Your first week in Ashdod: what to do, in what order

Ashdod calls itself the largest immigration city in Israel, and it shows. The municipality says about 38% of residents are new immigrants, about 88% of them from the former USSR, with most of the rest from Ethiopia and other countries (Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). Its French page says close to a third of residents arrived in the big aliyah waves (Ashdod Municipality, French page (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). You will not be the first person to walk into these offices with a folder of documents.

Here is the order I would do things in during your first week. You can tick them off as you go with the olim checklist.

Know where the offices are

Most first-week errands are in two buildings, which saves a lot of bus rides:

• Zimmer Centre, 1-7 Menachem Begin Blvd (City quarter): the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Population Authority, the Tax Authority information centre, the Licensing Office and the Rabbinical Court.
• 4 HaKlita St (Resident Service Centre): the municipality's absorption, arnona and school registration departments.

(Sources: gov.il (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה) and the Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה).)

Days 1-2: Ministry of Aliyah and Population Authority

The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration office is at 1 Menachem Begin Blvd, Zimmer Building. It issues the Teudat Oleh, explains your first steps, refers you to ulpan and employment centres, takes your bank details and handles grants for lone soldiers. It also serves nearby towns such as Gan Yavne, Bnei Ayish, Hatzor-Ashdod and Kfar Aviv (gov.il (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Don't just turn up. Visits have to be arranged by phone with your personal advisor first, on 03-9733333 or *2994. Reception is Sunday to Thursday mornings (not Tuesday), plus Monday and Wednesday afternoons 15:00-18:00 (gov.il (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

In the same building, the Population Authority office handles teudat zehut, passports, changes to the population register, visas and status. Its hotline is *3450, and you must show ID to be served (gov.il (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Choose a health fund

All the health funds (kupot holim) are represented in Ashdod, according to Nefesh B'Nefesh (Nefesh B'Nefesh (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). I compare them, with addresses and after-hours options, in Health funds and doctors in Ashdod.

If you want to switch later, Bituach Leumi lists "transfer between health funds" among its online services. Its Ashdod branch is at 4 Tzahal St (*6050) and sees the public on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday 08:30-13:00, by appointment only (Bituach Leumi (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Day 3: the municipality, arnona and the 106 hotline

The municipality's Aliyah & Absorption Department is at the Resident Service Centre, 4 HaKlita St. It is open Sunday-Wednesday 08:00-16:30 and Thursday 08:00-16:00, phone 08-8519134 (Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). It has dedicated staff for olim from the former USSR, France and Ethiopia, plus coordinators for senior olim, culture and heritage, and education. See the French olim desk, the FSU olim projects and the Ethiopian olim project.

The city's 2026 "Aliyah to Ashdod" flyer says the department also offers English-language guidance, ulpan programmes, employment matchmaking, arnona discounts and help with school registration (Aliyah to Ashdod flyer (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). English speakers have their own olim contact.

Arnona (municipal property tax): that flyer is the only source I found that mentions an olim discount, and it only says the department helps with it. Discounts are applied for through the collections department's digital portal (digital.ashdod.muni.il, under "הנחות בארנונה"). I could not find the exact olim terms on an Ashdod page, so ask at the office before you count on anything (Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). The arnona hotline is *37222 (Sunday-Thursday 08:00-20:00, Friday 08:00-12:30). The collections offices at 4 HaKlita St are closed to the public on Wednesdays.

Save the city hotline too: 106, 24/7. You can also send it WhatsApp text messages (no calls) on 054-8130518; give your full name and exact address (Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). Some municipal appointments can be booked online: arnona and collections, school registration, Milgam, parking, and engineering and planning (Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

Day 4: sign up for ulpan

The Ministry of Education's national list has two ulpanim in Ashdod (Ministry of Education (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)):

• Ulpan Beit Canada, 1 Shavei Zion St. I have not been able to confirm it is still active, so I'd call ahead.
• The ulpan at the Ofek Adult Education Centre, 54 HaAtzmaut St (corner of HaHagshama, City), 08-9238679. The municipal centre also runs continuation ulpanim and a people's university, and is open Sunday-Wednesday 08:00-18:00 and Thursday 08:00-16:00 (Ashdod Municipality (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

French speakers may hear about classes run with CAFAI at Merkaz Kivunim, including an ulpan for mothers and an administrative-Hebrew ulpan. That information dates from 2019 (Ashdod Café (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)), so treat it as a lead to check, not a timetable. Your Ministry advisor is the one who refers you to ulpan.

Day 5: Rav-Kav, library and community

• Rav-Kav: the service point at the Central Bus Station in City Mall is open Sunday-Thursday 07:00-21:00 and Friday until 13:00. There are more points at HaRav Levin 33, the BIG Ashdod terminal, Merkazon (Avner Ben Ner 2) and HaMischar 182 (gov.il (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)). More in Getting around Ashdod.
• Library: membership of the Meirhoff City Library (Kibbutz Galuyot 2, 08-856-4280) is free, with online registration (Ironit (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).
• Community centres: Ironit, the municipal culture company, runs about 14 neighbourhood community centres (matnasim) and has community pages for immigrants from France, the CIS and Georgia and for the Ethiopian community (Ironit (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).
• Free advice on your rights: the Ministry of Welfare's citizens' advice bureau (SHIL) is at 1 Kibbutz Galuyot St, 08-8516841 (gov.il (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)).

French citizens: the French Consulate General in Tel Aviv holds occasional outreach sessions at Matnas Safra (4 Av St, Rova Yud-Bet), by appointment only. The January 2026 session was limited to elderly and disabled people (Ashdod Café (נפתח בכרטיסייה חדשה)), so check the venue and who can attend before the next one.

If you haven't chosen where to live yet, start with Ashdod neighbourhoods compared.