score:4
For this answer, the most important thing is to know what are you doing in France for the long term?
Study: first find the school and normally the French consulate in Israel should issue this after some red tape. Link to OFII
Work: find the firm
You could also check this question: French rules for long stay visa: OFII
So you have to go to the local office of office francais de l'immigration et de l'integration. see the maps there
Upvote:3
You can only apply for a French visa (whether a national long-stay visa like a student visa or a Schengen short-stay visa) in a country where you are a resident (how you can document that depends on the country) but you don't need to be a citizen. So it's perfectly possible for US citizens to apply for a French visa from Israel but you need to have a way to become a resident there and, obviously, qualify for the French visa.