Israel Active

Israeli swimmer Gal Nevo took home the silver medal at the European Championships in London.  He completed the 200-meter individual medley in 1:59.69 minutes. Nevo and five other Israeli swimmers have already qualified for the Rio Olympic Games.

Did newsletter readers spot that one of the winners of the Boys Doubles at the French Open tennis championships at Roland-Garros was Israel’s Yshai Oliel.  The 16-year-old left-hander and his Czech partner Patrik Rikl beat their opponents 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

Israel’s National Hebrew Book Week every June features large outdoor book fairs, special Book Week sales at bookstores all around the country, and a variety of events such as music, performances, children's events, workshops, and storytelling.

Jun 20-25 is when Verdi’s Rigoletto is being staged at the grand Sultan’s Pool, against the backdrop of Jerusalem’s iconic Old City walls.

Now in its 32nd year, “The Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee” July 12-16 features dozens of concerts: chamber, orchestral as well as vocal, informal concerts, meetings with artists, movies and open rehearsals. (click on “English”)

The beautiful show that conquered Europe and USA is coming to Israel for the 1st time. The 17 talented Spanish dancers will perform their new show Estampas de Espana in Tel Aviv, Karmiel, Herzliya, Jerusalem and Haifa from July 19-24.

Every day for the past month UK’s Sky TV has been broadcasting this video of slackliner (tightrope walker) Heather Larsen balancing on a stretched wire between the towers of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Israel’s booth at the Buenos Aires Book Fair was awarded a prize for “originality and creativity.”  The booth, almost completely devoid of furniture, included a “factory of laughs” and a “risometer” that measured the power of the visitors’ laughs. Israel won the same prize in 2014.

Israel's Nili Block added the IFMA Muaythai World Championship title to the one she won in kickboxing last year after claiming the gold medal in the under-60-kilogram competition in Jonkoping, Sweden.  Block defeated Irina Chernova of Ukraine in the final. Muaythai is similar to kickboxing.

Concerts in Israel in June include from Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Simply Red, Foreigners (“I Want to Know What Love Is”), Alice Cooper and Barry Manilow.