Festivals in Jerusalem
The city runs on festivals — 42 of them in our calendar, from a crafts fair in a Roman-era reservoir to a night when every gallery in town opens at once. Dates, venues and what each one actually is.
On now
ON NOW19 Jul – 18 Aug 2026סינמטקיץסינמטק ירושליםON NOW27 Jul – 20 Aug 2026Auto Ochel — Jerusalem Food Truck FestivalFood trucks along the Armon HaNatziv Promenade, with the whole city laid out below and a laser show over the Old City at 20:30 and 21:30. Free entry.טיילת ארמון הנציבON NOW27 Jul – 15 Aug 2026Shift FestivalThree weeks of music, performance, dance and visual art bringing Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish and Arab artists together at FeelBeit.פילבית (FeelBeit)ON NOW28 Jul – 13 Aug 2026Israel FestivalThe country's oldest and most ambitious performing arts festival — international theatre, dance and music, centred on the Jerusalem Theatre.תיאטרון ירושליםON NOW30 Jul – 13 Aug 2026Hutzot HaYotzer — Jerusalem Arts and Crafts FairTwo weeks of craft stalls from Israel and abroad in the Sultan's Pool below the Old City walls, with a major concert each night at 21:00.בריכת הסולטןON NOW2 Aug – 31 Aug 2026BreezaA month of afternoon and weekend workshops across the city, run by the municipal youth authority — summer camp for people with jobs.
Coming up
14 Aug – 21 Sep 2026Selichot Tours in the Old CityIn the weeks before the Jewish New Year, night tours through the Old City to the Western Wall as the penitential prayers are sung.הכותל המערבי16 Aug – 20 Aug 2026International Puppet Theatre FestivalFive days of puppetry from around the world at the Train Theater and the Bell Garden, most of it outdoors and much of it wordless — the easiest festival here to attend without Hebrew.תיאטרון הקרון16 Aug – 20 Aug 2026DocuText Documentary Film FestivalThe National Library's documentary festival, with new films alongside archive screenings and tours of the library's exhibitions.הספרייה הלאומית25 Aug – 27 Aug 2026Metula Poetry Festival in JerusalemThe country's main poetry festival, held at Confederation House and Mishkenot Sha'ananim.בית הקונפדרציה ומשכנות שאננים25 Aug – 27 Aug 2026End of Summer Festival at the Jerusalem TheatreThree days of indoor and open-air performances closing the summer, for children and adults.תיאטרון ירושלים26 Aug – 27 Aug 2026Local Produce — Bible Lands MuseumA food and craft fair in the Bible Lands Museum, built around what is grown and made here.מוזיאון ארצות המקרא31 Aug – 4 Sep 2026Teima Festival — Yemenite JerusalemMarking 140 years of Yemenite Jewish settlement in Jerusalem: nine performances and five walking tours through the neighbourhoods they built.28 Sep – 1 Oct 2026Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall (Sukkot)Tens of thousands gather at the Western Wall plaza on the intermediate days of Sukkot for the mass priestly blessing. Arrive very early.רחבת הכותל המערבי19 Oct – 22 Oct 2026Israeli Comedy FestivalStand-up and comedy across city venues. Performed in Hebrew.4 Dec – 12 Dec 2026Hanukkah Menorah Tours — Nachlaot and the Old CityNachlaot's lanes and the Old City fill with menorahs lit in doorways and windows, and guided walks run every night of the holiday.נחלאות22 Dec – 24 Dec 2026Piano Festival — Jerusalem TheatreThree days of recitals and concerts built around the piano.תיאטרון ירושלים1 Feb – 22 Feb 2027Shaon Horef (Winter Noise)Four Monday nights in deep winter, each in a different neighbourhood, turning streets into open-air stages. Free.מרכז העיר ירושלים (שכונה מתחלפת כל שבוע)
Annual, dates not yet set
These run most years. The season is listed where the exact dates have not been announced.
17 Apr 2026Jerusalem International MarathonA full and half marathon run through the Old City walls, Mount Scopus and the German Colony — the only major marathon whose route crosses three thousand years of city.כיכר המגבית / רחוב רופין, גבעת רם21 Apr – 22 Apr 2026Independence Day in JerusalemThe country's national day. The evening before is the torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl; the day itself is street parties at Safra Square and barbecues across Sacher Park.כיכר ספרא (חגיגת העירייה), גן סאקר (פיקניקים), הר הרצל (טקס משואות בערב הקודם)13 May – 14 May 2026White Night (Laila Lavan)One night a year the museums, galleries and streets stay open until dawn, most of it free.15 May 2026Jerusalem DayMarks the reunification of the city in 1967. Expect large processions through the centre towards the Western Wall, and heavy street closures.מסלול: גן סאקר/מרכז העיר עד הכותל המערבי (מיקומים מרובים)9 Jun – 11 Jun 2026Jerusalem Jazz FestivalThree nights of Israeli and international jazz in the Israel Museum's Billy Rose Art Garden.מוזיאון ישראל — גן הפסלים (בילי רוז)23 Jun – 25 Jun 2026Hullegeb Israeli-Ethiopian Arts FestivalTheatre, music and dance from Israel's Ethiopian community, at Confederation House — the main stage in the country for this work.בית הקונפדרציה ע"ש חיים גורי8 Jul – 16 Jul 2026Meat and Wine Festival at OlamiaDays of grilled meat, wine and beer at Olamia Jerusalem, usually free to enter.עולמיא ירושלים9 Jul – 16 Jul 2026Jerusalem Design WeekIsrael's largest design event, built each year around a single theme and staged in and around Hansen House, a former leprosy hospital.בית הנסן9 Jul – 19 Jul 2026Jerusalem Film FestivalThe country's leading film festival, ten days at the Jerusalem Cinematheque above the Hinnom Valley, with premieres, retrospectives and outdoor screenings.סינמטק ירושלים14 Jul – 18 Jul 2026Manofim — Contemporary Art Season OpeningThe city's galleries and independent art spaces open their season on the same nights, and the whole thing is walkable and free.27 Jul – 30 Jul 2026Two Hundred Jerusalem Stories FestivalFour evenings of storytelling, song and comedy in the heart of the Old City. In Hebrew — and the title is a joke about the local accent.28 Jul – 29 Jul 2026Loves on the Walls — Tu B'AvThe Jewish festival of love, marked with night walks along the Old City ramparts and music on the walls.טיילת החומות, העיר העתיקה28 Jul – 31 Jul 2026Tatzrif Festival — Yad Ben-ZviFour days of original music, film, exhibitions, tours and conversation about identity, memory and Israeli culture, on the Yad Ben-Zvi campus.יד יצחק בן־צבי28 Jul – 29 Jul 2026Jerusalem Moon FestivalDozens of performances through the lanes of the Kfar Shaul campus on the eve of Tu B'Av — theatre, circus, giant puppets and tours.קיץWine Festival — Israel MuseumIsraeli wineries pouring in the Israel Museum's Billy Rose Art Garden on summer evenings. One ticket, one glass, unlimited tastings.מוזיאון ישראל — גן האמנות ע"ש בילי רוזחול המועד סוכות (ספטמבר–אוקטובר)Jerusalem March (Sukkot)A parade of walkers and delegations from dozens of countries through the streets of the city on the intermediate days of Sukkot.גן סאקר (נקודת סיום הצעדה)אוקטובר–נובמברBatim Mibifnim — Open House JerusalemOne weekend a year, buildings normally closed to the public open their doors — private houses, institutions, rooftops and bunkers. Free.סתיוPiyut Festival — Beit Avi ChaiLiturgical poetry sung in the Jewish traditions of Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey and Spain, in concert.בית אבי חינובמברInternational Oud FestivalTwo weeks of Middle Eastern and Andalusian music at Confederation House and across the city — one of the best things the city does.בית הקונפדרציה ע"ש חיים גורידצמברHoliday of Holidays: Christmas and Hanukkah in the Old CityChristmas and Hanukkah marked together around Jaffa Gate and through the Old City — markets, choirs and lights.רחבת שער יפו והעיר העתיקה, ירושליםאביבSovev Jerusalem Bike RideA mass ride on closed roads, with routes from a family loop to a full circuit of the city.התחנה הראשונה (יציאה וסיום) — המסלול עצמו מקיף את ירושליםיוניHebrew Book Week — First StationPublishers sell directly from stalls at heavy discounts for a week each June. Books are in Hebrew, but the atmosphere travels.כיכר ספראיוני, לרוב כשבוע ימים (מועד משתנה משנה לשנה — יש לאמת מול מקור חי לפני פרסום)Jerusalem Festival of LightLight installations and projections along marked routes through the Old City after dark, free to walk. Dates shift each year.העיר העתיקה של ירושלים — שער יפו וחומות העירסוף קיץ (בעיקר אוגוסט–ספטמבר; בשנים בודדות גם יולי)Jerusalem Beer FestivalIsraeli and imported breweries, food stalls and live music over two nights at the end of summer.גן העצמאות
Common questions
When is the best time to visit Jerusalem for festivals?
Late July to mid-August is the densest stretch of the year: the Film Festival, Design Week, Hutzot HaYotzer, the Israel Festival and the food truck festival all overlap. November brings the Oud Festival, and the two weeks around Sukkot in autumn are busy with processions and the priestly blessing.
Which Jerusalem festivals are free?
Several of the largest. Auto Ochel food truck festival, Manofim's gallery openings, Shaon Horef in winter, Open House Jerusalem and the Festival of Light are all free to attend, though individual concerts inside them may be ticketed.
Are the festivals in Hebrew?
It depends. The Puppet Festival, the Festival of Light, Hutzot HaYotzer, the Oud Festival and the food and wine festivals need no Hebrew at all. Theatre, comedy and storytelling festivals are performed in Hebrew, sometimes with surtitles.
Do festival dates change from year to year?
Yes. Some are fixed to the Jewish calendar and move against the Gregorian one by up to three weeks; others are set by their producers each spring. Dates here carry the year they apply to, and we mark the ones still unconfirmed.
Each festival's own page carries the full programme, in Hebrew. Also: what's on today · tours in English