ronsr:
I have to mention something else about Haifa. I have spent Shabbos in Jerusalem several times. There is one family I usually stay with, and I attend their shul. Nobody has ever come over and introduced themselves, or even said “Good Shabbos.” I usually get there early, before my friend does, so it isn’t obvious I’m there with anybody.
The first time I went to shul in Haifa, almost every woman in the Ezras Nashim came over to meet me. Each week several come over to chat, even though my Hebrew is not that good. They go out of their way to make me feel a part of the kehillah. In fact, that first time, there was another American there. Several people went over to her to make sure she spoke to me so I would have somebody to talk to.