Israel Active

Israelis are still having success in sporting competitions. Israel’s Daniel Bluman won the Longines International Equestrian Federation Jumping World Cup in Toronto.  Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Zorya Luhansk 3-1 in the UEFA league, and Israel advanced to Europe’s rugby super cup semi-finals.

Thousands of cranes are arriving at Israel’s Hula Valley nature reserve in the north as they do every fall. They join flamingos, pelicans, and thousands of other birds which migrate through Israel - a vital stop on their journey from Europe to Africa.

Israeli soccer teams Umm Al Fahm and Kafr Qasim observed a 1-minute silence for the victims of Oct 7 prior to their match. “Wishing for better and beautiful days, for Arabs and Jews alike,” said a statement from Umm al-Fahm team owner Muhammad Abu Alam.

Israeli judokas were able to bring some pride to the nation last weekend as Gili Sharir and Raz Hershko both took home the silver medals while Inbar Lanir captured bronze at the European Championships held in Montpellier, France.

Noam Sasson has come joint-first in the European Rapid Chess Championship 2023 under-10s in Slovenia, following the conclusion of a day and a half of games. He previously won the European School Chess Championships 2022 and is a graduate of the "Chess4all" chess club (see previously).

For the first time, Israel’s women won the Venice Cup at the 46th World Bridge Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, beating Turkye in the final. The competition took place at the end of August, shortly before the Sept 8 earthquake.

See the latest video showing the beautiful Valley of Hennom in Jerusalem (see previously) which the City of David organization has transformed from the Valley of Hell into a family-friendly park, that was enjoyed by many during the recent Festival of Sukkot.

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.