Israel Active

Jerusalem has opened the Mitbahon, a new culinary complex, in Wohl Rose Park, opposite the Knesset and adjacent to the Supreme Court. It will include three mobile food trucks from leading Jerusalem restaurants that will be rotated monthly.

Israeli hotel chain Fattal Hotels Ltd has acquired the building that once housed the Palatin Hotel, Tel Aviv’s first luxury hotel, built in 1926. It is investing NIS 150 million to restore Tel Aviv’s first luxury hotel to its former glory and aims to launch an ultra-luxury hotel by end 2022.

Don’t try this at home.  24-year-old Austrian biker and urban free-rider Fabio Wibner came to Israel and filmed a six-minute video of his amazing bike-riding skills. He wheelies around Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Masada and the Ramon crater. His video has had over 1.7 million views.

British Formula One motor racing team and constructor ROKiT Williams Racing has signed 25-year-old Israeli Roy Nissany to their 2020 driver lineup. He will test drive in Formula One and race in Formula Two until he gains enough points to compete in Formula One.

The events being held for Israel Space Week at the end of Jan include the Bloomfield Science museum Jerusalem marking 50 years of the first Moon landing. Visitors to Netanya Planetanya can pretend to be astronauts and the Israeli Space Agency hosts the 15th Ilan Ramon International conference

17-year-old Israeli Noa Szollos made history by winning two skiing medals at the Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland. She won silver in the Alpine Combined and bronze in the Super G, to gain Israel’s first ever winter games medals for either youth or adult Olympics.

Microsoft has hired celebrity TV chef Haim Cohen to oversee six dining areas available to employees in its new campus in the central Israeli town of Herzliya. Cohen owns two Tel Aviv restaurants and is currently a judge on the Israeli TV version of MasterChef.

The Six Senses Shaharut hotel in Israel’s Negev desert has been recommended by CNN as well as the UK’s Times as one of the top new lodges to stay at in 2020. “The perfect destination for the intrepid luxury traveler” only opens later this year.

A new exhibition “From Sheba to Jerusalem" at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, displays the history and culture of the (now non-existent) Jews of Yemen and South Arabia. They traded with the land of Israel and in the 4th century CE became subjects of the “Jewish Kingdom of Himyar”.

The first episode of the third season of the Israeli hit drama “Fauda” was viewed by about 1 million Israelis. The TV series, about an IDF commando unit, is in Hebrew and Arabic. Netflix aired its first two seasons with English subtitles. The third season will be shown on Netflix during 2020.