Other interesting places for native species that are open to the visitors are Negev Zoo in Beersheba (has jackals, Israeli wolf, striped hyena, jungle cats, wild boar, ibex, gazelle, many native birds of prey and other birds, such as partridges, thick-knees, and a good collection of native snake species) and Haifa Zoo (has several species of small rodents, jackals, ratels, striped hyena, wild boars, Syrian brown bears, ibex, a walk-through aviary with native birds of prey which included Bonelli's hawk eagle among others, many native reptiles). Haifa Zoo also has a good collection of exotic species (big cats, fossas, primates, etc., of which the most interesting species to me was black-horned capuchin Sapajus nigritus).
Hai Park Zoo in Kiryat Motzkin (in the northern Israel, very close to Haifa) is a very nice mid-size zoo. It does not focus on native fauna (though there are ibex, gazelle, etc.), and has many ABC species (including Asian elephants, giraffes, orangutans, zebras, kangaroos, etc.). But the collection also includes some species which are not present in the US - Mexican spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus), silver marmosets, white-lipped tamarins (this zoo has a good marmoset/tamarin collection), larger hairy armadillos, cusimanse, yellow mongoose, good collection of parrots (in general, Israeli zoos love parrots. Almost every zoo I've been at, except those that are focusing on native fauna, had very diverse collections of parrots - something that I think is rare in the US) Further north there is a small Nahariya Zoo, which does not have many large animals (the largest species during my visit in 2015 were addax). When I visited it back in 2015 the zoo had, despite it's very small size, an extremely good collection of small birds - native and exotic - displayed in very nice and photography-friendly aviaries. Many of these species (could not be seen anywhere else. The collection of native snakes was also very good (Palestine vipers, Sinai desert cobras, horned vipers, saw-scaled vipers, etc.). However, since my 2015 visit the zoo's curator changed, and I've heard that the collection nowadays is not nearly as impressive and shifted toward more common pet-store species.
Another interesting northern park is Gan Garoo which is focused entirely on Australian species. The park, understandably, houses lots of red and gray kangaroos in walk-through areas, but there are other animals too, include some that are very rare or missing from the US. During my visit in 2015 that was, I believe, the only place outside Australia to see Victorian koala subspecies, but their only specimen died recently, and they have no more koalas at this point. I've also seen (during that same 2015 visit) wallaroo (I believe they had just one), yellow-footed rock wallaby (I've also seen one), ground cuscus (I have heard that they are gone by now), potoroo (I saw only one), gray-headed flying foxes, brush turkey, and many Australian birds (mainly parrots and waterfowl). I believe that they now also have perentie and lace monitors, but these were added to collection after my visit. One last northern collection that comes to mind is Hamat Gader. The park is really famous for its hot springs and is a popular relaxation destination. However it also has a crocodile farm (with Nile crocodiles and American alligators, and supposedly gharials though I haven't seen any) and a mini-zoo with Anubis and hamadryas baboons, ibex, axis deer, coatis, emus, and parrots (including parrot show)
In the south of Israel (besides Negev Zoo and Hai Bar Yotvata which I already described) there are two more collections which I think are worth mentioning. One is Hai Ramon - a very small mini-zoo in the Negev Desert. It is focused exclusively on the small desert species (2 species of hedgehogs - long-eared and common Eurasian, several species of small rodents, and reptiles including my 1st ever desert monitor Varanus griseus). The second is a privately-owned Arava Antelope Ranch (also in Negev Desert). That place has a wonderful location in the middle of the desert, is mostly drive-through, and the desert landscape is gorgeous. They have ibex, aoudads, axis deer, single Somali Wild Ass, eland, and oryxes. Unfortunately, the owner has released his Arabian and scimitar oryxes into the same section of the ranch, which resulted in cross-breeding. During my visit I don't think I've seen any pure specimen of either species - all looked like crosses between the two. The ranch also has a replica of Noah's Ark which houses some smaller animals (mostly parrots, but also wild cats Felis silvestris tristrami)
Are there any national parks or other natural areas in Israel where one can see wild antelope or predators like leopards, hyenas, wolves, etc. with any reliability?
I think it should be fairly easy to see gazelles in the desert areas, I've spoke to people who saw them, but did not see them myself (but made no real effort to see them). I think seeing predators would be harder, and from what I heard leopards are practically extinct (maybe 10 left)
