Israel 201: Your Next-Level Guide to the Magic, Mystery, and Chaos of Life in the Holy Land

This book is a must read for anyone looking for an insider’s view of living in Israel and intricacies into the whys of Israeli life. Incredibly well written and the writers create a connection with you that makes the book hard to put down. Highly recommend!!!

What I thought would be a comical look at life as an oleh turned out to be much more useful. While indeed humorous at times, the book gave me insights into life in Israel, even after living here for 9 years - insights that will hopefully help me to better adjust and integrate...and be at peace with a very different life.Highly recommended to those considering making aliya (we're waiting for you!) and even to olim vatikim.

Israel 201 is equal parts insight and hilarity. Joel and Benji boil down Israeli culture and personality within its unique historical context. This book left me better informed and somewhat in awe of Israel and its people.-Bonnie

Wow - I loved this book. They truly accomplished an important contribution to the material out there about Israel and Israelis. It's well written, humorous, easy to read, well researched, and extremely informative. Going into it, I assumed I would already be familiar with most of the content after living here the past 14 years. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn SO much. There were so many great chapters, such as the opening chapter on the Israeli psyche. They really did a deep dive into why Israelis are obsessed with not being freiers (among other things) which was fascinating. It put living with Israelis in perspective, in a way that was both interesting and unexpectedly cathartic. I also appreciated the chapters about the IDF (a lot of that content was new to me) and the concluding interview with the futurist. I appreciated that they ended the book with a sense of hope (lord knows we need it these days). All in all, a gem of a book - I highly recommend it!!

I could not put “Israel 201”down even though I was on overload for weeks now regarding the fight to preserve Israeli democracy. Maybe it served as a healthy antidote to the current calamity.Having scanned the other reviews written to date, I could just say “ditto” to every one of them! So I’ll just add two things: I laughed out loud during the section about the Hebrew language mistakes new olim (immigrants) make, and could directly relate to the one that confused “sherut” or taxi with “sherutim” or bathroom. I have quite a funny story about that mix up! I loved the last section asking olim to share the point at which they felt truly Israeli. As someone who seriously contemplated Aliya (immigration to Israel) in my 20s, this book really resonated. I was sad when I reached the end, and hope these two gifted comedian-authors will consider an “Israel 201A.”

A well written and quick flowing look at an unusual country. I have been to Israel many times - some things in the book I knew, some I knew but didn't understand, and, to my surprise, many things I didn't know. This would be a good gift for someone who has been there, someone who is going, or someone that wants to learn about an ancient, yet very modern, culture. Highly recommended.

As a fan of both Benji Lovitt and Joel Chasnoff I knew this would be a fun read. But it was also informative and truthful about Israeli society, the good and bad, ...as in every society. I have been fortunate to have visited Israel 5 times and hopefully will return again so there were times while reading when I would nod my head and think "yep, that's exactly right" and other times I would sit up and think "wait a minute...what is this?". This is a must read for people wanting to learn more about the country and see things as they really are, not just what a tourist might see. I am married to someone who at one time was an "oleh hadash" or new immigrant to Israel [he has since moved back to the States] and I cannot wait for him to read this book for his thoughts. Good job Gentlemen! Yasher Koach!

This is an excellent, entertaining, and informative book. For diaspora tourists, Zionists, and lovers of Israel step away from the tour guide, walk outside your hotel, and read about the challenges and opportunities of living in Israel. Don’t expect a broad political discourse - though the footnotes will lead you to some good resources. Instead, appreciate reading about the reality of a country more than 2000 years in the making and a nation that is just getting started.