Israel Active

Humor “expert” Lenny Ravich performs “Dance Life…Don’t Drag It” on 25th Feb at Center Stage - the new theater for English Speaking audiences in Raanana. Lenny’s hilarious journey touches on relationships, family, education and health. Lenny is director of the Gestalt Institute of Israel.

Here are just some of the food and drink events and festivals in Israel that you may wish to partake of / in during 2020.  They include Tel Aviv Eat, Vegan Fest, Jerusalem Wine Festival, Jerusalem Beer Festival and Tel Aviv Cocktail Week.

Israel’s SodaStream aired a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl. It featured US scientist Bill Nye and 18-year-old US astronaut-in-training Alyssa Carson. It portrays water being found on Mars, but another astronaut mistakenly puts it in a SodaStream system and drinks it.

Israel’s Yonatan Belik and his American friend Mike Reid have just completed a tour of the 48 contiguous US states on 50cc scooters. It earned them the title of Guinness World Record holders for the “Longest journey on a 50cc scooter.”

Shabour, the new restaurant by Israeli chef Assaf Granit, which launched just three months ago in Paris, was named as the French capital’s “Best restaurant of the Year” by Le Figaroscope, the Parisian cultural and gastronomical guide published by the French daily Le Figaro.

The rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers are returning to Tel Aviv for the first time since 2012 . They will be the top group at the Funkyard Tel Aviv Festival at Hayarkon Park on June 10.

30-year-old Israeli speed skater Vladislav Bykanov won a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters race at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championship in Hungary. He is now looking to qualify for Tokyo, which would be his third Olympic Games.

Jerusalem Botanical Gardens’ Tropical Conservatory has reopened to the public after an 18-month, $2 million transformation. Its rainforest and desert regions contain some 300 kinds of plants, including endangered species, exotic banana trees, coffee plants, orchids and cacti.

150 wildlife photographers submitted some 500 photos to judges at the Planet Arava 2 festival and competition in Eilat. The aim of the festival was “to promote the Arava’s landscape and animals through photography by people who feel an affinity for the region and its beauty”.

Israeli entrepreneur Inbal Arieli is also the author of “Chutzpah: Why Israel Is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. She explains how Israel’s unique culture generates “disruptors” who want to change the world. Factors include parenting and uncertainty that encourage pushing the boundaries.