Telephone : Isreal

Telephone Public telephones are everywhere. Older telephones devour asimo-nim (tokens) for local calls (NIS0.50; avoid calling long distance direct from an old pay phone-making a connection may take hours and handfuls of asimonim). Beige-colored public telephones (marked with yellow signs) operate by Telecards (10 units of calling time NIS5, 20 units NIS10, 50 units NIS23.50). Telecards are good for local, long distance, and international calls. (A call to the U.S. costs rouglily NIS5.90 per min.) International rates drop by up to 50% late at night and on Saturday and Sunday.

Bezek, Israel’s phone company, has offices with metered phones for international calls in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It may be more economical to call overseas from there, because they charge only for the time you were on the phone; phone cards must be purchased with a fixed set of units and you may be left with extra units at the end the call. Nonetheless, there’s nothing you can do at a telephone office that you can’t do from a pay phone. English telephone directories are available at hotels and the main post offices, or dial 144 for local directory assistance.