Make it home
Moving to Tzfat
Aliyah help, homes and realtors, schools, health funds, jobs and the people who’ll welcome you — everything for settling in the city on the mountain.
Photography: Yitzhak Ponte
Before and after you land
First steps
Plan your aliyah
Nefesh B’Nefesh works with the Jewish Agency and the government to guide olim from North America and the UK from application to landing — flights, paperwork, jobs and settling in.
nbn.org.il →Moving north
Olim who settle in the Galilee can get extra help — Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Go North / Go Beyond programme and higher rent assistance in priority areas. Ask which benefits apply to Tzfat when you open your file.
Rent assistance for olim →Local help for olim
The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration has a local representative for new olim in the Tzfat area, who can help with your rights, arnona, schools and local paperwork. Ask your Nefesh B’Nefesh or Ministry adviser to put you in touch.
Ministry of Aliyah and Integration →Already in Israel?
Moving from another city: update your address with the Population Authority, open your arnona account with the municipality and register the children for school. Your kupat cholim stays the same — all four funds have branches in Tzfat.
Change of address (gov.il) →Where to live
Neighbourhoods of Tzfat
Old City העיר העתיקה
Stone lanes, the old synagogues, quiet nights. Steps and few cars.
Artists’ Quarter קריית האמנים
Galleries and studios on the slope below the Old City.
Canaan כנען
Larger homes and family streets on the hill opposite the Old City.
Ramat Razim רמת רזים
Newer apartments, many young families and shuls.
More neighbourhoods
- Neve Oranim נווה אורנים Realtors · Map ↗
- Menachem Begin מנחם בגין Realtors · Map ↗
- Hadar הדר Realtors · Map ↗
- Ganei Hadar גני הדר Realtors · Map ↗
- South השכונה הדרומית Realtors · Map ↗
- Ofer עופר Realtors · Map ↗
- Shikma – Yafe Nof שקמה – יפה נוף Realtors · Map ↗
- Nof Kinneret נוף כנרת Realtors · Map ↗
- Ramat Mamre רמת ממרא Realtors · Map ↗
- Givat Shoshana גבעת שושנה Realtors · Map ↗
- Kiryat Maor Chaim קריית מאור חיים Realtors · Map ↗
Buy, rent or build
Realtors & property services
Property managementPuzzle Development & PropertiesPuzzle Development & Properties
Property managementEli Bukhris Property ManagementEli Bukhris Property Management Ltd.
MoverBorovs MovingBorovs Moving
MoverBen David MovingBen David Moving
Mortgage advisorGitay Butbul, Adv. – MortgagesGitay Law & Mortgages
Mortgage advisorKesher Financial ConsultingKesher Financial Consulting
Everyday life
Settling in
Gans, schools and yeshivot ketanot
Tzfat has state, state-religious, Chabad and Haredi schools. Registration goes through the municipality’s education department — for kindergarten the main window is usually January to February for the following September. Olim pupils get extra Hebrew hours at school.
Choosing a school (NBN) →Kupot cholim and Ziv hospital
Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet and Leumit all have branches in town. Ziv Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Bar-Ilan University’s medical school, is the regional hospital for the Galilee and the Golan.
Ziv Medical Center →Jobs and working remotely
Many residents work remotely or in education, tourism and health care. Nefesh B’Nefesh’s employment team helps olim with job searches and CVs.
Job help for olim →Banks, post, arnona
Leumi, Hapoalim, Discount and First International have branches in town, and there are post offices in the city centre. Arnona (municipal tax) is billed by the municipality — new olim can ask about the arnona discount.
Ask the Ministry of Aliyah →Buses, trains, roads
Nateev Express runs the intercity buses — line 982 reaches Jerusalem in about three hours. The nearest trains are at Karmiel and Akko, both linked by bus. By car, Haifa is about an hour away and Tel Aviv about two. Timetables: Moovit or *8787.
Moovit →Groceries and everyday shops
Supermarkets, the market and local shops — see Shop.
Shop listings →You won’t be alone
Community & neighbours
Tzfat has a warm, long-standing English-speaking community. Tzfat Chevre is the open Facebook group where residents ask, offer and announce, and the Tzfatline email newsletter carries classifieds and notices several times a week. English speakers revived the Carlebach minyan at the Beirav Synagogue in the Old City.
Good to know
Questions people ask before moving
Do I need to speak Hebrew to live in Tzfat?
Day to day you can manage in English — many shops, shuls and offices have English speakers, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration has a local representative for new olim. For paperwork, school and work, Hebrew helps a lot: the Tzfat ulpan on HaPalmach Street teaches olim, with registration through the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
What does an apartment cost to rent or buy?
Prices vary a lot by neighbourhood: Old City stone houses cost the most, while Canaan, the southern neighbourhoods and the newer areas cost less. 2023 sales data put a 3-room apartment at about 870,000 NIS and a 4-room at about 1.3 million, with 3–4-room rentals around 2,900–3,500 NIS a month; prices have risen since. A local realtor can give you current figures.
Are there benefits for olim who move to the north?
Yes — olim who settle in the Galilee can get extra support: Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Go North / Go Beyond programme, and higher rent assistance from the Ministry of Housing in priority areas, the Negev and the Galilee. Check with Nefesh B’Nefesh and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration which ones apply to Tzfat when you arrive.
Is there an English-speaking community?
Yes, a large and active one: the Tzfat Chevre Facebook group, the Tzfatline newsletter, English-speaking minyanim, classes and programmes, and an English library.
How cold are the winters?
Tzfat sits 850–900+ metres up, so winters are cool and wet: about 10°C by day, close to 5°C at night with frost, and rain from about November to March. Snow falls some winters. Good heating and insulation matter — ask about them when you view a home.
