Efrat & Gush Etzion, for newcomers and locals
Places checked against their own sources, this week's Shabbat times and weather, what's on, and the practical answers newcomers ask for.
- 17:54
- Candle lighting Friday
- 18°
- Right now
- 17
- Givot & yishuvim
- 277
- Checked places
Photo: shosh Sharet (PikiWiki Israel), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Public domain · resized and converted to WebP
This week
This week in Efrat & Gush Etzion
כ״ט בְּתִשְׁרֵי תשפ״ז
Shabbat
Parashat Bereshit
Friday 9 October
- Candle lighting
- 17:54
- Havdalah
- 18:50
- Parsha:Parashat Bereshit (opens in a new tab)
- Haftarah:I Samuel 20:18-42 (opens in a new tab)
- Daf yomi:Bechorot 22 (opens in a new tab)
Readings from Hebcal (Israel schedule); texts open on Sefaria.
Coming up
- 13OctExhibition opening: "Mom, Dad and Everyone Else" (opens in a new tab)19:30 · Gush Etzion tourism site: events
- 13Oct"Osim Esek" conference for Gush Etzion businesses (opens in a new tab)20:00 · Gush Etzion tourism site: events
- 20OctAuthor talk: Asher Kravitz, "Pashut Sippur" (opens in a new tab)20:30 · Gush Etzion Matnas events board
Who are you?
Start where you are
Pick the page that fits you: the first steps, the right places in the directory and the people to ask.
Explore
Everything for life in Efrat & Gush Etzion
Local directory
Places checked against their own source
Every listing links to where its details came from and shows the date it was last checked. Filter by language spoken, kashrut and neighbourhood.
- Shuls26 places
- Kosher restaurants & cafés36 places
- Groceries & bakeries19 places
- Schools19 places
- Health fund branches15 places
- Emergency lines, urgent care & hospitals8 places
- Wineries & places to visit10 places
- Parks, trails & springs16 places
- Community, youth & libraries19 places
- Help for olim5 places
- Councils & government9 places
- Yeshivot, seminaries & colleges4 places
The place
Seven givot, terraced hills and vineyards, about 900 m up
- The first families move into Rimon, Efrat's first giva
- 1983The first families move into Rimon, Efrat's first givaSource (opens in a new tab)
- Givot, each named after one of the seven species
- 7Givot, each named after one of the seven speciesSource (opens in a new tab)
- Height of the Gush above sea level, with cold winters and occasional snow
- ~900 mHeight of the Gush above sea level, with cold winters and occasional snowSource (opens in a new tab)
Green terraced hillsides and pine woods in Gush Etzion, with farm tracks winding down the valley
Photo: Yair Aronshtam, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
New in town
Your first weeks in Efrat & Gush Etzion, step by step
The paperwork, the health fund, the bank, the bus card and the arnona office, in the order that saves you trips. Your progress stays on your device.
- 1
Before you land
- Gather original documents
- Check your aliyah file is complete
- Compare the four health funds
- 2
First week
- Install Home Front Command and find your shelter
- Get a Rav-Kav or a payment app
- Open a bank account
- 3
First month
- Register for arnona at the municipality
- Sign up for ulpan
- Meet your absorption adviser
- 4
First three months
- Ask your employer about tax credit points
- Check your National Insurance status
- Decide on health fund supplementary cover
Guides
Practical guides, with the common questions answered
- 01Your first week in Efrat & Gush EtzionWho to call first in Efrat and the Gush Etzion yishuvim: the absorption departments, the 106 hotlines, arnona and water, Hebrew classes and the numbers to save on day one.
- 02Efrat's seven givot and the Gush yishuvim, comparedEfrat's seven neighbourhoods (Rimon, Te'ena, Gefen, Dekel, Zayit, Tamar, Dagan) and the main Gush Etzion yishuvim side by side: size, age, schools and who lives there.
- 03Schools and gans in Efrat and the GushHow gan and school registration works in Efrat, the schools and their streams, afternoon programmes, holiday and summer programmes, and help for olim children.
- 04Health funds and health care in Efrat & the GushWhere the kupot are in Efrat and the yishuvim, the MAHAR evening urgent-care centre, Tipat Halav, pharmacies and the hospitals residents use.
- 05Getting around Efrat and the GushWhich buses run from Efrat and the Gush yishuvim, how often, where the nearest train is, and how to check times.
- 06Shabbat and shuls in Efrat & the GushEfrat's candle-lighting custom, the eruv, how to find a shul and minyan times, mikvaot and kashrut, plus an honest note on what I still don't know about English-speaking shuls.
Useful apps
The apps people here actually use
Organisations newcomers use
From our network
Good people I work with
A few organisations from the Consult With Ari network whose work reaches people in Efrat & Gush Etzion.
These are not paid listings, and they are separate from the checked directory.
Common questions
About this site
Run a business or a community here?
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I'm Ari, and I built this site. Listings here are always free and never paid placement. I also build websites for businesses, shuls and organisations. If you'd like one, book a free call or message me.
