Israel Active

The Israel Tennis & Education Centers (ITEC) is using the Abraham Accords to encourage Arabs in Israel and elsewhere to take up tennis. In Jan, ITEC players and coaches flew to Bahrain. The ITEC is also running programs for Arab, Bedouin, Christian, Druze and Jewish kids in six Israeli cities.

Maccabi Tel Aviv's volleyball team made history after it qualified for the final of the Volleyball Challenge Cup, becoming the first Israeli team to reach a European final. The final will take place on March 5th and 15th.

At the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit, actor Lior Raz and Fauda cofounder Avi Issacharoff revealed some secrets that would have shocked their spy characters – they are big fans of romantic comedies! They also said that the Startup Nation’s TV successes were turning Israel into the “Content Nation”.

The Avraham Hostel in Tel Aviv is hosting Fadichot Night on Feb 28. A “Fadicha” (plural: Fadihot)” is an Israeli word for an embarrassing moment. This Fadichot Night’s theme is “the Travel Fadichot”. Tell your story or just listen – because we’ve all had a Fadicha worth sharing!

Israel’s Knesset Museum stores many of the 1,200 gifts the Jewish State has received from other countries and important figures.  Here is a glimpse. It will be revealed in full to the public to celebrate Israel’s 74th birthday.

Israeli judoka Gili Sharir won the gold medal in the women’s under 63kg category at the 2023 Paris Grand Slam judo competition. Israel’s Gefen Primo won the women’s under 52kg bronze medal.  Israel’s Peter Paltchik also took home the bronze medal in the men’s under 100kg category.

Mar 17 is the date for the Jerusalem Marathon. Israel’s Emergency EMT NGO United Hatzalah has formed a team that will be running to save lives.  Israelis can also join the team to help raise funds. Register at

Veteran English actor Hugh Laurie (famous as Dr Gregory House) is joining the cast of Israeli spy thriller Tehran for its third season. It marks another high-profile casting after movie icon Glenn Close featured in Season Two. Laurie is expected to play a nuclear inspector.

Jerusalem’s streets last week were a contrast of clouds, downpours, and sunshine. So were some of Jerusalem’s events.  And notice the elderly Arab man leaving Mount Scopus’ Hadassah hospital in a Yad Sarah wheelchair.  Mazel Tov to Sharon on her new grandson.

A rare gold bead from the end of the Roman era has been discovered in Jerusalem's City of David during excavation of the Pilgrimage Road. It was made using unique delicate workmanship to affix tens of tiny balls together in the shape of a ring to create one small bead.