Israel Active

Israeli animators, comics, artists and cartoonists gathered recently at the 15th annual Animix Festival in Tel Aviv. Israeli animation and artwork is popular all around the world.

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren was honored with the Career Achievement Award at the 29th Israel Film Festival. She said her time working at an Israeli kibbutz shortly after the 1967 Six Day War helped make her the actress she is.  

At 28, Russian-German pianist Igor Levit has been described as “the pianist of the century”. He won BBC Music Magazine and Royal Philharmonic Society awards in 2014. He has just been in Israel for five concerts in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra.

At the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, Israelis Yarden Gerbi and Sagi Muki won bronze medals. They were the first Israelis to be allowed to compete in the competition, but had to appear under the World Judo Federation flag as the Arab country banned the display of the Israeli flag.  

During the 50th year of Jerusalem’s Israel Museum it is also recognizing 50 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany. Its “Twilight Over Berlin” exhibit is a collection of 50 artworks that were considered “degenerate art” and banned by the Nazis.  

Contestants and spectators enjoyed uninterrupted sunshine during the first-ever European Beach Tennis Championships to be held in Eilat. 15 international teams competed. The video shows the Dutch team enjoying the tournament, venue and nightlife.  

Actor Morgan Freeman, who had the “supreme” role in the movie “Bruce Almighty” visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem and met with the Kotel Rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz. Also, actor Sean Penn is arriving in November as the guest of the Israeli humanitarian aid organization IsraAID.  

This week’s Kol Cambridge playlist from DJ Antithesis on Tel Aviv’s Radio TLV1 contains some stimulating Israeli music. It includes new releases from Lior Narkis, Moshik Afia, The Revivo Project, Idan Raichel, and Zion Golan.  

Superstar comedian Jerry Seinfeld is to make his first standup performance at Tel Aviv’s Menora Mitvachim on Dec 19. Seinfeld last visited Israel in 2007 when he was promoting “The Bee Movie.” As a teenager, he did a stint as a kibbutz volunteer.  

A new documentary is to be shown on PBS stations across the United States beginning early 2016. “Medical Miracles from Israel” will tell the remarkable story of the medical device industry in Israel today and will list the life-saving tools that Israel has provided the world.