Party to aid orphaned kids
After escaping the Nova music rave, Arad, a young Israeli, and Ari, his “Dead Sea Revival” activist father, have organized “Echoes of Hope” - a fundraising event on Dec 31 to benefit the Israeli Children’s Fund. The Jaffa Hotel has donated its entire venue.
Soccer successes
Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Gent 3-1 to clinch first place in its Europa Conference League group and advance to the round of 16. Maccabi Haifa with a 2-1 win over Panathinaikos advanced to the Europa Conference League Playoffs.
Other sports results
Timna Nelson Levy won a silver medal at the European judo championships. Israel’s women’s goalball team have qualified for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. At the World Junior Sailing Championships in Brazil, Maayan Shemesh and Emilie Louviot won silver medals and Mika Kafri won bronze.
When classical meets klezmer
The Jerusalem Street Orchestra Ensemble is performing on Dec 27 at the Menahem Begin Heritage Center, Jerusalem, as part of the Spectacular World of Jewish Music.
Beyonce invites released hostage to concert
US superstar Beyonce has offered an open invitation to Emily Hand, the 9-year-old Irish-Israeli girl recently freed from Hamas captivity. Emily adores Beyonce who heard that Emily’s father had promised to take his daughter to a Beyonce concert anywhere in the world.
Taekwondo gold medal
Israeli (and World) Taekwondo fighter Asaf Yasur won a gold medal at the final (para) grand prix event of the year in Manchester. Asaf lost his hands in an accident when he was 12.
A ball in the net is a good response
A massive crowd of pro-Palestinian supporters shouted abuse at the Israeli national soccer team during their UEFA Conference League match. It only motivated the Israelis who won the game 2-1 and now advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
Jerusalem Biennale embarks on world tour
The 6th Jerusalem Biennale (see previously) was all but ready to open in Israel’s capital when war broke out. Now the 35 exhibitions featuring 200 artists will be showcased in the countries where the artists originated, including New York, Buenos Aires, and Italy.
The unity of purpose
The previous newsletter contained a review of “The Genius of Israel” by Saul Singer and Dan Senor. Here now is an interview with co-author Saul Singer. His message is that Israelis are satisfied with life, rather than happy, and much more together than before the war. Hope my wife buys me the book!
World Illustration award winners
In the 2023 World Illustration Awards competition of the Association of Illustrators, Israel’s Orit Bergman and Anat Warshavsky were overall professional winners and first in the Site-Specific category. Israel’s Stav Assis won a new talent award. Only 20 of the 5,000 illustrators won prizes.