What not to say or do in Israel?

Answer 1

Israel is a very westernized and liberal society (in most places) so there are no special rules (for the most part). Just don't do anything you wouldn't do in your own country.

When entering strict, Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, it's best to check with guides regarding Jewish laws.

You can talk about almost anything. There is freedom of speech in Israel. Just don't joke about terrorism.

Answer 2

There are many prohibitive laws in Israel ... i.e. laws that prohibit certain actions.

The list is too long to reproduce here in its entirety. Here are a few selected

actions that are illegal in the country:

-- drive through a red traffic light

-- hold up a grocery store and take its money

-- hold up a person and take his/her money or possessions

-- rob a bank

-- break into a private home and look around and take stuff

-- discard household garbage in the street, outside of approved containers

-- kill, if not in self-defense

-- display a Kashruth certification in a restaurant where the restaurant is not actually

certified, and the certification displayed is false

-- operate commercial taxi, sheroot, and bus service in certain small, well-defined

areas of the larger cities, on Saturday

-- detonate an explosive device in public places, such as bus stations and restaurants,

where it's liable to hurt someone

Answer 3

Israel has no official state religion, and there are no qualifications or restrictions on individual religious practices or the lack of them.

In the public sphere, however, Shabbat (Friday sundown till Saturday at dark) is the official day of rest, with stores, banks, government offices (etc.) closed by law ... a lot like the US, where "separation of church and state" is engraved in the Constitution, but you can't walk into a bank, get a driver's license, or (in many places) buy a bottle of wine on Sunday, regardless of what you believe or practice.

Also, like blue laws in the US, the degree to which a particular location is Shabbat-observant varies (NYC does not enforce blue laws like rural areas will). Tel Aviv is notorious for not being very Shabbat-observant, and you will find many of the leading malls and other shopping areas open on Saturdays. Jerusalem is much more conservative and, accordingly, many more places will be closed.