Israel Active

Bruno Mars was able to make his first appearance in Israel on Oct 4. The US pop superstar, accompanied by his band The Hooligans, wowed the 60,000 sold-out crowd for almost two hours at Tel Aviv’s Park Hayarkon. (His second concert scheduled for Oct 7 was cancelled.)

The series, Bros, an 8-episode Hebrew-language comedy-drama available exclusively on Netflix starts Nov 9. It will be shown in 190 countries.  Bros tells the story of inseparable childhood friends, co-owners of a local Jerusalem bar, and die-hard Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans.

Israel has approved the creation of a new, 90-square-kilometer (35-square-mile) nature reserve at Ramat Mazar in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. The area is home to several species unique to Israel, e.g., the Nubian ibex, dorcas gazelle, desert tawny owl and Blanford’s fox.

Israel’s national tennis team scored a surprise 3-2 win against Japan in the Davis Cup World Group, advancing to playoffs that could see it reach the tournament’s final 16. Singles wins by Daniel Zukerman and Yishai Oliel on Sunday overcame a 2-1 deficit.

Team Israel advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Baseball Championship on Tuesday with an 11-8 victory over Belgium in Prague. Israel eventually finished in sixth place in the competition.

Israel’s Yulia Chernoy won her first gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the World Parasport Shooting Championships in Lima.

Israel’s IDF disabled veterans increased their tally of medals from five (see previously) to fourteen by the end of their first Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany. They added another two more table tennis golds including in the men’s doubles finals between two Israeli pairs.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, IDF singer Orr Amrami sang an AI-powered “duet” with the late Leonard Cohen.  In 1973, Cohen made a special trip to Israel to perform for soldiers at the front.

The Israeli Artists Project is holding the Stav Festival, named after the Hebrew word for “fall” or “autumn”, from Sep 28 to Oct 29 in New York City. It features 100-plus Israeli artists, a mix of theatrical plays, live music, an art exhibit, children’s activities, and interactive workshops.

Jerusalem’s hi-tech National Library of Israel is opening in Oct. The 46,000 sqm building has 11 floors and cost NIS 860 million. It will house over 4 million books, photos, newspapers, collections, maps, manuscripts, posters, records, tapes, plus millions of digitized documents & recordings.