(Some of these are obvious once encountered, but are the sort of thing I didn't think of until here.)

* Blank books are designed to be written in from right-to-left.
* Mezuzot on every hotel room doorframe.
* A hand-cranked juice-press is standard equipment both at the juice stores on every block (and some medians) and in bars/cafes. The juice stores often have several 50-pound bags of fat carrots sitting just outside the stand.
* So many pomegranates! Rows of them, neatly displayed in open crates near the juice presses. On some streets and in front of some shuq stands, the fragrance of fresh fruit prevails over the other smells of city life
* Several Russian bookstores. Some restaurants advertising "Nous parlons francais."
* Stray cats on every block. I generally consider myself a cat lover, but here, not so much. There's yet another feline making laser noises within earshot of my bed, and I heard a fight earlier.
* Citrus is so important here that there is a museum dedicated to it in Rehovot, and specific shipping instructions at the Israel Post website.
* Israeli-style salad is cubed cukes, tomatoes, peppers, etc. and a breakfast staple (at least in fancy cafes and hotel buffets). As are tuna salad and guacamole.
* The majority of individuals in army uniforms in the city are not packing heat - they are office workers, and I've seen many of them carrying oversize handbags, cell phones, etc. (And long hair decorated with sparkly barrettes, etc. on the women. This perhaps leaps out at me since featuring models with correctly short hair is something that's been discussed in the US military courses I've scripted.) To spot guys and gals with guns, a better place to look is at the "New" Central Bus Station. There was an 18-year-old wedding participant who showed up to the Wednesday dinner with an M-16 slung over his shoulder, and another cousin reminisced about sleeping with his massive grenade machine gun during his own years of service.
* Yesterday was Rabin Memorial Day: there was a display in his memory at the Ayalon Institute, with yahrzeit candle and black sash, and coverage of the service and a documentary on the television. On our way back into the city, we also saw hundreds of military personnel walking from headquarters toward the direction of Rabin Square.
* Hello Kitty is as insidiously pervasive here as in the US. I passed a boutique last night that had a mannequin modeling a short knit dress that fused large Mondrian-style rectangles with a hip-high image of kitty-chan. Who in the world thinks of combinations like that? (*dodges shrapnel from glass house*)
* The beaches known as the gay beach (Hilton) and the Orthodox beach (Noredo - men and women swim on separate days; co-ed on Saturdays, when Orthodox Jews won't be at the beach anyway) are practically next to each other. Part of the gay beach is known as the dog beach - I've seen dogs pretty much everywhere (they are generally permitted in malls, stores, cafes, etc.) but I guess they are expressly welcome in that area.
* One local chain has the slogan "seriously fresh yogurt" on its various awnings.
* Giant yellow cages (larger than a park bench, taller than me) on many streets = receptacles for plastic bottles to be recycled.
* The escalators at the malls we've visited have "No Crocs" symbols posted. I can see why they're a popular shoe here - the twenty-shekel pair I picked up at the shuq (should have tried for 15, but didn't feel up to haggling) have been extraordinarily comfortable, for the most part (the occasional weird splinter-sensation notwithstanding). Favorite Croc sighting so far: a light blue pair on an otherwise traditionally dressed Orthodox man
* As with Dutch, the Hebrew word for "please" (bevakasha) is also used to say "you're welcome" or "here you are." This sometimes results in someone saying "please" when they mean "you're welcome" when they don't use English much. (A mix-up I totally sympathize with, given how often I keep saying "Excuse me" (sleekha) when I mean to say "please," and yesterday I said seder when I meant sefer when requesting a book.)

And speaking of which, it's time for me to mangle some more ivrit as I head to breakfast and then the post office. Onwards...