Israel Active

Pop diva Mariah Carey told her Israeli fans of her excitement at finally realizing her dream of visiting Israel. “I waited many years to come here, and I am very moved,” she said. Miss Carey sang Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah in Adam Sandler’s 2006 film “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”.

The Israel Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) will hold its international opera workshop in Tel Aviv between July 9 and 29. The public are able to watch students learn from some of the best teachers in the world. It includes the staging of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Biking up and down across Jerusalem's hills, while enjoying the iconic walls of the old city and the many green parks is a unique experience. This year, over 5,000 bikers took part in the Tour Jerusalem annual biking event, which was held for the third consecutive year.

New England Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft brought a delegation of 19 NFL greats to meet with 10 Israeli startups. The goodwill week-long trip to Israel, called, “Touchdown in Israel: Mission of Excellence,” was organized in coordination with Israel’s Ambassador to the USA, Ron Dermer.

Tel Aviv-Yafo’s all-night White Night event features music, theater performances, folk dancing, dance performances, operatic excerpts, classical music, jazz ensembles, rock concerts, video displays, poetry readings, discussions, sports activities, yoga lessons, parades, parties, guided tours and much more.

Behind the scenes at the ancient fortress of Masada in Israel’s Negev desert where the Israel Opera company has been performing Tosca and Carmina Burana in front of an audience of around 6000.

Israel’s Moran Samuel won the gold medal in rowing at the 2015 Paralympic World Rowing Cup in Italy. She also broke the Israeli record.

Israel’s Matan Ben-Cnaan won the £30,000 top prize in the 2015 BP Portrait Awards, currently on exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery. His allegorical portrait “Annabel and Guy” was partly inspired by the biblical story of the Israelite judge Jephthah.

Tel Aviv’s Museum of Art features (until Oct 5) an exhibition of the works of Israeli artist Otte Wallish (1906 – 1977). Wallish designed posters and exhibitions promoting Zionism that culminated in the design of the ceremony and scroll of the Declaration of Independence.

Jerusalem’s Israel Museum is exhibiting the exciting find of over 2,580 solid gold coins that divers retrieved from the sea bed off the coast of Caesarea in Feb 2015. The coins from 9th to 11th Century CE weigh a total of 7.5kg. Some display the Fatimid Caliph that founded the Druze religion.