Israel Active

According to statistics from the National Library, Israel published 7,863 books in 2013 - 235 more books than in 2012. Israel's annual Hebrew Book Week began on Jun 11.

Last Friday as the Rolling Stones were leaving Israel for their next gig in the Netherlands, Mick Jagger wrote goodbye to his Israeli fans “Thanks to everyone in Israel for a wonderful reception. It was an amazing show and I’ll always remember it.” Plus some more videos.

Swedish retro-rockers The Hives perform on June 17 at Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa, along with the Pixies, as part of the two-day RockandRoller Festival.

Israel’s long-time soccer hero Yossi Benayoun has signed a two-year deal with Maccabi Haifa worth $1 million. The 34-year-old Israeli midfielder left Haifa in 2002 for Racing Santander in Spain and then nine years in England from 2005 with West Ham, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and QPR.

Whilst Israeli soccer legend Yossi Benayoun was returning to his roots, Israel’s next generation of soccer stars was proving its worth. Israel qualified for next month’s Uefa European under-19 Championships finals in Hungary with a 1-0 victory over Georgia.

Israeli companies NICE systems and RISCO are supplying Brazil with key security and management technology that officials are counting on to keep the peace during the World Cup soccer tournament.

A new partnership between the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg means some of Russia’s most important cultural treasures will be available for local Israeli audiences to view. The two museums will exchange masterpieces in 2015.

Mick Jagger spoke Hebrew and English to 50,000 Israelis during a concert of 19 unforgettable songs in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park. Most band members are older than the State of Israel, yet they never missed a beat, and Jagger was in perpetual motion.

Zohar Sharon, 61, has now won the World Blind Golf Championship for the fourth time in a row (his previous victories were in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Zohar tells of the reason he went blind at age 24 and how he learned subsequently to play golf.

(Thanks to algemeiner.com) TravelSupermarket.com rates Tel Aviv the sixth most popular destination according to travelers using its site and those using Twitter.