Zichron Yaakov, for newcomers and locals
Places checked against their own sources, this week's Shabbat times and weather, what's on, and the practical answers newcomers ask for.
- 17:44
- Candle lighting Friday
- 24°
- Right now
- 15
- Neighbourhoods mapped
- 231
- Checked places
Photo: מקף־עברי, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
This week
This week in Zichron Yaakov
כ״ט בְּתִשְׁרֵי תשפ״ז
Shabbat
Parashat Bereshit
Friday 9 October
- Candle lighting
- 17:44
- Havdalah
- 18:50
- Parsha:Parashat Bereshit (opens in a new tab)
- Haftarah:I Samuel 20:18-42 (opens in a new tab)
- Daf yomi:Bechorot 22 (opens in a new tab)
Readings from Hebcal (Israel schedule); texts open on Sefaria.
Coming up
- 10OctSpreading wings: tour of the vulture breeding centre (in Arabic) (opens in a new tab)09:00 · Ramat HaNadiv
- 11OctIllustrator Zeev Engelmayer (Shoshke) on the Daily Postcard project (opens in a new tab)19:00 · Zichron Yaakov council tourism department (weekly round-up)
- 12OctPresence with nature: nature-based mindfulness course (first of 9 Monday sessions) (opens in a new tab)07:30 · Ramat HaNadiv
Who are you?
Start where you are
Pick the page that fits you: the first steps, the right places in the directory and the people to ask.
Explore
Everything for life in Zichron Yaakov
Local directory
Places checked against their own source
Every listing links to where its details came from and shows the date it was last checked. Filter by language spoken, kashrut and neighbourhood.
- Shuls31 places
- Kosher restaurants & cafés24 places
- Attractions & sights12 places
- Museums & heritage3 places
- Schools17 places
- Gan & daycare13 places
- Doctors, urgent care & hospital17 places
- Health fund branches10 places
- Pharmacies7 places
- Parks & playgrounds13 places
- Community, youth & libraries4 places
- Help for olim6 places
The place
The Baron's moshava of stone and vines
- Founded by olim from Romania; renamed for the Baron's father, Yaakov
- 1882Founded by olim from Romania; renamed for the Baron's father, YaakovSource (opens in a new tab)
- Residents (CBS estimate, August 2026)
- 24,804Residents (CBS estimate, August 2026)Source (opens in a new tab)
- Families who made aliyah in the last 15 years, says the council
- ~10%Families who made aliyah in the last 15 years, says the councilSource (opens in a new tab)
The memorial gardens at Ramat HaNadiv: red rose beds around a round stone fountain, framed by cypress and pine trees
Photo: Israel Tourism (israeltourism), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
New in town
Your first weeks in Zichron Yaakov, step by step
The paperwork, the health fund, the bank, the bus card and the arnona office, in the order that saves you trips. Your progress stays on your device.
- 1
Before you land
- Gather original documents
- Check your aliyah file is complete
- Compare the four health funds
- 2
First week
- Install Home Front Command and find your shelter
- Get a Rav-Kav or a payment app
- Open a bank account
- 3
First month
- Register for arnona at the municipality
- Sign up for ulpan
- Meet your absorption adviser
- 4
First three months
- Ask your employer about tax credit points
- Check your National Insurance status
- Decide on health fund supplementary cover
Guides
Practical guides, with the common questions answered
- 01Your first week in Zichron Yaakov: what to do, in what orderThe first-week list for new olim in Zichron Yaakov: the council offices, the olim team, the 106 hotline, emergency numbers, English groups and where Hebrew classes really are.
- 02Zichron's neighbourhoods compared: the moshava, the ridges and the new eastThe 15 official council zones of Zichron Yaakov, when each was built, where English-speaking olim tend to live, and how arnona differs between them.
- 03Schools and gans in Zichron Yaakov: zones, registration and the optionsHow school and gan registration works in Zichron Yaakov: the primary and high schools, registration dates and documents, zoning, afternoon care and who to call.
- 04Health funds and health care in Zichron YaakovWhich kupot have clinics in Zichron Yaakov, English-speaking doctors, blood tests, pharmacies open on Shabbat, and where to go at night and on weekends.
- 05Getting around Zichron Yaakov: buses, the train at Binyamina and the Rav-KavZichron has no train station: how to reach Binyamina, which buses leave town and where they go, the internal lines, the Rav-Kav office and parking.
- 06Shabbat and shuls in Zichron YaakovOhel Yaakov, Moed, Ve'Ahavta and the neighbourhood shuls, English Torah classes, candle-lighting times, the mikvaot, and what I could and could not confirm about the eruv.
Useful apps
The apps people here actually use
Organisations newcomers use
From our network
Good people I work with
A few organisations from the Consult With Ari network whose work reaches people in Zichron Yaakov.
These are not paid listings, and they are separate from the checked directory.
Common questions
About this site
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