Israel Active

Israeli photographer Yossi Eshbol was "Highly Commended" for his entry to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. His photo entitled “Kids Game” captured the image of a Nubian ibex bravely jumping over a ravine in Mitzpe Ramon to reach its sibling on the other side.

During Israel’s lockdown, Sharon Altshul took some photos of a very peaceful capital city.  Next week it is expected to get a little busier as the lockdown eases.

The Israeli Opera has upgraded its website, to entertain fans at home. It has video on demand, opera games and puzzles, popular clips, full operas, duets, solos and stories. The sample video clip below is “Yihye Tov” (It will be good) - an appropriate title for this newsletter.

For those who love wildlife and have been deprived of it because of the pandemic lockdown, University of Haifa’s Dr. Motti Charter has set up a YouTube channel with live videos and recordings from cameras at Israel’s premier wildlife nature sites.

HBO has bought the global rights to the highly anticipated Israeli TV series Valley of Tears, based on the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It is said to have the biggest budget of any Israeli series to date. In Hebrew, the show is called “Sh’at Ha’neilah,” - the hour of the Yom Kippur Neilah service.

True Future TV began filming last year for its docuseries Season 4 that features Israeli medical technology (reported previously). Free online streaming begins 22 Oct. Host Joe Mullings found Israel to be “a nation on the cutting edge of medtech, healthtech, robotics and artificial intelligence.”

The Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN) cycling team has made history. It recorded its first-ever stage victory in a Grand Tour race when Alex Dowsett finished first on the 200km Stage 8 of the Giro d’Italia from Giovinazzo to Vieste. Teammate Matthias Brändle finished 5th.

Ex-Israeli pole-vaulter Noa Toledo now combines dance routines with her job washing windows of high-rise skyscrapers. She has some 65,000 followers on TikTok who enjoy her worktime sky-high hip-hop routines.

Gal Gadot of “Wonder Woman” fame appeared on Vanity Fair’s latest episode of Slang School, where celebrities hilariously break down slang terms and popular expressions from their native countries or related to a subculture.  Ma Pitom – Yalla!

An amusing and well-written tongue-in-cheek article, by newsletter fan David Herman, about the gender aspects of the official language of the State of Israel.