Can I open a bank account before I have a Teudat Zehut?

Usually yes. NBN says Teudat Oleh holders can normally open an account within 30 days of arrival without a Teudat Zehut. Couples need a joint account, with both spouses present, to receive the sal klita.

Where is the Misrad HaKlita office for Beit Shemesh?

At 9 Herzl St in old Beit Shemesh, by appointment with your personal advisor. Phone 073-397-2450, or the national line *2994 (per NBN).

How do I get the olim arnona discount in Beit Shemesh?

Claim it within two years of aliyah. It is 90% for 12 months on up to 100 sq m. Beit Shemesh only applies it once you have a direct debit set up or have paid the year in full. In-person applications go to the Collection Department at Kanyon Naimi, floor 2, by appointment.

What is the municipal hotline number?

106 (10622 from a mobile) or 02-990-9999, 24 hours a day.

השבוע הראשון שלכם ברמת בית שמש: מה עושים ובאיזה סדר

באנגלית

The first week after landing in Ramat Beit Shemesh is mostly offices and queues. It goes faster if you do things in the right order and know where each office is. Everything below comes from Nefesh B'Nefesh, the municipality and the bus operator, and each point links to where I checked it.

The order NBN recommends

Nefesh B'Nefesh lists the first steps after aliyah in this order: get your biometric Teudat Zehut, open a bank account, visit Misrad HaAliyah VeHaKlita, finalise your kupat cholim, sort out the child allowance and register the children for school (NBN, first steps (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

A few details that save a second trip:

With a Teudat Oleh you can usually open a bank account within 30 days of arrival, even before you have a Teudat Zehut (NBN (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).
A married couple must open a joint account to receive the sal klita, and both spouses have to be there (NBN (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Misrad HaAliyah VeHaKlita (Ministry of Aliyah and Integration)

The branch that serves Beit Shemesh is at 9 Herzl St in old Beit Shemesh. You see your personal advisor by appointment; the branch phone is 073-397-2450 and the national line is *2994 (NBN office list (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה); NBN first steps (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). See the listing.

The city's own absorption department

Beit Shemesh has a municipal Aliyah and Absorption Department. NBN lists three municipal klita coordinators for the city, one of them a project manager for English-speaking olim, and the department takes questions through an online form on the city website (NBN klita coordinators (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה); municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). It also posts olim notices on its Facebook page, facebook.com/betshemeshaliyah (NBN (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). See the listing.

For anything municipal (rubbish, water leaks, street lights), the city's 24/7 hotline is 106 (10622 from a mobile) or 02-990-9999 (municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Claim the arnona discount early

New olim get a 90% discount on arnona for 12 months, on up to 100 sq m, as long as you claim it within two years of aliyah (NBN arnona (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

In Beit Shemesh the discount is only applied once you have a direct debit (horaat keva) or have paid the year in full. In-person applications go to the Collection Department (Agaf HaGviya) at Kanyon Naimi, floor 2, by appointment: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:15-13:00, plus Monday 15:30-17:00. It is closed on Tuesdays (ShemeshPhone, Apr 2026 (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Get a personal Rav-Kav

A personal Rav-Kav gets you the right fares and discounts. Beit Shemesh Express has four service points where you can get one (Nateev Express (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)):

RBS A: Kishon corner Nachal Tzeelim 2
RBS B: Lev HaRama, Nahar HaYarden 1
RBS C (Gimmel): Rimonim centre, Devorah HaNeviah 1
Old Beit Shemesh: Yitzhak Rabin 17

All four are open Sunday to Thursday 08:00-21:00 and Friday 08:00-13:00.

Water, electricity and emergencies

Water in Beit Shemesh is supplied by Mei Shemesh (m-sms.co.il) and electricity by the Israel Electric Corporation (community information page (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Save these numbers on day one (municipality emergency page (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)):

Police 100, MDA 101, Fire 102, Home Front Command 104
Beit Shemesh municipal emergency centre: 02-990-9707
Hatzalah Beit Shemesh: 02-999-9992 (community information page (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה))

Plug into the English-speaking community

Most English-language news, recommendations and giveaways in RBS travel by email list and WhatsApp. Two lists are worth joining in week one: ShemeshList, the citywide English email list (groups.io (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)), and the RBS1 list (groups.io (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). The M3 neighbourhood site keeps a directory of public WhatsApp groups, from city announcements to ride sharing and buy/sell/swap (m3rbs.com (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

שאלות נפוצות