score:6
It's just bad maintenance.
Any toilet installed in Israel will certainly have a seat. But the seat may, sooner or later, break. A well-managed site will have the seat replaced. If management neglects it, or is on an awfully tight budget, or it breaks every other day, then it won't be.
Crouching over the toilet is not common in Israel. But perhaps people occasionally do it to avoid contact with the seat, and break it in the process.
A little off-topic - I recommend McDonald's, who tend to keep toilets in good order. Of course, if you go in then you should buy something (they have good ice cream).
Upvote:0
Actually, not many public bathrooms in Israel lack a toilet seat. Certainly not in the cities. I've hardly ever encountered that; although, to be frank, I don't really go traveling by car in the North.
Upvote:1
I had a similar issue when hiking in Northern Israel in March. I camped at several sites where the restrooms didn't have seats, paper towels weren't stocked, etc.
I heard the reason for my experience was due to it being the off-season for camping.
Upvote:1
As far as I can tell, from my own knowledge and experience in Israel, the answer is more simple than most think: vandalism.
Israel got lots of teenagers who are damaging public property on purpose, wherever and whenever they can. The reasoning for them doing it is beyond the scope of this question and site, so I won't go there.
Toilet seats are also one of their victims, they just break them on purpose. Of course that proper management will replace the seats, but in places where such teenagers visit often, it becomes an expense they just can't afford, and since they can't install security cameras or place guards in the toilets, it can't really be stopped, so their only option is to leave the toilets without seats to break.