Topic Wiki

*=More info below
Company  Price  Sim  Talk/SMS  Web  Free Int'l  Signup Bonus  Israeli CC  Real TZBlackerry
Hot99₪49₪Unlimited3GB31 countries49₪/6 months*  Yes*Yes*
Golan99₪49₪UnlimitedUnlimited  53 countries  ₪59 /1st yearYesNoNo
01292₪Unlimited3GB42 countries*44₪/6 months  YesYes29₪
Rami Levy89₪59₪Unlimited1GB  No1₪/3 monthsYesYesNo
PelephoneYes*Yes*Free
Partner129/135₪*0₪*Unlimited  1GB/3GBAdd'l 20₪NoNoNo*39₪
CellcomA lot of $180₪  NoNo75₪

Rule #1- The Israeli cell phone service market is difficult. But cheap.
Rule #2- It is illegal for a company to "lock you in" a contract. ALL plans may be cancelled at any time with no penalty. Though, they do prevent you from opening and closing plans by charging a sim card "fee". This fee must always be paid even if paid for once before, and ranges from 39₪ to 180₪.
Rule #3- For those places that need an Israeli credit card, you may need to get one from an Israeli bank with a passport and income information although YMMV.
Rule #4- It is rarely, if ever, worthwhile to rent a "vacation plan" or prepaid, as the price for a regular unlimted plan for a month is less that a vacation plan for a week. Get a GSM phone that covers 900/1800 bands and save your money
Rule #5- All Israeli plans, whether regular or prepaid, include free incoming calls/texts.

Hot- 99₪ a month - includes unlimited calls, text and data (3 gb, then slow) and unlimited to 32 countries. Free home internet supply included. They currently have an offer if you port a number from a different network, to get the first six months for just 49₪ a month. You can move your package to a 10₪ a month plan, which includes 50 minutes and texts. You can also freeze the line once a year for up to 3 months. Regarding signup- you can use an American CC and fake TZ over the phone as one user has done.

Golan - Service is passable, but can be subpar in certain areas. There are two plans with Golan. There's the 99₪ unlimited talk/text/internet/international calling plan, which also gives you up to 2 virtual foreign numbers. This plan also includes for many countries unlimited global data roaming (6GB high-speed), incoming calls & texts, and calls & texts to Israel. They also offer a ₪29 per day data-roaming plan which gives 100MB a day in these countries. These roaming options can be very useful for foreigners regardless of whether they need Golan for Israel. See their website for details.There's a promo deal to get the 99 plan for ₪59 /month for the 1st year. There's also a ₪10 a month plan, which includes 60 min for domestic/US & CA and landlines in many countries, unlimited SMS and 10 MB of Internet, with add'l mins ₪.18 domestic, ₪.08 to US/CA and landlines in many countries, and data ₪.09 /MB. Its great for those short trips here. SIM should work in an iPad for data; you can also order a car SIM which will allow you to have 2 SIMs which draw from same plan.
[To get the sim in the USA before your trip:  golanusa.net will ship it to you for $14 (more for rush) and the 49 nis for the sim. Golan bills on the 25th of the month.  The days before the first 25th are freeprorated.(So for a trip between the 26th and the 24th of the month, you don't pay the 59 nis or 99 nis plan fee.)]

012mobile - Runs on Partner service, you will get an 054 number (unless you ported). Unlimited - 49₪ for the first 6 months and 92₪ from thereon after for unlimited everything too. Includes 3GB Data and 500 minutes to US/CA (any phone) and 40 other countries (landlines only). 9₪ plan includes 60 minutes, 60 SMS, and 100MB data. Additional domestic minutes/SMS are ₪ .09, Int'l calls to to US/CA (any phone) and 40 other countries (landlines only) are ₪ .25 per min. Add'l data bundles are available starting from ₪ 19 for 1 GB. 5GB Laptop/Tablet (data only) is 98₪.

Pelephone - Online, they accept fake TZ and US CC.

Partner - 129₪ a month for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB. 135₪ for 3GB. Family plans are cheaper.Free sim for online orders. Extra 20₪/mo. for 500 min. int'l calling. Extra 39₪ for Blackberry. May need to give 500₪ deposit that you (may) get back when you cancel the plan.  One can freeze line without charges for up to 3 months when not needed (not sure if allowed more than once per 12 months).

Freedomhot.com - 2/19/2023 - They have local pickup in lots of major frum areas and delivery too. They accept US CC. Runs on Hot Mobile. Copying and pasting from their website.
All monthly plans include: Unlimited Calls & Texts to Israeli phone numbers Unlimited outgoing calls to USA and Canada and landlines to 33 additional countries.
Unlimited incoming calls and texts from anywhere in the world. Prices include all taxes.
59 Shekels - 70GB LTE Internet Data
79 shekels - 150GB LTE Internet Data
KOSHER - Voice Only - 64 Shekels
One-time SIM card fee: 49 Shekels
Optional: add a virtual USA number for $15 per month

Misc. Info
APN settings

On Hot Mobile you can check how much data was consumed either by downloading the app or by texting גלישה  to phone number 530 from your hot mobile phone,you can as well try calling this number *6733.

Note by Menucha:
Please note: as of 4/1/13, most carriers reduce period of intro rates and at times increased cost for monthly intro. I suggest we leave the above as is, but please keep in mind new changed, which are not negotiable and based on govt agreements. monthly flat rate is still great and same. (post intro)
Also, while reps wont tell you, typically you will get longer intro rate if you activate account on your own on line, and not via rep (phone or store). confirmed with carrier. Enjoy! flat monthly, even without intro rate is still one of the lowest you will come across in the west!

Israeli cellphone rentals:

1) Talkinisrael.com
Phone: +972587564477
Whatsapp: +972536299365
Email: info@talkinisrael.com 
if you should have any problems feel free to send me a pm and I will try to help you the best I can.
Plans for sale here are primarily for long term rentals.(students and the like.)


2) Israel Rent-a-cell SIM card or eSIM with calling and data. Also you can get SIMs for Israel Kosher phones!
Contact at Israelrentacell@gmail.com or WhatsApp 972-55-333-1234
Overnight or standard delivery in USA/delivery in Israel! Pickup locations in Lakewood and Israel.
* Unlimited calls and texts in Israel
* Unlimited calls to USA, Canada and landlines in 35 countries
* Unlimited incoming calls
* 70 GB of data (can add an extra 80GB of data)
* eSIMs available!
* Free voicemail
Student discount available, $29.97 monthly, including tax! Never surprise charges or hidden fees!

3) Cellular Israel - 072-224-3300 or 718-289-0195 Full Service - short term and long term, rent phones, Kosher phones, SIM cards, mifi devices, Waze by the day or month. American Customer Service!
info@cellularisrael.com

4) Simforisrael@gmail.com free delivery to anywhere

5) UnlimitedIsrael (DansDeals Advertiser with many positive reviews on DDMS & DDF) is the leading provider of SIM card & iPhone rentals for Israel in the US.
  • Unlimited calls & texts within Israel
  • Unlimited calling to the US and Canada
  • Lightning Fast 4G Internet Speeds
  • Unlimited 4G data
  • Sim Cards - $5/day
  • iPhones - $45/week
  • Kosher Phone - $4/day
  • Mifi Hotspot - $6/day
Use code SUAVE10 for 10% off any order
« Last edited by shmuelb on August 06, 2023, 12:48:30 PM »

Author Topic: Cell Phones in Israel  (Read 1355705 times)

Offline mark da man

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5500 on: June 12, 2019, 11:48:45 AM »
After ordering a new SIM how much time does Golan give you to activate it? If I remember correctly there is some time limit before they start complaining. This is for Golan in Israel, not the Golanusa.
golanusa.net is not a provider, they set you up straight with golan or hot mobile, just for an extra few bucks they mail it to your house so when you land you have a working sim.

Offline NTorch

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5501 on: June 12, 2019, 01:04:35 PM »
After ordering a new SIM how much time does Golan give you to activate it? If I remember correctly there is some time limit before they start complaining. This is for Golan in Israel, not the Golanusa.

I use GolanUsa.net to order. They ask you when you want the SIM to be activated when you order and your monthly starts at the point its activated.

Offline Moe Ginsburg

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5502 on: June 12, 2019, 03:22:48 PM »
Can you keep the Sim or plan active without a monthly fee for the many months you don't use it?

Offline mark da man

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5503 on: June 12, 2019, 04:06:02 PM »
Can you keep the Sim or plan active without a monthly fee for the many months you don't use it?
I do t think so, ask them. Maybe they have a prepaid card also

Offline NTorch

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5504 on: June 12, 2019, 04:34:26 PM »
Can you keep the Sim or plan active without a monthly fee for the many months you don't use it?

Yes, they let you "freeze the line" for up to 3 months

Online BCL

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5505 on: June 12, 2019, 04:43:38 PM »
What's the cheapest way to get a smartphone that will work with an Israeli sim card?
Can I just rent an iphone in the US for a month and use that with an Israeli sim card? (I see I can rent the 5s for $40, would that work?)
« Last Edit: June 12, 2019, 04:52:05 PM by BCL »

Offline NTorch

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5506 on: June 12, 2019, 05:08:59 PM »
What's the cheapest way to get a smartphone that will work with an Israeli sim card?
Can I just rent an iphone in the US for a month and use that with an Israeli sim card? (I see I can rent the 5s for $40, would that work?)

Rather than rent a 5s for $40, just buy an unlocked phone and use it for your trips. We have a BLU phone we bought a few years back for $99 and it serves our needs when we wanted an extra unlocked phone for our kids on our most recent trip.

Online BCL

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5507 on: June 12, 2019, 08:55:24 PM »
Rather than rent a 5s for $40, just buy an unlocked phone and use it for your trips. We have a BLU phone we bought a few years back for $99 and it serves our needs when we wanted an extra unlocked phone for our kids on our most recent trip.
Is iphone the most reliable to work with Israeli sim? Last time, we had 2 unlocked phones and had trouble with both.

Online myi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5508 on: June 17, 2019, 01:05:55 AM »
What's the easiest way to activate my goal on Sim which I froze? While in America?
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Offline NTorch

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5509 on: June 17, 2019, 10:50:51 AM »
What's the easiest way to activate my goal on Sim which I froze? While in America?

If its Golan you can email them, they usually respond within 24 hours.

Online myi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5510 on: June 17, 2019, 05:01:45 PM »
If its Golan you can email them, they usually respond within 24 hours.
I know that works to turn off, was wondering about the same. Will try. Thanks
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Offline NTorch

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5511 on: June 19, 2019, 10:35:24 AM »
I know that works to turn off, was wondering about the same. Will try. Thanks

IIRC that was how it worked for me

Offline shmooz

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5512 on: June 24, 2019, 10:02:15 AM »
Saw that 012 is selling Israeli Sims here in stores, pics attached. $1.25 day. Anyone with experience with this plan?


Offline nucheiner

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5513 on: June 24, 2019, 10:19:35 AM »
Saw that 012 is selling Israeli Sims here in stores, pics attached. $1.25 day. Anyone with experience with this plan?
Which stores carry this?

Offline pghtown

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5514 on: June 24, 2019, 12:11:48 PM »
Saw that 012 is selling Israeli Sims here in stores, pics attached. $1.25 day. Anyone with experience with this plan?


I have used them and have been satisfied

Offline menashe04

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5515 on: June 25, 2019, 11:54:33 AM »
Which stores carry this?
Anyone know?

Offline yudamaan

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5516 on: July 08, 2019, 11:18:01 PM »
Which stores carry this?
Anyone know?

Just picked one up from evergreen in lakewood

Online myi

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5517 on: July 09, 2019, 03:24:50 AM »
Just picked one up from evergreen in lakewood
Pretty cool card, Service decent?

 So for a 10 day trip thats $12.50, not bad at all.
 And calls to the USA and call forwarding(not sure how that works.)
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Offline cozmohoot

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5518 on: July 09, 2019, 02:53:45 PM »
Pretty cool card, Service decent?

 So for a 10 day trip thats $12.50, not bad at all.
 And calls to the USA and call forwarding(not sure how that works.)
From their website I dont see anything about 1.25 per day. Maybe they are basing that off using it for 1 month..

Offline yudamaan

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Re: Cell Phones in Israel
« Reply #5519 on: July 09, 2019, 03:18:55 PM »
From their website I dont see anything about 1.25 per day. Maybe they are basing that off using it for 1 month..
Correct minimum plan is 30 days