by Idit Golan

To begin with, don't take fright at the crowd undoubtedly assembled to welcome you as you enter the country. Israeli togetherness starts right there, at the airport, as family and friends gather to greet their loved ones coming home from a week of shopping in London or sight-seeing in Paris. Think of it as a pseudo-custom externalizing the warmth, the nearness, the volubility so inseparable from the Israel experience.

We Israelis are accustomed to a warm climate. A Mediterranean nation afraid of getting seared by the heat of the sun, is a hotbed for the hot-blooded. Which is to say that in Israel, you divest yourself of your tie and jacket and whatever else divides between people. Forget the formalities. Here one approaches people and things directly. The buzz-word for acclimatizing to Israel is: "dugri". Calling a spade a spade and prettifying nothing.

Your usual titles and polite forms of address have no place in the normal pattern of speech. Here, we have a sense of camaraderie, we are all "haverim", with the mentality of army buddies of the Palmach (an underground movement that flourished during the British Mandate), even if we have only just met. There is a sense of all being in the same boat, everyone is your brother, even if not in the biological sense.

Greetings may be couched in various languages, from the Arabic "ahlan", sure to be accompanied by a slap on the back, to the American "bye-bye".

However warm the weather, Israelis like touching one another. Physical proximity, the warm touch of a hand, are part of the informal approach, the camaraderie. Corporals may keep new recruits at arm's length, but that is where it ends. Forget about people keeping a respectful distance. And don't bother to take offence at any of the following:

• Being addressed simply by name, stripped of any Mr., Mrs. or Ms. Individuals, even if older or more distinguished, are not addressed in the plural.
• The use of informal or slang expressions, even between the scarcely-acquainted, or at official get-togethers. Add "yallah" to your vocabulary.
• A slap on the back isn't considered violence, nobody is beating on you, it's just a pleasant way of saying hello.
• The shop assistant who is in no hurry to greet you or serve you. It's not that he or she doesn't like your looks, that is just the way things are.

In Israel everybody is in a big hurry, everywhere and at all times. The general idea is to cram a lifetime's business into the space of 24 hours. Which is why we are all so impatient and impulsive and why we converge on wherever there is something going on, even when specifically requested to stay away. After all, in a whole lifetime, one must not only get everything done, one also needs to know everything. So its a good idea to have the following facts at your fingertips:

• Israelis are road-hogs, not to say menaces. Rules calling for overtaking on the left and driving slowly on the right are not strictly observed, and you may well encounter nature lovers and landscape gazers wending their unholy way up the road, inhaling lungsful of pine scented air in the left lane.
• The cacophony of blaring and honking horns you will hear on the road is just part of the auditory environment. Don't be alarmed. You'll learn when to take notice and when to just blithely ignore it.
• Right of way, as far as the Israeli driver is concerned, is a mere recommendation. Do not delude yourself that the white triangle is an agreed sign.
• Israelis are not good at lining up in orderly single file. Whoever can, jumps the queue. Trying to flag a taxi? Stick out your hand, and grab the cab when he draws up. Oh, and make sure the driver turns on the meter as you drive off. You needn't tip him. Waiting to get into a movie? Be prepared for a lot of more or less good natured pushing and shoving.
• Boarding buses is a national sport in which the winners are those who manage to squeeze in before the drivers shuts the automatic doors and gets going. Forget about who was first in line. Nobody takes us for a ride! What are elbows and shoulders for?

Places of entertainment, especially in the major towns, are open round the clock or until the last reveller bows out. Israelis are a rare breed who do not include sleep on their agenda. Even in mid-week, pub-crawlers are out in full force, seeking, until well into the small hours, a little refreshment after the hurly-burly of the business day. "The non-stop city" is truly an apt description of Tel-Aviv, calling to mind also Jerusalem, Haifa and other locales offering a lively night-life. In any case, the following recommendations can usefully be borne in mind:

• At about 2 a.m. of a Saturday morning in Tel Aviv, traffic is likely to be backed up everywhere. Plenty of patience may help; otherwise, why not just hole up in your hotel room...
• If you are awaiting an opportune moment to get far from the madding crowd, go to town on a day when Maccabee Tel-Aviv is playing basket-ball in the European Cup Finals.
• Israel's famous salad will be found listed on the menu as "Arab salad".
• Contrary to what your may have thought, not all restaurants are kosher. If kosher food is important to you, double check the restauranteur's credentials.
• The normal tip for your friendly waiter/waitress is 10% - 12% unless the menu or bill specifies that prices include service.

In Israel, everybody is plugged in to everything: to the telephone, to the cellular phone, to news on the hour and flash bulletins on the half hour. Nobody remains anonymous here, but can almost invariably be tracked down and reached by some beeping instrument. So bear in mind:

• Other than in businesses and offices, the proper way to answer the phone is: "Hallo" - not your phone number or your surname.
• Cellular telephones ringing in the middle of business meetings, lectures or conventions - yes, you'll find plenty of that. I refrain from describing this as a generally accepted custom.

As for how to dress in public - scanty apparel is fine at the seaside, on the beach of a hot summer's day; but when visiting holy sites or wherever religious elements are likely to be present, something more modest will be appropriate. Generally speaking,Israeli women favour what they call the "sport-elegant" style. The collar-and-tie and three piece suit is by no mean de rigueur in business environments, please note.

Conversational dynamics - Israelis ask lots of questions and they like to get direct, honest-to-the-point-of-impertinence answers. Leave your vague, polite, diplomatic evasions at home.

Don't be too thin-skinned. As every cynical, swashbuckling, deftly-parrying Israeli conversational fencer knows, it's no use taking things to heart. Wide eyed candour doesn't wash here. And let sincerely bewildered beware.