Israel Active

A volunteer, working with the excavation team in Susita (aka Hippos) discovered a gold ring and a pair of earrings, dating back nearly two millennia. The team also uncovered many fragments of intricate stucco work from a Roman-Byzantine residential neighborhood.

Nine international historians, archeologists, and filmmakers each won the 2025 Dan David prize along with $300,000. The one Israeli winner, Bar Kribus from Tel Aviv University, is an archaeologist specializing in Ethiopian archaeology and the history and culture of the Ethiopian Jews.

Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osborne, who recently passed away at the age of 76, played two packed-out concerts in Israel, in 2010 and 2018. He, and his Jewish wife Sharon, visited key religious and historical sites including Yad Vashem. He recently condemned the BBC’s anti-Israel bias.

For the first time, Israel’s Guy Sasson with Netherland’s Niels Vink won the Wimbledon quad (wheelchair) doubles tournament, adding to their success at the French Open in June. Sasson said  “As the lion roars and as the young lion rises. The people of Israel live.” (Num 23 v24 Am Kalavi)

Israel’s Blessing Akwasi Afrifah won the 200-meters gold at the 2025 U-23 European Athletics Championships in Bergen, Norway. He was defending the title he won in 2024.

History was made at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), as Israeli-American Michael Mizrachi clinched the world championship title and walked away with a staggering $10 million prize. The son of an Israeli father, Mizrachi proudly displayed a tattoo of the Israeli flag on his arm.

The City of Jerusalem’s ice-skating rink is back at The First Station. You can now bring all the family to cool off from the blazing summer sun. It’s one of the most advanced ice skating facilities in Israel, using real ice, with an area of about 1000 sq meters. Open (not Shabbat) until Oct 22, 2025.

This summer in the Upper Galilee brought an unexpected surprise: flocks of pink flamingos have arrived from Iran and Turkey and chosen to remain at KKL-JNF’s Hula Lake, even during the hottest days of summer. For the first time, the flamingos have skipped their usual migration north.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) has appointed the Jerusalem-born violinist Nitzan Bartana as its incoming and first female concertmaster. Currently second concertmaster with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Bartana has also played with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra since 2008.

Originally discovered in 1990 near Kibbutz Urim, close to the Gaza Strip, the Be’er Shema (Birsama) mosaic is now permanently displayed at the Merhavim Regional Council HQ in the Negev. It contains 55 detailed medallions of mythological subjects.