Your first week in Ra'anana: what to do, in what order

Ra'anana is one of the easiest places in Israel to land as an English or French speaker, but the first week is still mostly offices and forms. Here is the order I would do things in, with the local addresses. Every point links to where I checked it.

A city used to newcomers

Nefesh B'Nefesh describes Ra'anana as a city of about 80,000 people with a large English-speaking population and thousands of NBN olim (NBN (opens in a new tab)). About 22% of residents are immigrants, and the city ranks second in Israel for absorbing immigrants, after Netanya (Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)). Big groups come from English-speaking countries, Latin America and the former USSR, and more and more from France.

The order NBN recommends

NBN lists the first steps after aliyah in this order: Teudat Zehut, bank account, Misrad HaAliyah, finalising your kupat cholim, the child allowance and school registration (NBN, first steps (opens in a new tab)). In Ra'anana, school registration needs a signed lease of at least a year, so get the flat sorted early (see the schools guide).

The city's own Aliyah Absorption Unit

The municipal Aliyah Absorption Unit is at 56 Ahuza St, tel. 09-7610766 (municipal places map (opens in a new tab)). See the listing. NBN's list of municipal klita coordinators includes an Anglo olim coordinator for Ra'anana (NBN (opens in a new tab)).

The city's olim services include cultural programmes in schools, emotional support for teenage olim, exhibitions of olim artists, lectures and trips, sports programmes and a programme for new olot (NBN (opens in a new tab)). The city also has English booklets, "Raanana's Aliyah Guide" and "Useful Information for Olim Chadashim", linked from its olim pages. When I checked, many of the new olim subpages were still placeholders, so phone the unit if a page looks empty (municipality (opens in a new tab)).

Join the official WhatsApp communities

This is the single most useful thing to do on day one. The city runs official WhatsApp communities for English speakers, French speakers and Spanish speakers, plus a group for each neighbourhood (English speakers community (opens in a new tab); all communities (opens in a new tab)). See the English and French listings.

Claim the arnona discount

New olim get a 90% arnona discount for 12 months, on up to 100 sq m, if they claim it within two years of aliyah. This is a national rule (NBN arnona (opens in a new tab)).

In Ra'anana you need (municipality, arnona discounts (opens in a new tab)):

• your Teudat Zehut with your current address, and its sefach;
• the flat registered in the city in your name (or your spouse's);
• if you moved from another Israeli city, a certificate from that city that your discount there has ended, or that you never had one.

The arnona counter is at the Resident Service Center, 2 Klausner St, 2nd floor: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 08:00-12:00, and Tuesday 15:00-17:00. Phone *2076 (municipality (opens in a new tab)). See the listing.

Save these numbers

• 107 is the city's 24/7 hotline for anything municipal: dial *9107 from any phone, or use its WhatsApp line (municipality (opens in a new tab)). Listing.
• Police 100, MDA 101, Fire 102, Home Front Command 104. Ra'anana police: 09-7793612. Meir Hospital, Kfar Saba: 09-7472321. Yad Sarah Ra'anana (equipment loans): 09-7706600 (municipality, essential numbers (opens in a new tab)).
• The city publishes its list of public shelters in English (municipality (opens in a new tab)). Listing.

Free help with forms and work

• SHIL, the citizens' advice service, helps free of charge with rights and bureaucracy at 14 Ostrovsky St, 09-7430682 (municipal places map (opens in a new tab)). Listing.
• The municipal employment centre has a career counsellor for new olim (09-7798990) and points olim to the Ministry of Aliyah employment centres, Gvanim and Telfed (municipality (opens in a new tab)).

Furnish the flat for less

ESRA runs a secondhand English bookshop at 124 Ahuza and the Picki charity shop at 29 HaNegev (ESRA (opens in a new tab)). See the bookshop and Picki.