Israel

lafors

Anyone ever been to Israel?

Supposed to go out for 12 weeks work. Would be staying at Ashkeon (sp?).
Working as a contractor at Qiryat Gat (sp?) Intels Fab18.

Well a few questions:
The Ashkeon place looks just above the Gaza Strip, Is it safe??
How safe is it driving around israel?
I heard somewhere that having israel on my passport is not a good thing, any countries have a problem with this?

Anything I should do/not do while there? (In saying that I'm not supposed to leave the hotel/surrounding area)

Thanks, any comments appreciated.

comad

my mate was there. The only thing he was afraid of were the buses! So avoid the buses and don't bring your gym bag into a packed pub.

He said the Israeli women are amazingly stunning...I've only ever saw one Israeli bird so i can't back confirm that

dathi1

I was there a couple of years ago just mulling around before the intifada. I saw the Intel building just outside Haifa..If that's were you're referring too?? I jumped over to the other side of the bus to take a few snaps and the locals on board looked very jumpy at the site of some mad Irish guy in khakis snapping away at an obscure building in the scrub.

I'd say its fairly safe overall but I wouldn't go there now myself for political reasons ...well until the next real peace process.

oh yeah....I'd say you'd have a fairly hard time getting into Gaza

dathi1

He said the Israeli women are amazingly stunning...

I second that!

lafors

dathi1 wrote:

I was there a couple of years ago just mulling around before the intifada. I saw the Intel building just outside Haifa..If that's were you're referring too??
oh yeah....I'd say you'd have a fairly hard time getting into Gaza

Dunno about the site there are 5 intel sites afaik, the one I'd be at is south of jerusalem (spelling is bad today )
I'd have no intention going to gaza

Hellrazer

Ashkelons a great place--beach is fantastic and all the locals go there to the beach on their day off--Went out to stay there with a mate who was working out there for Intel.

Drivers are nuts and when I say nuts I wouldnt drive if I was there--how my mate did it I honestly dont know.

In some parts of Israel I did find that some of the hardcore Israelis wont talk to you unless you can speak a little Hebrew so try learn a few phrases before you go out there.

Jerusalem is great,as is the Dead sea and if you do get a chance go to the Red sea and go scuba diving.Elat I think is the resort there.

Theres also a fantastic all night nite club in a Kibbutz near Ashkelon.Free drink from 11pm to 1am.It opens till 8.00am and if you feel like it the walk back to Ashkelon next morning is great if the weather is good.

All in all a great place to stay if the Israelis sorted themselves out.I just found some of the locals very how would you say "rude"
Actually not rude but I suppose cautious of outsiders and to be totally honest I dont really blame them although at the time I was angried by their attitude.

Make sure you go to the markets in Jerusalem and get a guide(20 dollars for a day)
It`ll make it if you get a good guide.
Richie

MariaY

lafors wrote:

Anyone ever been to Israel?

I lived there for years. Don't go there, especially not now. This is the best advice I can give you and the most honest one.

helios

Been there myself as well. When I lived there, the 'situation' was worse then than it is now. The only place you'll have problems with an Israeli stamp in your passport is if you're trying to get into Arab countries, but Egypt and Jordan aren't usually as strict. You can ask them not to stamp your passport, and they'll stamp some other sort of paper that's as good as a stamp in your passport.

The chicks are cold as ice, and unfortunately, I know that from experience. If you can get one, you'll deserve a medal. Food will be dirt cheap against the Euro... Bamba and Mix are to die for!

lafors

Would the present situation with Sharon going to have to step down as leader, cause any more unrest in the country?

MariaY any particular reason why?
Going there to work is a decision my company has left to me, I can choose not to go but it could affect my position within the company in later years.
Thats why I need as much info as possible.

Did anyone hear about kidnappings about 2 weeks ago??? It was mentioned to me by a friend who said they saw it on the news.

Thanks again guys.

MariaY

helios wrote:

Been there myself as well. When I lived there, the 'situation' was worse then than it is now.

I think I can agree with you there, but nonetheless, now it's not safe either. unfortunately I have a part of my family still living there. As far as I'm concerned, the only way I'll ever set foot there again will be over my dead body.
I also agree that its very cheap in Israel. Compared to the Euro it's almost impossibly cheap. If I'm not mistaken, one Euro is 5.6 Shekels (the Israeli currency).
The culture is very different from the European one. It's a warm beach country and you can see that everywhere and in everything. If you ignore the fact that you may be blown up on the next bus or in the next mall you enter, it can actually be very nice for a while, but that's the thing - it might be nice and exotic as long as it doesn't last. Once you grow into it, you realize there's more to it than sunshine and not all is good. If you're planning to stay there for longer (I'm talking months here) the Jewish way of life might take some getting used to (you will often find severe lack of transport (in some areas none at all) during friday afternoons and saturdays, too many places will be closed on saturdays, etc., also kosher food might be *too* different from what you're used to, there won't be pork or seafood and the like unless it's in selected shops no one talks about and hell, even the Guinness tastes differently).
The people there are not rude because they don't trust strangers, they're rude because they're rude. Of course there are exceptions, but from my personal experience, that is the conclusion. On the other hand, if you don't stay there long and don't really get into their lives, you might not find it as true. It is true, as was formerly stated, that there are some problems with communication in English, but usually with young people it's less of a problem. But don't expect to find too many people with manners, and I'm talking about even small things like saying sorry when you bump into someone on the street. The Israelies made a terrible name for themselves worldwide and there is a reason behind it. It is what it is.

In short, maybe it's me being too European by nature, maybe it's not them. What I say definitely does not apply to all of the population because I did meet some great people there, but still... what I said in my original post, as far as I'm concerned, stays true.

The only place you'll have problems with an Israeli stamp in your passport is if you're trying to get into Arab countries, but Egypt and Jordan aren't usually as strict.

Also true.

Bamba and Mix are to die for!

Hehe... never liked it myself, but my brother seemed to adore it.

MariaY

lafors wrote:

Would the present situation with Sharon going to have to step down as leader, cause any more unrest in the country?

Oh, no, just the usual. You'll get a first-hand taste of that when you'll be checked (sometimes head-to-toe) whenever you enter nearly anywhere (malls, shops, night clubs, restaurants, buses...

MariaY any particular reason why?

I didn't see your new post before I posted my last one but I probably answered that.

Going there to work is a decision my company has left to me, I can choose not to go but it could affect my position within the company in later years.
Thats why I need as much info as possible.

well... most people will say that I was brutal, but at least I think I was honest. I guess you really do know your case best and know what's the best decision you can make, but the bottom line is that even if you put everything (less important) aside, it is an unsafe place to be. It's true this country's seen worse times, but it doesn't mean it's safe now.

lafors

MariaY wrote:

Oh, no, just the usual. You'll get a first-hand taste of that when you'll be checked (sometimes head-to-toe) whenever you enter nearly anywhere (malls, shops, night clubs, restaurants, buses...

I didn't see your new post before I posted my last one but I probably answered that.

well... most people will say that I was brutal, but at least I think I was honest. I guess you really do know your case best and know what's the best decision you can make, but the bottom line is that even if you put everything (less important) aside, it is an unsafe place to be. It's true this country's seen worse times, but it doesn't mean it's safe now.

Thanks for your info, as I said the more I know the easier it will be to decide