Israel Active

(Recommended by Barry) This museum, in Ma’aleh Adumim, has the benefit of being beautiful looking inside and also looking out. The location is magnificent.

EPOS, the International art film festival, is the first film festival to be held in Israel that will be dedicated to encounters between the arts and cinema. The EPOS Festival will be based in Tel Aviv, at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, however, will see films simultaneously shown across the country

The Fed Cup Women's Tennis Games will be held at Red Sea Tennis Centre in Eilat, which was built especially for the games. Israel, which hosted the games in 2011, is the first country to host the European-African zone group for two years in a row.

The nomination marks the 10th time an Israeli film has been up for Best Foreign Language Film. Director Joseph Cedar said, “We were aware that initial screenings had been warmly received, but still we were very surprised." Also good article on the powerhouse of Israeli cinema.

Habima, the national theatre of Israel, has officially reopened its doors, five years after stage performances were relocated for renovations. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played Beethoven's "Consecration of the House," the same piece played at the original opening in 1945.

Israeli pop-dance group, “The Young Professionals” have signed a three-album deal with Universal Records. Ivri Lider and Jonny Goldstein’s single, D.I.S.C.O., has already received 600,000 hits on YouTube since its release last June and it is now a regular on DJs' playlists around Europe.

To coincide with the winter bird migration season, please read this lovely article describing the unique qualities of the Hula Valley and the rest of the Upper Galilee as a tourist destination.

In their final world tour of their 45-year history, the German heavy metal band returns to Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena on May 7. The Scorpions are considered one of the most successful bands in the history of music, mostly thanks to their sweet ballads compared to other groups of the same genre.

(Thanks to Shulamit) Spring is just around the corner and in March the International Eilat Birds Festival takes place. Here is a lovely film clip of the amazing variety of ornithology that you might spot.

Israman, the gruelling international Iron Man competition that is ranked as one of the top 10 most challenging long triathlons in the world, took place on January 20, 2012 in the coastal resort town of Eilat. The Israman competition includes a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike ride followed by a 42.2 km run.