22 Reasons Why I Love Israel

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Israel just celebrated her 66th Birthday and Independence Day yesterday! For that reason, I thought what better way of celebrating it, then by listing all the things that make me absolutely LOVE Israel!

Israel is where I was born and raised until the age of 9, since then I come back to visit almost every summer, as it never gets old to me. I remember someone once asked me if I’m going to ride camels when I go there, haha the answer is NO and far from it. For those of you who are curious why half the world is fighting over this small piece of land, here is to you, 22 Reasons Why I Love Israel! But I could think of more 😉

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Tel Aviv- When most people hear about Israel, they think of Tel Aviv! But how could they not, Tel Aviv is the largest metropolitan city in Israel. It has everything you want and need from malls, to shopping areas, amazing beaches, a crazy nightlife, restaurants, designer stores, hotels on the beach and more! There is always something to do no matter what time of the day it is, the streets are always filled with people and everything is so close. On most of my trips to Israel I’d say I spend most of my time there. 

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Going to The Dead Sea- LOVE! A must on every trip to Israel! I love the whole experience there and I probably get the best and fastest tan than any other place I’ve been to! ( For more on the Dead Sea, check out: The Dead Sea Experience“)

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Everything Is Opened Till Late- I’ve always been a night owl/vampire haha, I can sleep all day and love the world at night, since I was a kid. The great thing about Israel is that everything is open till late, restaurants close at 11pm-2am some places will even be opened in certain areas of the country till 5am serving a full menu, while others are open 24hrs. Transportation like buses run until 11pm and in the summer there are also bus lines that run all night. This includes late movie showing and markets. Which makes my life a whole lot easier!

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Ein Gedi- is a national park right across the street from The Dead Sea. It’s for those of you who like hiking and nature. Ein Gedi has a few waterfalls and natural pools of water, it’s a great place to go with the family or with friends. It makes for a good day trip, just pack some stuff for a picnic and go!

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Snorkeling in the Red Sea- I just can never get enough of this. Every trip to Israel, I go to Eilat in the south part of the country for a couple of days. I can go snorkeling there for hours! So many different exotic fish to see! There is snorkeling gear to rent at every beach and also scuba diving classes.

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Roof Top Clubs- If you have gone out in NYC you would know what I’m talking about, Tel Aviv is filled with roof top clubs and bars that look over the whole city and to top it all off many don’t close till sunrise, leaving you with a beautiful view of the beach!

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My Family- What would Israel be if it wasn’t for my family!? This is the cherry on top of my whip cream! My mother and sisters live there now, which gives me the excuse to come for a visit whenever I miss them!

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I Feel Safe at Night- Unlike most places in the world, especially in America, it’s just not very safe to be walking around by yourself at 5am but in Israel, it’s different. Forget the terrorist stuff for a second, Israel has a very low crime rate. We don’t really have too many homeless people, in fact, except for major cities like Tel Aviv or Jerusalem there aren’t really any. Rape and kidnapping is something that happens very very rarely and that being said, it’s pretty safe to be a girl walking around by yourself at night. You just feel safe.

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Jerusalem- is by far my favorite city in Israel! There is so much culture and spirituality in the air! Besides that, it’s just such a beautiful city and I have met some of the most interesting people here than any other place in the world! Every trip to Israel I always spend about 1-2 weeks there. There is a feeling I get like no other place, perhaps it’s because it’s the holiest city in the world and maybe also because when I’m there I feel like I’m in a different place in the world. Although in most part Jerusalem is a very religious city, but there is also a part of Jerusalem that isn’t and is worth exploring.

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The Beach- Israel has the most beautiful beaches! Being part of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel has clear tropical like ocean water and very warm temperature, in the summer going up to 80F’ degrees. During the summer the beaches get packed with young people and many tourists from all over the world. Saturdays the beach gets packed like crazy and for these reasons, it’s probably my favorite summer activity.

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Money is Colorful! – haha it is! It looks like Monopoly money!

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Bar Hopping- Tel Aviv is known for its amazing nightlife, there are many bars and clubs all over the city. My favorite place to go out would have to be “Rothschild”, which is a long street full of clubs and bars in all different styles, from reggae music to live rock, Top 40, Hip-Hop, Trance & House to Pop. To top it all off, these places stays open till 4am-6am! As far as bar hopping goes almost everyone that goes out to Tel Aviv will end up at 2-4 places at night. Most people don’t know this, but Jerusalem is also a great place to go bar hopping.

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Laid Back Lifestyle- Israel has a very laid back lifestyle, where most girls don’t wear too much makeup or dress up all the time, like people do in America. Jobs are flexible as far as coming in late, taking a day off or vacation time. Family and friends are very important to Israelis. Many people go to the beach after work and generally speaking, people are always late to everything lol. Life comes at your own pace, but people know how to live well, enjoy life and the things that are important.

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Everything is So Close and at Small Distance- being, such a small country the benefit of that is that everything is so close. Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is only about an hour drive and you’re in a completely different atmosphere.

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Transportation- While in places like LA, where I grew up the main transportation is by car, Israel is different in that aspect. People take buses everywhere, walk, take trains, taxis, bikes and my favorite way of transportation “Muneet Sharut” which is a taxi/bus! The cool thing about them, unlike your typical bus that only stops where he has a stop, is that you can tell them to stop where ever you want and get dropped off at your actual location. They are also a lot faster than buses as they are a little bigger than a size of a van and can take up to 10 people. There is a main bus station in every city in the country, that basically takes you to any city you want. The buses are the cheapest way to get around unless you want to get around by foot. You can also rent bikes in bigger cities.

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The Food- there is nothing like the food in Israel! Most of Israel’s products are organic, people in Israel for the most part eat pretty healthy and the food isn’t cooked with so much grease like it is in America. Other than your typical Falafel, Hummus and Shawarma, Israel has just about any other food type you can imagine, Italian, Seafood, Greek, Chinese, Japanese and even Mexican food. They also have a large amount of different dairy foods, unlike any other place I’ve seen before.

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The Warm Hearted People- People in Israel are probably some of the most warm hearted people you’ll meet, not to bash on Americans or other cultures but it’s the truth. If someone is lost or their car is stuck or if you don’t have enough money for the bus, they will stop and help you. They are very helpful and you will make friends everywhere you go. They will welcome you to their house with arms wide open and take out their whole kitchen for you. They will help a complete stranger on the street without thinking twice and this is one of the things that makes me proud to be Israeli.

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The Sunset- I have been to many places all around the world, but nothing beats the beautiful big sunsets of Tel Aviv at the beach. The sun looks huge! And it’s a must see when visiting Israel.

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The 24hr Restaurants on the Beach- ok this has to also be my favorite thing about Israel! I have never been to a country or state where they have as many restaurants literally on the beach with 24hr service! You can order anything from pasta, salads, sandwiches, steak to ice cream, watermelon, desserts, smoothies, beers or any type of alcohol for that matter and also hookah. All of these are serviced to you or at the restaurants, indoor or out or simply on you’re beach chair! Again, I’m talking about any time of the day! Many times in the summer, they also have live music or events like the World Cup, where you can watch on the beach, with your beer and hookah at 4am! I really do wish America had this type of luxury!

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My Amazing Friends- Being born in Israel and meeting so many Israelis while in America, it’s an amazing feeling to come back to my second “home” and be with all my amazing friends! Some of my closest friends live there and it’s the best feeling in the world to be with them.

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You Can Smoke Hookah Everywhere- for those of you who don’t know me, I LOVE HOOKAH! That being said, what’s even better than just smoking hookah, is that in Israel you can do it anywhere. You can sit on a park bench at night with your friends, smoke hookah and laugh your ass off or you can bring it with you to the beach, wherever you want!

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Summer Concerts & Festivals- During the summer there are many fun summer activities, lots of festivals and concerts during the day and night. Every summer we also have a big musician come to Israel like in the past, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Madonna and Justin Timberlake.

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All in all, Israel is a great place to visit, it’s a blast and especially in the summer! I highly recommend it to all the people who haven’t visited there yet and want to! There is a lot to do and see! Almost everyone knows English there, so you won’t have any language issues. If you go, you will have the time of your life! This I promise you. I know most people are afraid to go there because of terrorist attacks, these happen rarely and normally not near the main parts of Israel. Just go! I am always here for questions and recommendations. 😉

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2 Responses to 22 Reasons Why I Love Israel

  1. […] Tel Aviv is one of the best cities out there! I was born in Israel and moved to Los Angeles when I was 9 years old and since then I make yearly trips to Israel and mostly for the amazing city of Tel Aviv. Almost every summer I come out to Tel Aviv for a 2 month vacation and no matter how long my trips last, its never enough because there is so much to do and see in Tel Aviv! In the recent years Tel Aviv has become one of the top up and coming metropolitan destination for people all around the world. During the summer, the beautiful turquoises color beaches are completely packed, with 24hr restaurants on them. Tel Aviv is filled with talented artist, has great shopping areas like the Azrieli Tower and Dizanguff Center shopping mall and street. There are farmers markets, hip boutiques, amazing festivals and events all over the city and probably has the best nightlife I have ever experienced. Tel Aviv is definitely my home away from home. (for more of my Israel & Tel Aviv check out: 22 Reasons Why I love Israel ) […]

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