Late-night museums, food festival and entertainment across Jerusalem

Jerusalem is again hosting its main cultural, city-wide event during the first three weekends in December, 4-6, 11-13 and 18-20. The event is known as Hamshushalayim – a combination of Hamshush, which is Hebrew slang for the long Israeli weekend which stretches from Thursday to Saturday, and Jerusalem.

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Israel: Hot happenings for Succot

There's plenty to lure you away from the poolside in Israel this month.

It can be tough going to Israel for Succot. Firstly, you have to pull out those summer clothes that you have packed away having hardly worn them this year. It may be mid-October, but in Israel you can be pretty sure of warm days, albeit cooler nights in the succah.

Then, you have to get over any lingering guilt feelings about flying off to the sun while the topics of the day with friends and family are the impending chilly British winter and the credit crunch.

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Nappy days in Israel’s Red Sea paradise

After 10 months of changing nappies and recovering from the shock of parenthood (that it is a darn sight harder than they let on in the movies), my husband and I decided to take the plunge and book our first family holiday abroad.

Since every new parent we knew said we should expect to wait about 20 years before a holiday became as restful as it was pre-baby, we prepared ourselves for the worst - early-morning wake-ups and food and babysitter issues. But I am thrilled to report that our week in Eilat was just the ticket for a couple with a baby in tow.

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Free flights, cruises and walk awaydays

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Top ideas for summer getaways

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New age comes to the Galilee

Meditation, mosaics, art and adventure — they are all on offer in the north, says Anthea Gerrie

Whether it’s the sweet mountain air, the fertile soil or the legend of water being turned into wine by a maverick Jew 2,000 years ago, there is certainly something discernibly magical and mystical about the Galilee.

You only have to stand in the centre of Safed, where the mysticism of the kabbalah was disseminated by rabbis hundreds of years ago to feel it — and you will not be alone.

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Spas, bars and Latin odysseys

El Al, the national carrier of Israel, has been rated one of the top five long-haul airlines operating from the UK in a consumer survey published in Which? More than 200,000 Readers of the magazine responded to a postal survey, placing El Al ahead of any UK carrier. Criteria included quality of cabin staff, cleanliness and value for money.

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Get Carried away by Tel Aviv

If Sex and the City were not filmed in New York, producers could have done worse than to choose Tel Aviv. Like the Big Apple, it never sleeps; its boulevards are lively and culturally diverse enough to keep four career girls out of mischief and there are enough designer stores to keep them in stilettos and handbags from Purim to Chanucah.

OK, with a population of around 1.1 million, it’s just a little smaller than its US counterpart but it has a vitality that justifies its reputation as Israel’s party capital. 

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