Israel is basically a country made up of immigrants and each nation brought with it a slice of their culture into the melting pot that is Israel. This means too that there is a great selection of traditional food to choose from, you can try Ethiopian, Moroccan, Iraqi, Russian or even Yemeni Jewish food when in Israel. Continue Reading

Christmas in Israel can be magical and a truly spiritual experience. There are services in local churches (mainly in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem) as well as services held at the locations where Christmas events took place. Many tour buses leave Jerusalem on Christmas Eve to services in Shepherd’s Fields where an angel appeared to the shepherds on Christmas Eve. The tours continue to the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and end off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for the Midnight Mass.

Of all the Christmas celebrations in Israel perhaps the largest and most moving is at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, where gather in Manger Square to be a part of the celebration of Jesus’ birth on the spot where the events unfolded.

Roman Catholics celebrate on the 24th December at Saint Catherine’s Church in Bethlehem, as well as on the 5th and 6th of January when the Epiphany is commemorated. Greek, Coptic, Romanian and Syrian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on the 6th of January in Bethlehem. In Nazareth there are Christmas Eve parades and firework displays as well as church services. In all over 90,000 foreign visitors arrive in Israel annually to celebrate Christmas.
Christmas in Bethlehem includes processions through the streets, carol singing and religious services which can all be an extremely spiritual experience. It is important to remember that throughout the rest of Israel you could probably not even notice that it is Christmas as unlike America and Europe the streets and stores are not decorated, there is no Santa ringing a bell outside shops and Christmas music cannot be heard in the streets.

Spencer Tunick, the world famous photographer who specializes in taking shots of hundreds of nude people standing in public places or at famous landmarks has now included the Dead Sea in his long list of large-scale nude photo shoots.

Naked Sea

Israelis of all ages ( between 18-77), creeds, colors, men, women, shapes and sizes rushed to apply to the Facebook request for volunteers to appear naked in Spencer’s photo at the Dead Sea. 1,200 volunteers arrived at the Dead Sea before sunrise on September 17th 2011 to take part. The 17th was a Saturday, chosen specifically to discourage protests by orthodox Jews who would be prevented from disrupting the shoot because they don’t travel on Shabbath. The final location was also kept secret until the last minute to avoid protests and curious spectators. The nude subjects posed in the Dead Sea water, on the shore and also covered in the Dead Sea black mud.
Spenser claimed that his photo shoot was intended to bring attention to the gradual destruction of the Dead Sea by man. The Dead Sea is probably the only site in the Middle East, or Israel for that matter, where this kind of artistic photography will ever be produced. When asked what prompted them to take part participants said they wanted to be a part of this once in a lifetime event and have a unique liberating experience!