Israel Active

Niv – a crested macaque monkey at Israel’s Ramat Gan Safari – has adopted a chicken that wandered into his enclosure.  Zoo officials say that the unlikely pair are inseparable.

Israeli judoka Tal Flicker earned a bronze medal in the under-66 kilo class at the World Judo Championships in Budapest. He beat Ukraine’s Georgii Zantaraia, who had previously won the gold medal at April’s European Championships.

One benefit from the lowering of the level of the Dead Sea is that it has exposed some amazing salt crystal formations.

The city of mysticism, Safed (Tzfat) is one of Judaism’s four holy cities. It is also home to the world’s largest festival of klezmer music. This year is the 30th that the city has hosted the festival.

I reported previously (29 Jan) that Golden State Warriors were the first US NBA Basketball team to use the Israeli SmartCourt training system. Their “smart” move may have been partly responsible for them winning the NBA Championships in June.

For about two weeks every year, the Israel’s Judean Desert is transformed into a lush oasis with a green carpet and an abundance of flora and fauna.

I wrote previously (Sep 2013) about the Beer Bazaar in Tel Aviv that sells up to 93 different Israeli beers. The Beer Bazaar has now opened in Jerusalem, which is featured in this article about Jerusalem’s craft beer scene.

On International Yoga Day, Tel Aviv organized the world’s largest yoga mat art installation.  Israel’s Amit Trainin, of the Bezalel art institute, designed the 1,400-square-meter yoga mat painting, which was assembled using 1500 yoga mats in Rabin Square, for use by hundreds of Israelis.

Watch this 360-degree video of a tractor driver in Israel’s Hula Valley, spreading food to birds migrating between Europe and Africa to keep them from destroying local agriculture.

Gal Gadot, the Israeli star of the film “Wonder Woman,” rose to No. 1 on The Hollywood Reporter’s Top Actors list, which is a ranking of the most popular actors on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus.