Questions and Answers about Israel
This page is designed for people interested in finding out about Israel. I’ll post some basic observations I’ve made on my visit so far, and this may cause further questions to come to mind. I’m not an expert, but if there is a question that I don’t know the answer to, I can ask a “real Israeli” while I’m still in the country.
In order to ask a question, fill out the information below (like your name & e-mail), write the question in the comment box, and click “submit comment”.
Hope to hear from you soon!
The Food
One of the most frequently asked questions I get when I travel is: “what’s the food like?” The problem is that food is one of my weakest areas of knowledge. I don’t know ingredients and am not particularly picky about what I eat - I’ll try anything once. So, with that in mind, here are a few observations.
I can honestly say that there is a pretty diverse selection. Like the United States, people have the choice of Italian, Chinese, and other types of food in addition to traditional Middle Eastern and Jewish dishes. Like “American” restaurants, many restaurants in Israel borrow dishes from many different cultures and blend them into something that is their own.
The biggest notable difference in food choices is in the fast food category. Two popular options available here that aren’t available at home are shwarma and falafel.
Shwarma
Shwarma can best be described (by me at least) as meat on a stick. The meat, which I believe is a combination of two or more types of meat including lamb, beef, and/or chicken. Like I said, I usually don’t care what the ingredients are, I just judge by the taste; and as far as I’m concerned, shwarma is REALLY tasty. The closest thing I can relate it to is a Greek gyro, but it’s just not the same. Having the meat roast on the spit for a while locks in the taste, and there’s no imitating it in the U.S.
Shwarma in Jerusalem
Once the meat is literally shaved off the spit with special clippers or a large knife, it’s put into a pita or sub roll and the customer has a choice of toppings including lettuce, tomatoes, something that looks like coleslaw, and a bunch of other choices, including various sauces.
Falafel
Falafel is also a popular fast food item. A vegetarian alternative, falafel is ground up chick peas (at least that’s what I’ve been told). The ingredients are formed into a little ball and then fried. Once they are put into a pita, the customer has a whole choice of toppings to put in it, including lettuce, tomatoes, pickels, hummus, sauces, and a whole number of things that I don’t know the name for and can’t describe very well.
The falafel are the brown parts near the “top” of the sandwich, away from our viewpoint.
From what my sister tells me, hummus and falafel are made of the same thing. All I can tell you, though, is that it sure tastes better fried. I don’t like hummus, because of its creamy consistency, but when those ground up chick peas are put into oil to fry, they do taste good.
Another difference in the food, are the sweets available. One of the most popular sweets is an Eastern Mediterranean specialty called baklava. The kind I had contained pistachios or pecans in the middle and then were surrounded by a honey based, string-looking pastry or a light and fluffy one. (I warned you I wasn’t good at describing food!! Heck, I can barely tell the difference between a cucumber and a zucchini!) So here, just look at the pictures:
Here’s the whole plate Here’s the inside after a bite 
They also eat special Purim treats called Ozney Haman (Haman’s ears) that are filled with dates, dates + banana, or nuts and orange (at least in the place I had them). Here’s a picture:
If you have questions about things other than food (like the religion (most people are Jewish or Christian), geography, how safe it is, or anything else), check back soon or write me a question in the comment area below. I hope our dip into the culinary delights of Israel was as stimulating for you as it was difficult for me to write about! 
The India presentation was very interesting and i learned a lot information that was very different from things here in America. I cant wait for the Isreal presentation and see if things resemble India or America.
oh ! I forgot ! I’m really hungry right now with not having any breakfast because rushing to my bus does not give me a lot of time to eat. So i wanted to know what kind of food they have there.
My Reply
The food can be described as “western”, “Mediterranean”, or “Middle Eastern” depending on what you’re eating. There are Italian, Chinese, and American style restaurants as well. See my entry above under “Food” for some pictures and descriptions.
Hello Mr. Roberg,
I am enjoying your blog and the wonderful pictures. The colors there seem so vibrant and beautiful. I like Flat Kat’s page and loved seeing him in the sand and seeing his footprints.
I can’t seem to find an itinerary of your Israel trip. Is there a place for this on your blog? Will you be near Jerusalem during holy week and Easter? Do you see or sense that this is a holy time for Christians in this country right now? If so, what are you witnessing? Do you plan to visit holy places during this time? Thanks and stay safe and keep Mr. Adventure (aka Flat Kat) in line if you can.
~ Heidi
My Reply
I have been very fortunate to have terrific weather, and we are at the end of the rainy season, so the colors have been especially vibrant. This time of year is definitely a great time to come, though I had to turn on the air conditioner in my rental car the other day because it was so hot in the sun. Sorry to rub it in, but it was true!
The itinerary can be found here. I’m actually two days ahead of schedule: I’m now sitting in a coffee shop in Jerusalem, using their free wireless and enjoying a latte. Today I visited the Dome of the Rock, Wailing Wall, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre - three of the holiest spots in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (I’ll be blogging about them in a few days)
As for the Easter week, it is busier in Jerusalem than usual, from what I know. The cost of my hotel is noticeably higher as a result too. I’ll blog about my experiences with Easter in Jerusalem in a few days when it arrives.
Thanks for checking in and keep asking great questions!
Thank you for your interesting presentation even though we couldn’t here you. Are sports big over there? Do they have Sports Center on TV? Do they have TV with limited channels?
My Reply
Actually, I just watched ESPN’s Sports Center last night, and I’ve watched a few of the first and second round NCAA college basketball games in my hotel room over the past few days. So, it would seem that there is not a lack of sports coverage or channels covering sports.
As for what sports are “big”, I can’t be %100 sure. I haven’t seen as many sports advertisements, and people don’t seem obsessed with any particular sport. On the other hand, it may just be my limited experiences. From what I’ve seen, I’d have to say that soccer (aka football to the rest of the world, including Israel) and basketball are the most common. I’ve seen soccer fields and basketball courts everywhere I’ve been.
Are the clothes much different there than here?
My Reply
For the most part, the clothes are the same. Both women and men wear the equivalent of what we do in America.
The only exceptions are the religious Jews. They often wear black suits with white shirts and wide rim black hats. Or the Russian Jews wear white robes, boots, and big furry hats. (Sorry I can’t describe it well, I’ll try to post some pictures.)
What’s up Mr. Roberg? Watch out for those flies around your head we saw today and be careful of wild boar. Where do you stay at nights?
My Reply
Waz up guys…
I’ve been staying in hotels that are pretty similar to the hotels at home, and just as expensive unfortunately. No real exciting differences, unlike my accommodations in India.
Thats pretty cool that there are golf courses in Israel, maybe you can practice a little and get better than me =). But I was wondering, do they have any other sports in Israel? Any pro sports teams?
My Reply
Don’t know the answer to this one, but will try to find out.
What are the most noticeable differences between Israel and America?
My Reply
The biggest differences lie in the religious tension between the Jews and the Muslims. Although Israel is a very diverse and (relatively) tolerant country, there is genuine distrust between the people of these two faiths due to recent history that needs to be resolved.
it was really cool to see you in Mrs.Radez’s class today. hope your having fun.
Are there McDonalds there? And what do they call the restaurants that have “American” food? I like the view where you can see the city and the sea, very beautiful.
My Reply
There are McDonalds, but I haven’t ventured into one yet. I try to avoid American restaurants while I’m overseas so I can get a feel for the “real” culture. The only American restaurants I’ve seen here are the fast food chains like McDonalds, Burger King, and Sbarros and other chains. Otherwise, there is a lot of diversity in the food available here: I can have pizza, Chinese, burgers, pasta, or almost anything else.
Hey Mr. Roberg, I hope you’re having a lot of fun! Bring back the nice weather!! Do they have a Dunkin’ Donuts there? Are the laws strict there like they are here? Would you consider Israel to be a very “clean” place?
My Reply
1. No Dunkin’ Donuts here… yet.
2. I would say that the laws seem to be around the same level of “strictness”
3. I do see Israel as a very clean place. They have street cleaners go around every day (at least in Jerusalem) and have garbage cans commonly available. People seem to take pride in their cleanliness here.
Hey, Mr Roberg… just stopping by to say hey and to tell you that i went golfing yesterday for the first time this year… it was lil cold but all in all i played well… ohh and Bogardus wants to go out and play when he comes home on break… c ya
Mr. Roberg,
How is Israel? Hope you don’t get sun burnt to badly.
KS : Hey bring us back different Israeli recipes for us to try
AC: Have you faced any discrimination because your American? Are you able to communicate well? Have you had any trouble with miscommunication? Where are you staying and have you picked up any cool looking souvenirs?
My Reply
I’ll do my best on the recipes, but I can’t promise anything. I’ll try to bring back some sweets for you to try.
The discrimination question is a GREAT one! The answer: no, I haven’t felt any discrimination. For the most part, I blend in here. At least once a day I’ll have someone speak to me in Hebrew and I’ll have to apologize for not understanding. Sometimes they switch to English, and sometimes they just move on because I probably won’t know the answer anyway. I haven’t had any major problems with miscommunication, regardless of whether I’ve interacted with Arab or Jew.
I do have a couple souvenirs. You’ll have to come to my presentation to see them!
It must be nice to see all the different cultures. What is the most interesting/different thing you have seen? Is it hard to communicate with the people there?
My Reply
The most interesting thing has been seeing the diversity of the world. Every once in a while, I’ll just stop and look at something because I’ve never seen something like it. It’s really neat.
For example, I saw a coloring book yesterday with Barbie in a headscarf. It was really strange at first, but it totally made sense once I thought about it.
As I said a thousand times in class, Jessica, the only way to truly appreciate another culture is to visit it. I LOVE to travel and meet people from all over the world. People are fascinating everywhere. Make sure you travel overseas as soon as you get a chance!!
Just saw on the news this morning that another Al Quaida threat has been issued specifically at Israel. What are you hearing on your end? What do Israelis think of President Bush and our handling of the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel? It seemed like you felt very safe and welcome, which is wonderful. I’m wondering if you have engaged in any political discussions or if that’s not kosher-ooh, bad pun.
My Reply
I’ve read the same news report, but it doesn’t seem to have changed anything here. I’ll have to ask some Israelis, but my guess is that there are so many threats against Israel (just last summer the President of Iran said he wanted to “wipe Israel off of the map”) that most people are aware but take it in stride.
As for political discussions, I have not met any Israelis long enough to bring up the topic of politics, which is a real failure on my part. I know that Israelis in general are very aware of U.S. policies and generally favor aggressive tactics with anything perceived as a terror threat or a threat to security. I’ll try to broach the topic a bit more often in my last week here.
My family just had a very fun and insane Purim-my daughter and I were in a crazy play and everyone wore funny costumes and told all kinds of ridiculous jokes. It was a blast! Here’s my question-In the U.S., Jewish people eat Hamantaschen on Purim (three cornered pastries filled with poppyseeds or preserves or in our house-chocolate chips) What do people eat in Israel for Purim?
FYI-In the US, Jews eat latkes-(potato pancakes) during Chanukah, but in Israel they eat Sufganiot-(powdered doughnuts), so I thought they might eat something different in Israel for Purim
P.S. Heather M. just came by and says hi and that she thinks you should come back soon!
My Reply
As promised, I did some research when I was asked a question I didn’t know the answer to! I went to a local coffee shop chain, kind of like Starbucks, and asked about the special Purim treats. Here they were called Ozney Haman (literally translated as Haman’s ears because of their shape), and they were filled with either dates, dates and banana, or nuts and orange. Overall, they sound the same except for the fillings. I put a picture of the treats I tried above so everyone else can see what they look like.
Thanks for such an interesting comment and question Mrs. Brook. I learned something trying to answer it!!
Dear Flat Kat,
Is Mr. Roberg driving you crazy in the shed? Do you get the bed?
Sincerely,
Devin Meier
Flat Kat’s Reply
As for the shed, we only had a chance to sleep there one night, which was a shame because it was pretty fun to sleep on the roof.
Ever since India, I realized that Mr. Roberg doesn’t take up too much room when I let him have the foot of the bed, and he complains a lot less too!
It has been a bit harder to find a cheap place to stay here in Israel compared to India. The cheapest room we’ve been able to find has been about $40, but we’ve had to pay over $70 for a room more often than not! Compare that with $10 per room in India, and it’s a lot of money over 3 weeks. In fact, we’ve decided to sleep in a dorm room with 10 other people for $10 per night over the past two nights to save some money (Ms. Roberg will be proud of us for that one!).
Well, thanks for checking in. I’ll see you soon, Devin.
Dear Mr. Roberg,
Do you miss us? When are you coming back to the USA? Please come back Flat Kat and Mr. Roberg.
My Reply
Sure Flat Kat and I miss you guys. We will be flying back to the U.S. on Tuesday, April 1st and we can’t wait to see you at the next presentation, which will probably be after April break.
Thanks for the nice message. See you soon.
Flat Kat and Mr. Roberg
HI. I LOVE WHERE YOU ARE, IT IS SO COOL!
I see the food and it looks pretty good, except I wonder: how do they come up with this kind of food?
My Reply
Many times, the types of food people eat has a lot to do with the geography of their area. For example, because we have a good area to grow apples and corn, people in New York make a lot of foods with those two ingredients. Here in Israel, though, olives grow better, so many of the foods that they make here have olives. For example, I had a piece of pizza the other day with olives on it! In Japan, the geography is best for growing rice, so the Japanese have a lot of foods that include rice.
The other part, I think, just comes from the creativity of the cook. My wife, for example, is pretty creative and tries out her creations on me.
Question about Environmental policy/ideas:
Here, there seems to be a growing trend (hopefully a FAST-growing one!) toward “green” housing, fuel, etc. Have you been able to get a feel for Israel’s environmental attitude? Do you see recycling options, fuel-efficient things, etc? I’d be curious to know what the trend there seems to be.
My Reply
I haven’t seen any evidence of particularly strong environmentalism here, but I don’t know if I would see any of it in New York City either. I’ll have to ask around to find out, and then I’ll try to report back here.
Thanks for a great idea / question!