Since I got this question from way too many people, I wanted to just share my “cross distribution” and “cross desktop environment” way of doing that very simple thing of enabling a Hebrew keyboard layout under Linux.
Easy As
After logging into your desktop environment, type this:
setxkbmap -option grp:switch,grp:alt_shift_toggle,grp_led:scroll us,il
Alt+Shift will get you between Hebrew and English. Easy as.
Sustainability
Making it permanent is just as easy:
mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart && cat <<EOF > ~/.config/autostart/hebrew.desktop [Desktop Entry] Encoding=UTF-8 Name=Hebrew Comment=Enable a Hebrew keyboard layout Exec=setxkbmap -option grp:switch,grp:alt_shift_toggle,grp_led:scroll us,il EOF
Should sustain logout/login, reboots, reinstalls (as long as you keep /home on a different partition), distribution changes and choosing a different desktop environment (KDE, GNOME, LXDE, etc.).
Bashing Linux 