Israel - Saturday closings

[RWB59]

We have a 1 day stop in Haifa on Saturday, May 10th. Currently booked on a 10-hour ship shore excursion to Jerusalem and Bethelham.

 

Will everything be closed because of the Jewish Sabbath?

 

Is a private-hire tour guide recommeded?

 

Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Peteymil]

I cannot imagine that anything would be open in Jerusalem

[Bruin Steve]

My July 2009 Oceania Nautica cruise has 2 days in Haifa...and the website doesn't have dates, rather "Day 1", "Day 2", etc. At first I miscounted and thought we'd be in Haifa on a Saturday/Sunday...I am much relieved to recount and find we'll be there Sunday/Monday...

 

Back in 1981, we were in Israel for a little over a week and did not plan things well...We arrived on Friday in Tiberias in the Galilee...First thing we realized was that most businesses started shutting down that afternoon...By dinner time, we found the ONLY restaurant available to eat at was the Chinese restaurant...The next day, we found nothing open...and we were running out of money (These were the days before ATMs) and could not find a bank or anywhere else to exchange travellers checks for shekels...There were no buses running...We finally managed to flag down a taxi with whom we made a deal to take us to Nablus, a "Palestinian City" on the West Bank along with another passenger who he was already taking there in exchange for the few shekels we had left (actually, a bargain)... He dropped us off in one of the scarier settings one could imagine...but, at least the Arab banks were open on Saturdays...so we were able to exchange currency and then find transportation to continue on to Haifa...

 

Trust me, it was one of the scarier adventures one could imagine...We were young Americans in our 20s at the time (it was our honeymoon)...we were travelling with everything we had in backpacks...And Central Nablus looked a little bit like what you see on the nightly news when they show Baghdad...

 

Plus, unlike the Israelis, who all spoke English and had no problem with Americans, the Palestinians were flat out scary, did not speak to us in English, stared at us in ways that made us feel uncomfortable, etc.

 

When we got to Haifa, finally, we felt a lot more comfortable...Still, it was Saturday afternoon and things were still pretty much shut down...though buses were running, but on a limited schedule...and we did find a Pizzeria to eat at...

 

Later, someone told us that, in Israel, you want to time it so, when Friday Afternoon to Saturday night comes along, you are in Tel Aviv and nowhere else...

 

But maybe things have changed in the past 27 years...or maybe not...

[rsquare]

Things haven't changed as of two years ago. No buses anywhere except Haifa, and hardly anyone drives in Jerusalem. It's great to walk around in the quiet, but if it is your only chance to see Jerusalem, it can be a problem.

 

There are some workarounds; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is open on Saturday for those who bought tickets in advance, but there used to be a guy sitting in a car at the museum entrance who would sell you a ticket - normal price, not a scalper. Christian religious sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City will be open, but the problem is getting to them. And lunch will be problem; there are non-kosher places that are open on Saturday, but you pretty much have to stumble on them. If you're in the Old City, there is a wonderful restaurant called the Armenian Tavern just across from the police station next to the Tower of David, near the Jaffa Gate. I know it is open Friday night (which is the start of Saturday in the Jewish calendar) and it should be open Saturday.

[Benita]

We were in the Old City in Jerusalem on a Saturday. Most of what you want to see is outside, so it is easy to wander around. We wanted to see Shindler's grave (remember the scene in Shindler's List where everybody visits the grave and puts stones on the headstone?), which is just outside the old city. As it is not a Jewish Cemetary, it is open on Saturdays. Taxis were not a problem to find - there are plenty of Arab cab drivers. The driver who took us back to the hotel offered to take us to Bethlehem, but we opted out.

We were in Haifa on a Saturday - this was on an organized land trip. We went to Tel Megiddo - made famous by James Mitchener's book The Source. Nothing much was open in Haifa and many of the streets were blocked off to traffic, so if you are in Haifa on a Saturday, I would look into either a private guide, or taking a ship's excursion, so that transportation is not a problem.