Israel by thumb · By thumb in Israel
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By thumb in Israel
By thumb in Israel
Israel is known to be one of the easiest places to hitchhike in the world. Most major junctions have a shelter and are well lit throughout the night. This is a great way to meet and interact with the locals. A sign can help (put a blank piece of paper inside a plastic sleeve, and with a dry-erase marker you have a reusable hitchhiking sign). When hitchhiking, instead of a thumb, you extend your hand, with 1 or 2 fingers extended, pointing at the road. For short rides, the 1 or 2 fingers should point to the ground. Drivers staying in the area may point downwards while passing, indicating that they wouldn't make a good long-haul ride.
Generally speaking, hitchhiking in urban areas is less popular than in other parts of Israel. It is more accepted in rural areas, particularly sparsely populated areas like the Golan Heights that have little bus service.
Tourists should note that the British Foreign Office considers it unsafe to hitch-hike in Israel, like most countries in Europe and the Middle East. This advice applies specifically to tourists and is not a comment on the safety of hitch-hiking for locals and is not specific to Israel.
Local West Bank settlers rely heavily on hitchhiking for transportation. Almost every car will stop and suggest a lift if you stand in any settlement's gate as most of them are defended by IDF soldiers. Nevertheless, It is only safe to hitchhike between Jewish settlements/cities, or a few well known and well defended junctions; any other way is considered especially dangerous - in the past Israeli hitchhikers have been kidnapped and murdered by Arabs while waiting for a ride. Hitching through the West Bank is easy and enjoyable - local Palestinians are happy to offer a ride to anyone who is not a settler.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Israel
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Israel Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.