Israel Active

Two Israeli films have made the “shortlist” of ten finalists for the 2015 Live Action Short Film Oscar and they were both directed, at least in part, by women. The two movies are “Aya,” by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, and “Summer Vacation” by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon.

Israel’s Yarden Gerbi won first place in the under 63-kilo category at the Qingdao Grand Prix international judo competition in Qingdao, China.  The victory marks Gerbi’s third gold medal in less than six weeks, having also won international grand prix tournaments in Tashkent and Astana.

(Thanks to NoCamels.com) Israeli student Noa Raviv was chosen as the “Best Fashion Designer of the Year” at the international 3D Printshow event in Paris.  The designs only exist virtually and cannot be produced in the real world.  (In my opinion - probably just as well.)

The popular Backstreet Boys have rebooked their postponed Summer 2014 Ra’anana concerts for 19-21 May 2015.  Previously purchased tickets will still be valid.

In front of 30,000 fans, Israel defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 Sunday night to take them to the top of UEFA 2016 European Soccer Championship qualifying group B.  Israel had previously beaten Andorra 4-1 and Cyprus 2-1 last month.

US basketball star Tamir Goodman joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2002 to avoid playing on the Sabbath.  He also served in the IDF and married an Israeli girl.  Now as Director of International Business Development for Hapoel Jerusalem, he also runs camps for Israeli kids.  In August, he formally made Aliya.

(Thanks to Hazel) Israeli author Zeruya Shalev won the 2014 Prix Femina Étranger, a French literary prize for foreign novels, for her book "What Remains of Life," which tells the story of relationships in Israel throughout several generations and was published by Keter Books in 2011.

Imagine yourself in the Mediterranean beaches of Tel Aviv, riding on a surfboard while holding on to a specially designed kite, using the wind for propulsion.  That’s kitesurfing, and you’ll see many Israelis and tourists having fun with this extreme sport nearly every day of the year.

Israel’s Ehud Friedlander and Inon Liran won the open pairs world championships at the 14th Red Bull World Bridge Series in Sanya, China. The was an impressive 3% over the runners-up from Poland.  Also, Israel’s won the by 3%.

Israeli 17-year-old high school student Avital Boruchovsky is the 2014 European Youth Under 18 Chess Champion, after winning a four-hour game against his Spanish opponent Jaime Santos Latasa at the championships in Georgia.