During the eight days of Passover observant Jews refrain from eating bread and pastries and products made with regular flour and leavening agents may be hard to come by in Israel’s Jewish areas. Shavuot (May 16) celebrates the giving of the Torah. The fast day of Tisha B’Av (July 17) commemorates the destruction of the Temples. Two secular memorial days are Yom haSho’ah (Holocaust Day, April 7) and Yom haZikaron (Memorial Day, April 13), the latter commemorating Israeli soldiers who died in war the day before Yom na’Atzma’ut (Independence Day, April 14). In both Yom haZikaron and Yom naShoa, sirens go off nation-wide, marking moments of silence; be respectful.

The most notable holiday observed in predominantly Arab areas is Ramadan (begins approx. February 11 in 1993), a month when the devout fast from dawn to dusk. The end of Ramadan is celebrated as Eid al-Fitr (approx. March 13). Beginning May 17 is the four-day Eid al-Adha, the commemoration of Abraham’s can-cdled sacrifice of his son Ishmael. Muhammad’s birthday (Mawlid an-Nabi), August 30 in 1993, is another occasion for festive celebration. In the Christian quarters of j Israeli cities, major holidays such as the New Year, Easter, and Christmas are celebrated on different days, according to either the Gregorian calendar (observed by Protestants and Catholics) or the Julian calendar (followed by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches).