Ashkelon, 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.
- 17:56
- Candle lighting Friday
- 25°
- Right now
- 18
- Neighbourhoods mapped
- 217
- Checked places
Photo: israeltourism (Israel Ministry of Tourism), via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
This week
This week in Ashkelon
כ״ט בְּתִשְׁרֵי תשפ״ז
Shabbat
Parashat Bereshit
Friday 9 October
- Candle lighting
- 17:56
- Havdalah
- 18:52
- 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
- 10OctGiora Zinger (גיורא זינגר) (opens in a new tab)21:30 · Ashkelon Culture Hall (Heichal HaTarbut)
- 11OctConcert 1: Magical Prague (season opening) (opens in a new tab)20:00 · Ashkelon Culture Hall show list
- 12OctThe Wizard of Oz (family show) (opens in a new tab)17:30 · Ashkelon Culture Hall show list
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 Ashkelon
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.
The place
A city of newcomers on an ancient coast
- Of coastline, with 5 municipal bathing beaches plus the national park beach
- 12 kmOf coastline, with 5 municipal bathing beaches plus the national park beachSource (opens in a new tab)
- Of residents arrived as immigrants since 1990
- 28.7%Of residents arrived as immigrants since 1990Source (opens in a new tab)
- New immigrants absorbed in the 1990s, mainly from the former USSR and Ethiopia
- 50,000+New immigrants absorbed in the 1990s, mainly from the former USSR and EthiopiaSource (opens in a new tab)
Aerial view of Ashkelon's coast: turquoise bays behind stone breakwaters, a long sandy beach under a low cliff, and the city's towers beyond
Photo: Davidi Vardi, PikiWiki Israel, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.5 (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
New in town
Your first weeks in Ashkelon, 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 Ashkelon: offices, numbers and first stepsThe offices, phone numbers and first steps for a new resident of Ashkelon: the 106 hotline, the Ministry of Aliyah branch, Bituach Leumi, Rav-Kav, the beaches and the official emergency site.
- 02Ashkelon neighbourhoods compared: north, centre and southAshkelon's neighbourhoods from Barnea and the new northern areas to Afridar, Migdal and the south: history, who settled where, gans, community centres and municipal contacts.
- 03Schools and gan in Ashkelon: registration for 2027-28How gan and school registration works in Ashkelon, with the expected 2027-28 dates and the 2026-27 process as a reference, plus day care and afternoon programmes.
- 04Health funds and doctors in Ashkelon: Barzilai, urgent care and Russian-speaking doctorsAshkelon's hospital and emergency room, after-hours urgent care, the four health funds' clinics, how many Maccabi doctors list Russian or French, Tipat Halav and vaccinations.
- 05Getting around AshkelonTrains, intercity buses, Rav-Kav, parking with the resident permit and what stops on Shabbat.
- 06Shopping and kosher food in Ashkelon: supermarkets, markets and kashrut levelsHow kashrut works in Ashkelon (Rabbanut Ashkelon regular and mehadrin), which bakeries and butchers are on the council list, the supermarket chains and malls, and the Monday and Thursday market.
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 Ashkelon.
These are not paid listings, and they are separate from the checked directory.
Common questions
About this site
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