Shrine of the Báb is the second holiest site to the Bahai Faith, located in the northern city of Haifa
Israel's time is + 2 hrs from GMT so when it's 6PM (GMT), 1PM (EST), it's 8PM in Israel. Daylight saving time (Summer time) begins on the last Friday before April 2nd, and ends on Saturday between the Jewish holidays of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
Public Holidays in Israel follow the Jewish calendar and as such vary from year to year although tend to fall within the same few-week period. Different levels of activity stop in Israel depending on the festival or holiday, and different areas will see different levels of activity on these days. The public transportation, for example, tends to completely stop its activity in many holidays. In the Jewish tradition, a new day begins with the appearance of three stars in the sky, which means that Jewish holidays begin in the afternoon hours a day before the official date. In general, Israel is a secular country, so most festivals won't see big changes in the levels of activity.
Official national holidays are bolded.
Jewish New Year(Rosh Hashanah), Falls between Sept 5 & Oct 5
Fast Day of Gedaliah (Tsom Gedalyah ben Ahikam), Falls two days after the first day of Rosh Hashanah (New Year)
Day of Atonement(Yom Kippur), Falls between Sept 14 & Oct 14. The holiest day of the year - this is the day 'when everything stops', including all shopping, public and private traffic, etc.
Feast of Tabernacles (Booths)(Sukkot*), Falls between Sept 19 & Oct 19 (Only the first and last days are national holidays, however there may be some disruption during the intermediate days)
Assembly of the Eighth Day (Simchat Torah/Shemini Atzeret), Falls between Sept 26 & Oct 26. Street festivals and dancing are common in most cities and towns on the preceding evening.
Yitzhak Rabin's Remembrance Day (Yom Hazikaron le Yitzhak Rabin)
Feast of Rededication (First Day) (Hanukkah), Falls between Nov 27 & Dec 27. Celebrated in public as well with big Hanukiyot (lamps lit by fire) which are lit by sundown.
Tenth of Tevet Fast (Tsom Asarah b-Tevet)
Fifteenth of Shvat (Tu Bishvat). New Year of the Trees (similar to an Arbor Day)
Fast of Esther (Ta`anit Ester)
Memorial Feast for the Triumph of Esther(Purim*), Falls between February 24 & March 26. Street parades are common on this day.
Passover(Pesach), Between March 26 & April 25 (Only the first and last days are national holidays, however there may be some disruption during the intermediate days). No leavened bread or grain products are sold or served in most places during this week.
Seventh day of Passover (Shvi'i shel Pesach), Falls between April 1 & May 1
Holocaust Remembrance Day(Yom HaZikaron LaShoah VeLaGevurah), Falls between April 7 & May 7. At 10AM, air raid sirens sound and the entire country comes to an eerie standstill for two minutes. Places of entertainment are closed on this day and its eve.
Fallen Soldiers Remembrance Day(Yom Hazikaron), Falls between April 14 & May 14. Air raid sirens sound and the entire country observes a minute of silence in the morning and preceding evening.
Independence Day(Yom Ha-Atzmaut), Falls between April 15 & May 15. Large street festivals, city-wide parties and fireworks are common on the preceding night.
33rd day of the `Omer (Lag Ba'omer), Bonfires are common on the preceding night.
Jerusalem Day (Yom Herut Yerushalayim), Large parades and festivals occur in Jerusalem.
Pentecost(Shavuot), Falls between May 15 & June 14
Seventeenth of Tammuz fast (Tsom Shiva` Asar b-Tammuz)
Ninth of Av fast (Tisha B'Av). Destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples
Fifteenth of Av (Tu B'Av). Festival of Love
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Israel
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Israel - updated Apr 2024
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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.
