Israel Active

The NY Times has named Israeli TV series “Prisoners of War” the Top International TV series of the Decade. The Keshet network series was remade in the US as Homeland in 2011. Screenwriter, director and producer Gideon Raft also produced The Spy and Red Sea Diving Resort.

Forbes magazine lists Tel Aviv among its 20 best cities in the world to visit in 2020. It highlights White City Center museum, opened for the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus architecture movement. Tel Aviv is home to more than 4,000 Bauhaus-style buildings – the most in the world.

Eitan Hermon, 45, lost his leg while a reservist in the Second Lebanon War. He was determined to not only walk again, but also to run marathons. After over 35 marathons, Hermon set a world record at the Vienna Marathon and was top in his category at the New York marathon.

The International Electronic-Sports Federation (IESF) has announced that Israel will, for the first time, host the E-Sports World Championships in Nov 2020 in Eilat. It is the world’s largest and most prestigious gaming event, with over 500 players from 60 countries.

The city of Eilat is the first resort in Israel to ban disposable cups and bags from its beaches to protect the Red Sea from the “threat of plastic”. Beachgoers are forbidden from bringing disposable items onto the beach, whether made of plastic, aluminum, cardboard or paper.

The Jerusalem Grand Prix, part of the World Championship for chess, is taking place in Jerusalem (Dec 10 – 23). It is the first time that Israel has hosted the competition. The sixteen competitors include Israel’s Boris Gelfand.

Israel lifted the cup in the 10th edition of Admiral Cup Sailing Regatta at the Indian Naval Academy in Kannur, India. Israel’s Itai Schroit won the individual men’s event with his countryman Ido Mazor finishing third.

The Hamin Festival will be held over the course of three weekends in January at Tel Aviv’s North Market. On Thursdays and Fridays, visitors can buy a wide variety of Sephardi (Oriental and Spanish & Portuguese) “hamin” and “tbit” stews and Ashkenazi (Eastern European) “cholent” stews.

In 2017 London hosted a Tel Aviv festival.  Now Tel Aviv has reciprocated. The 4-day LND in TLV fest (Nov 27-30) featured music from a Queen tribute band, literature based on Shakespeare, classical music, dance, British beer and of course fish & chips. Supporters included UK-based Virgin Atlantic.

After years of work on the Walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, the Northern Ramparts Walk (Wall Promenade) is now open. The new section covers over half of the Old City to the west, north, and east. It gives a bird's-eye view of the Christian and Muslim Quarters and Mount of Olives.