New Haredi ‘tourist spot’: IKEA’s summer sale

 

Ultra-Orthodox institutions offer special stop after trips to burial places of biblical figures and rabbis’ tombs, to the Swedish home furnishing store in Rishon Lezion.

By Moshe Heller

Home furnishing stores in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood are in for some bad news: Ultra-Orthodox institutions have begun offering special trips to IKEA’s summer sale in the central city of Rishon Lezion.

File:903. Ikea Israel near Nethanya.jpg

IKEA in Israel – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

A local bus company recently organized a trip from Beit Shemesh to Rachel’s Tomb, the Western Wall and the IKEA store in Rishon Lezion, which is in the midst of its summer sale.

Every summer, haredi institutions organize trips to burial places of biblical figures and rabbis’ tombs, as well as famous tourist sites. This year, a new site has been added to the haredi sector’s list of popular destinations.

The trip, offered on “kosher” buses in which men and women sit separately, costs about NIS 50 ($14) per person, and passengers may place the products they purchased at the store in the luggage compartment.

The Har Nof community in Jerusalem is planning a similar trip in the coming weeks, which will also include a sail in the Jaffa Port after passengers conclude their shopping at IKEA.

 

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4403238,00.html