Your first week in Zichron Yaakov: what to do, in what order

Zichron is a small town of about 25,000 people, and most of what you need in your first week is within a few minutes of the council building on HaNadiv St. I put the steps below in the order that saves the most trips. My newcomer checklist tracks them on your phone.

Start at the council (Town Hall)

The council offices are at 11A HaNadiv St, next to Gan Tiyul park. The switchboard is 04-6297100, and public reception is Sun, Mon, Wed and Thu 08:00-13:00. The offices are closed on Friday and Shabbat (council (opens in a new tab); reception hours (opens in a new tab)).

The council has a real English section for newcomers, with pages on olim help, schools, transport, seniors, Jewish study in English and English-language groups (council English pages (opens in a new tab)). It is worth reading once, start to finish.

Meet the olim team

The council's olim team sits in Social Services. They help with the bank account, Bituach Leumi, the arnona discount, bills and standing orders, school and gan registration and contact with schools, and they also advise people who are still planning aliyah (council olim page (opens in a new tab)). Social Services is on 04-6297137 and the council says help is available in English (council (opens in a new tab)). The contacts for the olim project are on the council's olim page (opens in a new tab).

Meetings with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration's regional counsellor are booked through myVisit (website or app), and the Ministry's online personal area covers a lot of the rest (council (opens in a new tab)).

You will not be the only new face: the council says about 10% of residents are families who made aliyah in the last 15 years, mostly from North America, South Africa, England, Australia and France (council (opens in a new tab)).

Hebrew: the main ulpan is in Hadera

This surprises people. Per the council's olim page, the free Ministry intensive ulpan for Zichron residents is in Hadera: Level Aleph, 500 hours over 5 months, mornings 08:00-12:30 or evenings 17:30-21:00 three days a week, and you need a referral from the Ministry (council (opens in a new tab)). Closer to home:

• Ulpan Ve'Ahavta at the HaShmura centre: small groups, all levels, for a fee.
• A free Hebrew reading and speaking group at the Zamarin community centre.
• Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael runs a 5-month intensive ulpan for young adults.

The Ministry of Education also lists an olim ulpan with a Zichron Yaakov address (data.gov.il (opens in a new tab)), but the council sends olim to Hadera, so ask the olim team which one applies to you. They are all in the directory.

Save these numbers

• 106 (also 04-6297106): the council call centre, staffed 24/7 by council employees, for hazards, street lights, sanitation and anything else. From a mobile or non-Bezeq line you can also dial 04-6391126 (council (opens in a new tab)).
• 101 MDA, 100 police (Zichron police 04-6299444), 102 fire, 103 Israel Electric.
• 1201 ERAN emotional first aid; 1-800-363-363 NATAL.
• Hillel Yaffe hospital in Hadera: 04-6304304. Snakes in a public space: call 106 (council emergency page (opens in a new tab)).

The council also publishes a list of public defibrillators and emergency instructions (council (opens in a new tab)).

Find your people

• The "ZY English Community" WhatsApp groups: Emergencies, Zichron Events, New Olim with K-12 Children, New Olim 55+, Local Volunteer Opportunities and KEF Club. Joining is through the contact on the council's groups page (opens in a new tab).
• The Five Towns Israel email group on groups.io, where residents swap recommendations.
• The KEF Club for English speakers aged 55+ meets mostly on Monday mornings at 4 HaNadiv St, and membership is free (council (opens in a new tab)).
• The public library at 4 HaDagan St has English and French books, and membership is free for residents (council (opens in a new tab)). ESRA's Second Story Bookshop sells used English books on Tuesday and Friday mornings in the HaShmura centre.

Most events at the Zamarin community centre are in Hebrew, but the Planet cinema at Mall Zichron shows many films in English or with English subtitles (council (opens in a new tab)). The rest is on What's on and in the directory.