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.

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Table of contents

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

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:

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: 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: 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:

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:

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

Learning Hebrew

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