Israel Active

According to his message in the guest book of Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, Bono likes Israel’s capital city. And he left a thoughtful poem to share his hopes for future peace.

Organizers of a rowing competition for the disabled in Italy forgot to bring the CD with the national anthem, "Hatikvah," to the awards ceremony. Israel’s Moran Samuel won the competition and then took the microphone and sang the national anthem to great applause.

The Star of David was on show during the London Marathon. Three athletes were running to raise money for Magen David Adom and one even carried the Israel flag.

Water was the theme of the Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrations at Mount Herzl. And the subsequent spectacular Israeli TV show transformed popular water-themed songs into a cascading extravaganza of music and dance.

Israel's Arik Ze'evi made history by winning his 4th gold at the European Judo championship in the under 100kg category. At 35, he is also the oldest ever champion. The Israeli team won another three medals at the European championships, held this year in Russia. Arik now goes on to compete at the 2012 London Olympics.

Israeli sharpshooter Sergey Richter won the silver medal in the 2012 Shooting World Cup held in London. Richter won 701.1 points and was a mere half a point from winning the gold. The win also represents a personal record for the 23-year-old from Raanana.

Adi Deytsch and Oren Blitzblau won bronze medals in the European Championships' competitions, which took place in Eilat. Deytsch, an above the knee amputee, finished third in the Male Tri-5 event. Blitzblau finished third in the Male Tri-6 event for the blind.

A new website has been launched to make Tel Aviv more accessible to tourists.

Three Israeli students have reached the final ten in Google's Photography Prize competition, beating out more than 20,000 students worldwide who entered the contest. The finalists' work will be displayed at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London for a month-long exhibit.

Jordi Cruyff (son of Johan Cruyff) has been appointed sports director of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football team. The former Dutch international and Manchester United midfielder will officially join the Israeli Premier League club at the end of the season.