Israel Active

When Ireland played Israel in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers in Riga in February (see ) the Irish players refused to shake hands with the Israelis who won 87-57. When the teams met again in Riga in November, the Irish players did shake hands. Israel still trounced them: 90-61.

The ADL’s annual “In Concert Against Hate,” in Washington, DC included performances by Israeli singer Eden Golan of her original song “October Rain,” and by Australia’s Sia, of Titanium”. Sia dedicated her performance to the Nova festival survivors of the Oct 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack.

Israel’s soccer team finished its UEFA Nations League campaign with a respectable 0-0 draw against France and a stunning 1-0 win against Belgium (world number 6). The goal was scored in the 86th minute by Yarden Shua (Israeli Jew) assisted by Dia Saba (Israeli Muslim).

Professional cycling team Israel-Premier Tech has concluded its 10th and most successful season, ranked 11th worldwide. Co-owned by billionaire philanthropist Sylvan Adams, IPT competed in 88 races, securing 29 stage victories and 88 podiums and globally promoted the best face of Israel.

Israel’s National Library is to launch a project to digitize dozens of sacred texts of Beta Israel - the Ethiopian Jewish community. High-resolution digital scans of the documents (written in Ge’ez, the ancient language used in Ethiopia) will be generated and made accessible on the NLI website.

Israel’s Daniel Boaron, 13, won the 2024 Ju-Jitsu World Championship (under-14, under-48 kg) in Crete after his final opponent from the UAE was disqualified for an offensive gesture at the end of the match.

Outgoing US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, has filled his Jerusalem home and office with the works of artists who have been affected by the Oct 7 Hamas terrorist invasion. “This artwork shows that dreams come true if people work hard at it,'” said Lew.

169 books and publications have been printed about the war since Oct 7. The most topics are research studies (42 books); testimonies and stories of heroism (29); the effects of attacks, the hostages, the IDF & politics (30); religious (18), poetry (14); art (11); prose (9); and for children’s (3).

Thousands of spectators watched Israel’s first-ever state-sanctioned camel race. The event, held near Ashalim some 22 miles south of Beersheva, was organized by the Bedouin community, in conjunction with the ministries of the Diaspora, Agriculture the Development of the Negev and the Galilee.

150+ runners in the New York City Marathon dedicated their race to raising awareness for the 101 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Dubbed the “Run for their Lives” team, the runners wore t-shirts depicting the five hostages who were avid marathon and triathlon competitors.