We don't assess how safe any place is. This page gives the practical steps that official sources recommend, so that a student and her parents can be reached and know who to call. Your seminary's own instructions come first.
Numbers to save
- Police: 100
- Ambulance (Magen David Adom): 101
- Fire: 102
- Home Front Command information line: 104. Australia's government travel site says English speakers can choose option 5.
- The seminary's office, dorm counselor and night number
- Your country's embassy or consulate
Alerts
The Home Front Command is the body that gives instructions to the public inside Israel. Its official app sends alerts for the area you choose and works in English. Install it in the first week and set your location. Ask the seminary where the protected room or shelter is and how long you have to reach it.
- Home Front Command app for iPhone (opens in a new tab)
- Home Front Command app for Android (opens in a new tab)
Register with your own government
Registering is free. It lets your embassy send alerts and reach you or your family in an emergency.
- United States: the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) (opens in a new tab)
- Canada: Registration of Canadians Abroad (opens in a new tab)
- United Kingdom: sign up for email updates on the Foreign Office's Israel travel advice (opens in a new tab)
- Australia: Smartraveller's Israel page (opens in a new tab) explains how to register
- South Africa: Registration of South Africans Abroad (opens in a new tab), by email or at an embassy
Read the official travel advice
Each government publishes its own advice for Israel and updates it as things change. Read your own country's page before you decide and again before the flight. Our guide for parents links to them and lists what to ask a school.
Ask the seminary
- Who is on call at night and on Shabbat?
- Where is the protected space, and do students practice getting there?
- How does the school tell parents what is happening?
- What are the rules about where students may travel, and who decides when they change?
- What happens if the school has to close or move for a time?
A printable version of the parent's side of this is in the parent's checklist.
Sources
Read on 2 and 3 October 2026. Open them to check a figure or see whether it has changed.
- US State Department, Israel country information (emergency numbers, embassy) (opens in a new tab)
- UK Foreign Office, Israel: getting help (opens in a new tab)
- Magen David Adom, dial 101 (opens in a new tab)
- Australian Government Smartraveller, Israel (opens in a new tab)
- US State Department, STEP (opens in a new tab)
- Government of Canada, Registration of Canadians Abroad (opens in a new tab)
- South African Government, Registration of South Africans Abroad (opens in a new tab)
