Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a great place to celebrate Christmas in Israel. The stunning Christmas tree next to the clock tower of Jaffa will be here again.
For more information about Christmas events in Israel, read Christmas in Bethlehem , Christmas in Nazareth , and Christmas in Jerusalem.
For more information about Christmas in Israel, read our blog: Christmas in Israel: Decking the Halls of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jaffa, and Nazareth.
The annual Tisha Be’av walk, organized by the Women in Green organization, in held each year in Jerusalem and unites thousands of people from around the country. The walk typically begins at Independence Park with a reading of Megilat Eicha, which is traditionally read on Tisha Be’av every year. Following this, the walking route leads participants to several notable historic sites along the way until ending near the Lion’s Gate in the Old City.
Historian Aryeh Klein has led the walk for many years, and tells several stories of the unique history of Jerusalem along the way which include anecdotes from the Roman era and more recent stories from the Six Day War. Every year, the walk concludes with the singing of “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem, and “Ani Ma’amin,” before its participants pray at the Western Wall. The walk is the continuation of the ancient Jewish tradition that ceased during the British Mandate period, but was renewed in the ’90s by Women in Green.
Mimouna is a traditional North African Jewish celebration dinner, that currently takes place in London, Morocco, Israel, Canada, and other places around the world where Jews of Maghrebi heritage live. It is held the day after Passover, marking the return to eating hametz (leavened bread, etc.), which is forbidden throughout the week of Passover.
In Morocco, on the afternoon of the last day of Passover, Jewish families prepare flour, honey, milk, and butter to be used to prepare post-Passover chametz celebration dinners. Historically, Jewish congregations would walk to an orchard in order to recite Birkat Ha’Ilanot, and following the conclusion of Passover, would recite passages from the Book of Proverbs and the Mishna.
The celebration begins after nightfall on the last day of Passover. In many communities, non-Jewish neighbors sell chametz back to Jewish families as a beginning of the celebration. Moroccan and Algerian Jews throw open their homes to visitors, after setting out a lavish spread of traditional holiday cakes and sweetmeats. One of the holiday favorites is Mofletta. The table is also laid with various symbols of luck and fertility, with an emphasis on the number “5,” such as five pieces of gold jewelry or five beans arranged on a leaf of pastry. The repetition of the number five references the five-fingered hamsa amulet common in both Jewish and Muslim North African and Middle Eastern communities from pre-modern times. Typically all those in attendance at a Mimouna celebration are sprinkled with a mint sprig or other green dipped in milk, symbolizing good fortune and new beginnings.
Early in the day of the Mimouna, families go to the sea, splash water on their face, and walk barefoot in the water, to replay the scene of the miraculous crossing of the Reed Sea, which is held to have taken place on the last day of Passover.
In Israel, the Mimouna has become a popular annual happening featuring outdoor parties, picnics, BBQs, and politics: A central celebration in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park draws about 100,000 people, usually including the president and prime minister. Israeli law now requires employers to agree to grant an employee unpaid leave for Mimouna if asked. One source estimated that in 2012 nearly two million people in Israel participated in Mimouna festivities.
Photo credit: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Holiday of Holidays, also known as Chag HaChagim in Hebrew, is an annual celebration of Haifa’s religious and cultural diversity. This event is held every December to mark the Hanukkah, Christmas, and Ramadan holidays for Jews, Christians, and Muslims living peacefully together in Haifa.
It includes food stands, antique fairs, arts and crafts fairs, music, circuses, and street celebrations.
The festival is an initiative of Beit Ha’Gefen – Arab-Jewish Cultural Center, and the Haifa Municipality, which was founded in 1993 and takes place in Beit Ha’Gefen and Wadi Nisnas and the German Colony in Haifa.
The aim of the festival is to promote and foster tolerance and mutual respect through culture and art.
The festival presents art exhibitions, artist meetings, and various performances with an emphasis on cultural diversity in Haifa and Israel.
The works are displayed both in the public space – the alleys of the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood coming to the German Colony, Haifa, and in the Beit Hagefen Gallery and this year also on billboards throughout the Hadar neighborhood – a special exhibition by Haifa artists!
The Holiday of Holidays festival is the culmination of the year of activity at Beit Ha’Gefen, and is designed in the spirit of the values of Beit Ha’Gefen.
Our activities are based on the belief that interpersonal acquaintance and encounter with another culture, its stories, cultural and spiritual assets, are important for breaking down barriers and building trust between different nationalities, ethnic and religious groups in Haifa and Israel.
Photo credit: Shaula Haitner Pikiwiki Israel
The Shabbat Project is an international movement that unites all Jews to keep one Shabbat together. The Tel Aviv branch is powered by White City Shabbat.
The Shabbat Project is a global, grassroots movement that unites Jews around the magic of Shabbat.
The idea is simple: Jews from all walks of life – from across the spectrum of religious affiliation, young and old, from all corners of the globe – come together to celebrate and keep one full Shabbat.
An estimated 40,000-50,000 Jews from around the world converged on the city of Hebron and its adjacent sister city, Kiryat Arba, over Shabbat in honor of Sarah, the biblical matriarch of the Jewish people.
Come celebrate Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, with a giant menorah that will be lit up in Trafalgar Square!
Come celebrate Sukkot in Venice! Enjoy your meals during this Jewish festival in the public Sukkah of the Venice Ghetto.
Time to light the menorah! Hannukah is one of the best NYC events in December. It reminds us to nosh on classic Jewish food, hit up a holiday market to find some great gifts and bond with loved ones.
🌍 Celebrating One Year of the Jewish Silk Road Portal
World Jewish Travel was thrilled at #IMTM 2024 to present a copy of the WJT Jewish Silk Road Pressbook to the CEO of the Azerbaijan National Tourism Board Florian Sengstschmid and Jamilya Talibzade its Israeli representative Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB).
The Pressbook celebrates the one year anniversary of the Jewish Silk Road Portal launch, an amazing example of using Jewish travel as a means of cultural diplomacy, whilst highlighting the significant Jewish contribution to the ancient trade route. Kudos to our participating partners from the Kiriaty Foundation (Turkey), National Board of Tourism of #Georgia, National Board of Tourism of #Uzbekistan, and Israeli Embassy of #India.
See the overwhelming reaction from the press, by downloading our free pressbook. Special thanks to Moshe Gilad of the @haaretzcom for highlighting this forgotten but important story in the Galeria section of the newspaper and available to download on WJT.
👉Link to WJT Jewsih Silk Rad Pressbook and more is in our bio
Step into the soul-stirring Pesach traditions of Jerusalem virtually. Experience the resonating echoes of Birkat Kohanim🌿
Link is in our bio
#VirtualTravel #JerusalemVibes #SpiritualJourney #JewishTravel #Isarel #BirkatKohanim #JewishJerusalem
Discover the enigmatic “Donkey Stable” in Jerusalem`s underground. Unveil the city`s secrets from home. 🌌
Find link in our bio
#JerusalemUnderground #CitySecrets #ExploreHistory #JewishTravel #Israel #Travel #WesternWall
