Israel Active

She didn’t win Miss Universe but Avigail Alfatov (Miss Israel) has won Israel’s Youth Fencing Championship seven times and hopes to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She currently works in computer security whilst serving in the Israeli Air Force. Prior to that she was a volunteer for Akim, the charity that supports those with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

You can now watch a daily newscast from Israel in English – a morning brief and a daily roundup. It claims to broadcast “fair, honest, real, true televised news” with “no slant, no political agenda, just the news”.

The northern port city of Acre / Akko once served as the last stronghold of the crusaders in the Holy Land 1,000 years ago. Today it attracts not only history buffs, but many who enjoy the old city's culinary scene, from traditional handmade hummus to Middle Eastern fusion cuisine.

The annual International Puppet Theatre Festival in Jerusalem is the biggest in the country. Here is an enchanting new video of the 2015 festival.

US Comedian Jerry Seinfeld kicked off the first of four sold-out performances in Tel Aviv in front of more than 11,000 fans at a packed basketball stadium. One of his lines was that “Israelis have two answers to any question: “no problem” or “that’s impossible”.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a new, multi-sensory installation at the Tel Aviv Port. “Open a Door to Israel” comprises nine giant screens, shaped as doors, which visitors open to learn about Israel’s heritage, music scene, family life, education and innovation. See it before the exhibit moves to Rome in January, followed by Germany, France, Russia, South Korea, Japan, China and the US.

Israelis won three medals at the 2015 European Short Course Swimming Championships at the Wingate Institute in Netanya. Yakov Toumarkin came second in both the 200m backstroke and 100m medley. Gal Nevo came 3rd in the 400m medley.

The Pirate Kings mobile game from Israel’s Jelly Button Games has generated more than 50 million downloads since 2012, even though it hasn’t been aggressively marketed on a global basis yet.

Israeli gas stations have had a facelift recently. Many have added restaurants, serving high-quality food. Kosher ones include Nero Express (Gan Hatsafon), Minato (Caesarea), Ella Patisserie (Nahal Alexander) and Just Hummus (Katzrin).

Thanks to Scott Richman of AJC Live for these two interviews. The first is with Seth M Siegel, author of “Let There Be Water - Israel's solution for a water-starved world” and the second is with Dr. Alon Gratch, author of "The Israeli Mind - How the Israeli National Character Shapes Our World."