the
WWW. Phone number for info (Hebrew, maybe English too) (03) 577-4000.
Buses
Buses are Israel's main means of public transportation. Any bus going
south
on Herzl will go to the "tahana mercazit" (central bus station),
while
buses going north generally travel to towns North of Rehovot
(usually Nes
Tziyona, Rishon l'Tziyon, and then either Tel Aviv or Petah
Tiqva). From the
central bus station, you can travel almost anywhere given enough
patience.
Bus schedules are available on the WWW if you
can read Hebrew and have a Hebrew-capable WWW browser.
Shared taxis (sherut)
These are taxis (usually minibuses) that drive the exact trajectory of
busy
bus lines and pick up passengers on it. As a rule, they charge about
the
same as the bus fare (or slightly less). Usually they only leave the
station
of initial departure when they are full or have given up hope of
picking up more passengers. They are most active around the hours that
the lines
are otherwise busiest (e.g. commuter hours).
Ordinary taxis (monit)
These are flagged down on the street or called on the phone. If you
call,
the dispatcher asks both for your address and your destination. If he
quotes
a fare over the phone it is binding.
Within cities, fares are usually according to the meter (l'fi mone).
Between cities, a schedule of rates fixed by the Ministry of Transport
applies. Surcharges apply for driving between 9:30PM and 6AM, as well
as for fares in Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
Phone numbers of Rehovot cab companies:
- "HaNasi", 195 Herzl (near institute), (08) 946-2626
- "Gordon", 12 Bilu (at shopping mall), (08) 949-3333
- "Rehovot", 1 Ya`aqov (corner Herzl, in front of
SuperPharm), (08) 936-3333
- "HaNegev", 30 Teller (opposite Ya`aqov), (08) 946-6666
- "Remez", 8 Rozhanski, (08) 945-5555
On meter fares, no tip is expected. On flat-rate fares (generally,
intercity rides), a small
tip is generally appreciated.
Under no circumstances take a taxi that does not display a
"medaillon"
(cab license) in the front window --- they are illegal drivers and
usually
take advantage of tourists and foreigners. This is not an issue in Rehovot
but does happen in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, where illegal drivers cruise
or loiter at busy and/or touristy areas.
Travel to other Israeli universities
- Hebrew U., Jerusalem
- From the Rehovot Central Bus Station, take a bus to
Jerusalem and get off at the [J'lem] Central Bus Station. From there,
take
bus 9 to go to the Givat-Ram Campus (sciences). Other buses go
to Mount Scopus (humanities and part of medical school) and to Hadassah
Hopital, Ein Kerem (rest of medical shool).
- Tel-Aviv University
- On Herzl Boulevard, take bus 274 northbound (direction Ramat
Aviv). It stops at the TAU main gate. Alternatively,
take the train, get off at the third Tel-Aviv stop (University), and
either
walk uphill or take a short busride.
- Bar-Ilan University
- Likewise on Herzl Boulevard, take bus 164 northbound (direction
Petah Tiqva).
It has a stop at Bar-Ilan U.
- Ben-Gurion U.
- Consult a bus schedule to Be'er-Sheva
- Technion
- The easiest is probably to take a train to Haifa. You
can (a) get off at station Hof ha-Carmel and take a taxi (about
10 minutes);
or (b) get off at station Haifa Bat-Galim, take the underpass
that leads
from the train station to the central bus station, whence
a 20-minute busride to the Technion.
Tel-Aviv
There are many options for traveling to Tel-Aviv:
- at a bus stop
on Herzl (on the side of the Institute), buses 201 and 301 continue
to the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. Avoid taxis from there since they
almost invariably try to rip foreigners off (most cab drivers in that
area operate without licenses); instead, take a local ("Dan") bus or
a sherut displaying the number of the Dan bus you want in the window.
(They charge the same price.) The most popular line is nr. 5, which
goes
to Dizengoff Street.
- alternatively, flag down a sherut minibus on Herzl that has a
"Tel-Aviv" sign in the
window. They drive the same traject as the 201 and 301 buses.
- Bus 200 is a non-stop express line from the Rehovot
Central Bus Station
to Tel-Aviv
- again at any northbound bus stop on Herzl, bus 274 goes
to Tel Aviv University (and the Ramat Aviv Mall)
- the train has three stations in Tel Aviv:
- HaShalom (next to
the Azrieli mall, a few blocks from Ibn-Gvirol Street)
- Rakevet 2000 (Train 2000),
next to the Ayalon highway on the Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan border and within
walking distance of Independence Square.
- Universita (University), a short distance from Tel-Aviv
University.
Airport transportation
If you are going to the airport to pick somebody up, the cheapest way
is to go to the Central Bus Station (on foot or by any southbound bus)
and take bus 249 to "natbag" (Hebrew acronym for Ben Gurion Airport),
which leaves every half hour (xx:15 and xx:45). The bus goes via
Bilu Junction and stops on the way in Ramle and in Lod.
FROM the airport to Rehovot, go outside and follow "taxis ---
other directions". Tell your destination to the dispatcher and he will
quote you a fare which is usually "kosher". The fare to Rehovot
will
be about 60 NIS daytime (drive about 30 minutes without traffic jams)
--- surcharges apply for luggage beyond the "usual", additional
passengers,
and for nighttime, Shabbat, and holiday fares. (If your destination
happens to be Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or Haifa, you can take an
airport
shuttle instead which charges a flat rate per passenger. Like "sherut"
taxis in general, they wait until they're filled up before leaving.)
For departing flights, call a cab company (e.g. 08-936-3333) and
make
a reservation to be picked up at your house.
Arriving flight information: (03)972-3333 (Hebrew); (03)972-3344
(English)
Entertainment
There are regular musical and theatre performances at the Wix and Ebner
auditoria at the Weizmann Institute. (A schedule
is available on the WWW.) Rehovot has two movie
theaters: Kolno`a Hen (off Herzl near Steimatzky, corner of
Gluskin and
Ben-Tziyon), which generally
shows "artsier" movies, and Rav-Mor in the Kanion where the
latest (mis)creations of Hollywood may be admired. Both Kolno`a Hen
and
Rav-Mor are open in Shabbat. Movies are usually in the original
language with
Hebrew subtitles. For English-language film schedules, consult the
Friday
editions of the Jerusalem Post or of the English edition of Ha'aretz.
For more cultural variety, consult a bus schedule to Tel Aviv ;-)
Newspapers
For dailies in English your choices are (a) the Jerusalem Post and (b)
the local edition of the International
Herald Tribune (a subsidiary of
the New York Times and the Washington Post) published
together with an English edition of Israel's "high-brow"
Hebrew daily, Ha'aretz.
Both can be delivered to your home: for contacting the subscription
departments, see the respective web sites. Subscriptions do offer
substantial
savings off the newsstand price.
There are no newspapers on Shabbat (or Jewish holidays) but the
Friday (or
eve-of-holiday) editions carry hefty weekend supplements.
A biweekly in English called the Jerusalem
Report offers in-depth reporting on both Israel and the Jewish
diaspora.
Some bookstores carry weekly international editions of foreign
newspapers.
Banking
There is still some room for improvement in the quality of service and
cost-effectiveness
of the Israeli personal banking system, although things are improving.
There is a small
branch of Bank Le'umi on campus (open Sun-Thu 09:00-15:00, automated
banking machine
available outside these hours), as well as an automated
banking machine of Bank Discount on the ground floor of the San Martin
guest house.
An ATM (cash dispenser) serving all banks is likewise on the ground
floor of Casa San Martin.
Outside the Institute, I have been reasonably happy with the Rehovot
branch of First International
Bank (Bank haBeinle'umi haRishon) --- a private bank that is part of
the
Safra group. It sits on Herzl between Beit HaPoalim and Ya`aqov (next
to New-Pharm). Ask for
Ricky if you need explanations --- he is fluent in English and very
helpful. If he isn't in, whoever is in charge of Foreign Currency
(matbe'a hutz)
usually can help you in English.
The Institute has accounts with two banks: Bank Le'umi and Bank
HaPo`alim.
You can get your salary paid into accounts at any bank
of your choice though.
Common to all Israeli banks: in order to get a credit card as a
nonresident
you will need to put down a substantial deposit (as much as NIS 10,000
for
an international VISA or M/C). If you have a firm salary paid into your
account every month and it exceeds a certain minimum the manager may
waive
the deposit. In addition, there are two kinds of credit cards: local
(m'komi, valid only in Israel, lower fees and deposit) and
international (beinle'umi, valid wordwide).
Very recently, an "electronic wallet" system known as Mondex has
been
introduced, which is similar to the Proton-cards in Europe. Rehovot
served as the test-bed of the system, which however apparently never
really
caught on.
Snail-mail
There is a post office near the beginning of Derech Yavne. Mail rates
at the time of writing are NIS 1.60 domestic and NIS 2.30 international
air mail. Properly stamped personal mail can usually be put in the
outgoing
mail in your department, or in the mail-drops which are scattered
around
the city. (Note: the latter generally have two slots: one for "Rehovot"
[or whatever the city is] and one for "Other destinations".)
Dress code
Israeli dress code is extremely informal (sometimes shockingly so
for a Diaspora Jew), although Western-style summer business dress is
becoming
increasingly common in private companies, particularly those dealing
with
an international clientele. Beware that certain dress codes have social
or
religious connotations --- for instance, anybody wearing a black suit
(or a white shirt and black slacks) is normally assumed to be
ultra-Orthodox (or, if his head isn't covered, a lawyer), and any woman
wearing a hat and a long skirt is automatically assumed
to be Orthodox, while any woman wearing pants and with head uncovered
is automatically assumed to be secular (non-Orthodox).
Museums in and around Rehovot
- Ayalon Institute (Machon Ayalon), Giv`at ha-Kibbutzim. An
underground clandestine arms factory from the days of the British
Mandate that has been restored as a museum. Call (08) 940-6552 for
information and opening hours.
- Weizmann House, inside Weizmann Institute, end of main road. To
be reopened as a museum. Call 3328 for more details.
- Yad laBanim (Monument to the [Fallen] Sons), one block south of
Binyamin in the "Passage Rotary". Not just a memorial but also
an art gallery and lecture hall. The "shabatarbut" (a contraction
of the Hebrew words for Sabbath and Culture) program involves free
lectures (in Hebrew) on all sort of cultural and scientific subjects in
Yad LaBanim. (08) 945-3891
- Among the many sights in Tel-Aviv, two museums deserve special
notice: the Museum of the Diaspora on Tel Aviv University Campus (bus
274)
and the Eretz Israel Museum. (Aficionados of contemporary art may want
to check out the Helena Rubinstein Museum of Modern Art.)
Consult a Friday newspaper for other exhibitions and their opening
hours.
- Among the many museums in Jerusalem,
the Israel Museum and (if you
have time left) the adjacent Bible Lands Museum are an absolute must.
Take a bus to Jerusalem and then bus 9 from the Central Bus Station
(one stop beyond Hebrew University, Givat-Ram Campus). Not far away are
the
Bloomfield Science Museum (especially suitable for children) and the
Hebrew U. Botanical Gardens. [To my knowledge, all of them are open on
Shabbat and holidays.] Aside from the mandatory stops at any holy
sites of interest to you, do take some time for David's Citadel (Old
City
next to Jaffa Gate) --- a fascinating palimpsest of ruins from the
different historical eras of Jerusalem. Next to Yad Vashem (the
Holocaust
Memorial) lies the (outside Israel less well-known) Mount Herzl
cemetery
where Israel's prominent and many of its war casualties lie buried.
(You
may want to take along somebody who can read Hebrew and knows the
history
of the country a little bit.) Near the entrance there was a small
museum dedicated to the life and works of Theodor
Herzl that was well worth the token entrance fee. (It was closed for
renovations last time I was there, but may have reopened by now.)
- The Jewish National and University Library is on the Givat-Ram
campus of Hebrew University. The Harman Science Library (next door) and
the Exact Sciences Library of Tel-Aviv University are probably the two
best-stocked scientific libraries in Israel.
Learning Hebrew
If you want to learn Hebrew (or improve your knowledge if you already
know a little) there are the following options:
- evening classes offered on campus under auspices of the Feinberg
Graduate School. These meet two nights a week at three different
levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced.
- ulpan ("studio", i.e. immersion training) offered by the
Ministry
of Absorption. Five months of intensive training aimed at giving new
immigrants basic mastery of the language. Meets five mornings a week,
with lots of homework. If you have your sights set on
immigrating to
Israel later and are the non-working spouse of a visiting scientist,
this may well be worth the time and effort. Cost: about NIS 550/month
if paid out of pocket. (Free for new immigrants.) Takes place in the
city gallery on Rehov Goldin 2 (passage "Rotary", off Herzl, 1
block south of
Binyamin)
- ulpan bet ("studio B"), Giborei Yisrael 2 (near Central Bus
Station:
look for a sign in Russian :-)),
(08) 945-9365. Advanced classes for people who finished basic ulpan
("ulpan aleph") or otherwise acquired basic conversational Hebrew
(admittance test may be required in latter case). Evening hours.
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