I wonder if they get a better connection OR When Judaism is the dominant culture #17

From the land where Condaliza Rice's name has become a verb (l'kandel, to talk a lot and achieve nothing) we bring you this example of "signs you know it's a Jewish country." These things continue to surprise us, even after a year and a half. Of course, we did not go looking for something to remind us we are in a country where Judaism is the dominant culture. We went to get a phone line.

No, not a phone- a phone line. Without an Israeli ID number, you can't get a DSL line set up over the phone- you have to go in the store and get one. The store is in the bezek headquarters. After waiting in line, you set up the line, and then wait for the technician to come to your place in 2-5 days. Once the guys shows up (this time it was 7 hours early) then can you come back to the store and get the DSL modem- and and since the ISP in this country is a separate venture from the DSL line service in and of itself, you then can call the ISP.

But this is all an side- knowing just what we would have to do, we walked to the Bezek store. This is located in their main building just behind the central bus station. We were just in time for mincha at the Bezek synagogue.

Yep. Bezek, Israel's phone company, has a synagogue just inside the front lobby of their building. The minayn was pretty full, let me tell you. Feel free to bring up whatever jokes about phones and God you care for- but even at Bezek, the the sign on the shul door asks you to turn off your cellphone when you come in.

There you go: the Israeli phone company telling you to turn off your phone when in the official Bezek synogogue.