Before you start

An unlocked handset; eSIM is supported by all major carriers
A Teudat Zehut for any monthly plan or home-internet contract
An Israeli bank account or local card for the hora'at keva direct debit
A confirmed address for the installation appointment — and, in the old city, a confirmed way for a technician to reach it

Step-by-step

1
Bridge on prepaid or eSIM on arrival
A travel eSIM or prepaid SIM gets you a working number immediately for bank one-time codes and ride-hailing, with no ID required.
OnlineWho: YouMinutes
2
Switch to a resident monthly plan once your ID lands
The cheap operators sell unlimited domestic calls and texts with a large data bundle for well under ₪50 a month. Sign up online or in a store with your Teudat Zehut and set up the direct debit.
OnlineWho: You≈₪27–50 a month
3
Port your number rather than cancelling
Let the incoming carrier trigger the transfer. Cancelling the old line yourself forfeits the number permanently. Porting is free and usually completes within minutes.
OnlineWho: The new carrier, on your instruction
4
Check what actually reaches your building
Before ordering home internet, establish whether the building has Bezeq's fixed line, HOT's cable or fibre. Nazareth's stock ranges from new blocks to century-old stone houses, and availability differs street by street in the old city.
OnlineWho: You
5
Test mobile signal inside the flat, not on the street
Half-metre stone walls and the old city's narrow ravine-like lanes create real indoor coverage shadows. A carrier with a perfect map can be unusable in a ground-floor room in the souq. Run a speed test during the viewing.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Teudat Zehut for a monthly plan or home internet
Israeli bank account or local card for the direct debit
Passport, which is enough for prepaid and eSIM
Your Nazareth address for installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

Old stone is the reason your signal is bad, and no coverage map will tell you.

The souq's buildings are 19th-century and earlier, with very thick stone walls, set in lanes narrow enough to block line of sight. Published coverage maps model open terrain and show Nazareth as well served, which it is — outdoors. Inside a ground-floor room off a lane, the same carrier can be unusable. Two minutes of testing at the viewing settles it.

Source: community-reported, corroborated across Old City tenancies

The blocker on a cheap plan is documentary, not financial.

Carriers require a Teudat Zehut and an Israeli account or card for the direct debit. New arrivals expect to walk into a store and sign up, get pushed onto prepaid at several times the price, and stay there for months. Plan explicitly to bridge on eSIM and switch the week your ID and bank account exist.

Source: Israeli carrier sign-up requirements

Never cancel the old line yourself when switching carriers.

Israeli number portability is free and near-instant, but only when the incoming carrier runs the transfer. Disconnect first and the number is gone permanently. It catches people who assume they should close the old contract before opening the new one.

Source: Israeli number portability rules

Home internet is two products behind one price.

You buy an infrastructure layer — Bezeq, HOT or fibre — and separately an ISP, even when bundled. Nazareth's housing stock spans new ring-road blocks and pre-modern stone houses, and what is available differs sharply between them. Confirm availability at the exact address before signing, or the installation is simply cancelled.

Source: Israeli ISP market structure

Common mistakes to avoid

Expecting a cheap monthly plan on arrival without a Teudat Zehut and an Israeli account.
Cancelling your existing SIM before porting and losing the number.
Judging mobile coverage from a street-level test rather than from inside a stone-walled flat.
Ordering from an ISP whose infrastructure your building does not support.
Signing up on an introductory price without reading the post-promotion rate.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.