באנגלית
Most shopping in Givat Shmuel happens in a handful of centres, and almost everything that serves food is on the religious council's kosher list. Here is the lay of the land.
The shopping centres
- Kanyon HaGiva, the main mall, on Yoni Netanyahu St (about 72 shops per Hebrew Wikipedia). A directory gives Sun-Thu 07:30-19:30 and Fri 09:00-13:00; check with the mall.
- Rogovin centre, 38 Menachem Begin Blvd in Ramat Hadar: four floors of shops, health services, restaurants and a bank. Sun-Thu 09:00-20:00, Fri 09:00-14:30, closed on Shabbat.
- Smaller centres: the Ramat Ilan centre (Oranim St), Ami Boutique Center, the Home Place complex, 1 HaOranim St, 1 HaArava St and 96 HaZeitim St. A new Kanyon Givat Shmuel is under construction at HaNasi and Uzi Hitman.
Supermarkets
On the council's kosher list: Carrefour and Alma Market (1 HaOranim St), Super Bareket (96 HaZeitim St) and Super Haviv (5 Rafael Eitan). Directories also list a Shufersal Sheli at 18 Ben Gurion St and a Shufersal at 29 Yoni Netanyahu St, which I could not confirm on Shufersal's own site. Yochananof said in 2024 that it planned a Givat Shmuel branch during 2026.
For students: JLIC's welcome packet names Market Express, a 24/6 makolet at 514 Jabotinsky St at the bottom of the Park 100 dorms. That packet is from 2024-25, so check it is still there.
Reading the kosher list
The religious council publishes a list of about 65 businesses under its supervision. For each one it gives the type (meat, dairy or parve) and whether it is "kashrut regila" (regular) or "kashrut mehadrin". It also adds caveats you should read:
- some meat is lo chalak (not glatt);
- some baked goods contain non-Jewish milk powder (avkat chalav nochri);
- some produce sections have no insect supervision;
- several mehadrin dairy places serve cheese with fish only for those whose custom permits it.
The list is undated, so check the certificate on the wall. Each listing in the directory repeats the council's note.
Eating out
Mehadrin places on the list include Burgeranch, Matbal and Cafe Cafe (Kanyon HaGiva), Landwer, Burgerim and Madamas (Rogovin), Japan Japan, Pizza Hut and Cafe Greg (Ami Boutique), and Pizza Time and Pizza Sopranos (Ben Gurion St). Cafe Cafe reopens 1.5 hours after Shabbat and stays open until midnight. Browse them in the restaurants and food shops sections.
Shabbat food
The council lists several delis and caterers, including Zelda on HaNasi St (JLIC says it sells cholent and Shabbat food), Leibale's Deli (96 HaZeitim St), Savri Maranan (1 HaArava St) and Mat'amei HaAretz (1 Jabotinsky St).
Post office
The active Israel Post branch is inside the Shefa Stock store in the Rogovin centre (branch 501, appointment needed). The older Bialik St and Kanyon HaGiva units are listed as closed. This comes from an unofficial directory, because Israel Post's own site blocked my check.
If a place has closed or changed its hechsher, please tell me with the email button on the About page.
שאלות נפוצות
באנגלית
