Israel Active

2012 data provided by Israel’s police indicates a major boost in Kotel tourism compared to 2011. The data includes regular worshipers and the many thousands who come for special prayer services on holidays as well as tourists and other visitors.

(Thanks to SDM) If you visit South By South West in Austin Texas next week, you will get an opportunity to hear performances from some of the best Israeli groups.

Here is the full video of Iranian-born Israeli singer Rita’s concert at the United Nations.

Runners from 52 countries competed in the 2013 Jerusalem Winner International Marathon. Ethiopians won both the men’s and women’s races in record times. Note that Radiya Mohammed Roba of Ethiopia came second in the women’s marathon. Meanwhile, the UN cancelled the Gaza marathon because Hamas wouldn’t allow women to race. Happy International Women’s Day.

Tom Franz – winner of Israel’s “Master Chef” is proud that his buffet is so good that people who don’t observe Jewish dietary laws can’t detect that it’s kosher.

Barbie and Ken are the alter egos of Italian couple Enrico Pescantini and Maria Giovanna Callea and their so-called holiday snaps are the final result of a pop-art project the two undertook during a vacation last August, aptly called "Barbie Loves Israel." The exhibition has been featured in the Italian editions of popular fashion magazines Vanity Fair and Vogue.

Tel Aviv became home to the largest “Harlem Shake” dance video yet, hosting some 70,000 people in front of the Tel Aviv Museum. The video was made during a pre-Purim street party.

Iranian-born Israeli diva Rita will perform “Tunes for Peace,” at the UN General Assembly Hall on Mar 5 in a first-of-its-kind event organized by the Israeli Mission to the UN. Rita will sing in Hebrew, English and Farsi in front of UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, diplomats and Iranian community leaders.

A multimedia visitors’ center has been built at Tel Shiloh – site of the Sanctuary (Mishkan) before King David brought it to Jerusalem. The centre opens during Passover, projecting movies onto transparent windows inside a tower that looks out onto the site where the actual events happened.