Do Israelis spend a whole month shopping for Chanukah and listening to Chanukah songs on the radio?
AFAIK Chanukah is a very minor Jewish holiday and only seems like a big deal because it offers Jews a winter holiday alternative to Christmass.
I am not Jewish, but my understanding is that Hanukkah (spelling varies) is not a gift giving holiday, though it is slowly becoming one in the US and possibly other parts of the world where Christmas is celebrated with massive amounts of merchandising.
Nope. Not a major deal at all. Toy stores will run sales, but that’s it.
Certainly no radio stations which play nothing but holiday music for a month, like in the US.
Actually, Hannukka is a bigger holiday in Israel than it should be, from a strictly religious standpoint. The combination of the whole heroic-Zionist-warrior thing, the 8-day school vacaton, and the best songs of any Jewish holiday make it as much a national celebration as a religious one.
It’s not a huge shopping holiday, though. The big present days are Pasover and Rosh Hashana, and even they aren’t nearly as commercialized as the American Christmas season. Gifts are common, but they aren’t obligatory.
Hannukka is really big WRT kids’ shows, though.
That, however, has much more to do with the %^*@ing big-ass 8-day School (and, of course, not work!) vacation than with anything else… (can you tell I’m a victim of that? :mad: )
While it is customary to give small gifts, mostly to one’s own children (and maybe those of friends, if you visit,) there is no great big shopping spree associated with Hannukah.
Oh, and yes, I abhor crowds, so I’m really happy with this arrangement 
Traditionally, one small gift which is often a small amount of money in coins is given each day only to children. The coins are so they can play the dreidle game.
By historical accident, the military victory about 150 years before the birth of Christ was celebrated at the same time as the pagan holiday that was co-opted into Xmas. Many, maybe most, Jewish families in America have changed it into the Jewish Xmas with adults giving other adults presents and such. It’s a shame.
There is no chanukah “season” in Israel.
There is, though, a week-long vacation from school, which leaves parents desperately looking for things to do, so there are lots of (expensive!) children’s entertainment shows, plays, music festivals, sing alongs, etc at theaters and museums. Some of these activities take place in shopping malls, so the malls are more crowded than usual for that week.— But it’s not because people are buying gifts.
My year in Israel was refreshing in this regard. Much more like my childhood Hannukahs with very small gifts each night, and perhaps a paperback or stuffed animal the last night.