Israel Active

The Israeli U23 team (ranked 7th) won the Gold medal at the European fencing championships, decisively beating hosts Estonia, second-seed Sweden, Italy, and then Switzerland in the final. As Hatikvah was played, the Swiss team refused to acknowledge the Israeli victory.

Israel’s marathon runners won a historic four medals in the European Athletics Championships in Brussels. The men’s team won gold, while the women’s team won a silver medal.

Israel Football Association Chairman Moshe “Shino” Zuares was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee, the top governing body of European soccer.

A wild dromedary trotted through Rosh HaAyin’s industrial park in central Israel, evading municipal veterinarians’ attempts to capture the animal. The camel calmly walked down the roads, as motorists drove around the animal and stunned pedestrians stared. It then returned to the Arab city of Kfar Kassem.

As millions of birds migrate this season, one is capturing hearts around the globe - the only known black flamingo in the world! It stopped in Eilat, Israel, on its way to Europe, thrilling birdwatchers and nature lovers alike.

On the fourth and final day of the 13th European Age Group Competitions in Acrobatic Gymnastics, seven finals were contested. Israel had a fabulous day, earning a grand total of 4 European titles and 2 silver medals.

In the 2025 - 26 season, at least two more Israelis will join Deni Avdija in the National Basketball Association (NBA) league. They are 19-year-old guard Ben Saraf, who grew up in Moshav Gan Yoshia and 21-year-old 7-foot Danny Wolf, born in Glencoe, Illinois – an Israeli U21 star in 2023.

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv captured the EuroCup championship earning promotion to the 2025–26 EuroLeague. Hapoel beat Gran Canaria, becoming only the second Israeli club ever to lift the EuroCup trophy, joining Hapoel Jerusalem, which won it in 2004.

40,000 runners in the 14th International Jerusalem “Winner” Marathon included elite athletes, IDF soldiers, families, blind & partially-sighted. At the start, ex-hostage Karina Ariev asked them to “dedicate this run to the memory of our heroes who sacrificed their lives so that we could stand here today.” (United Hatzalah video)

JNF-USA’s Galilee Culinary Institute (see previously) is due to be opened on May 7 by Israeli-born, French-educated chef Lior Lev Sercarz. It will bring its new unique program to the upper Galilee and not only to change the landscape of the food industry, but bring life to the food basket of Israel.