Israel Active

Arab Israeli Kfar Qassem beach soccer club “Falfala” made history by winning the Euro Winners Cup 2023 in Portugal. They beat Italy’s Lenergy Pisa in the final thanks to a dramatic penalty shootout. Falfala has won Israel’s national league title five times between 2007 and 2019.

Philanthropist Stuart Weitzman is making a transformative gift to develop new tennis and athletic facilities as part of the Israel Tennis & Education Centers in Jerusalem and Ramat Hasharon. The ITEC foundation supports children in underserved areas across Israel.

Five-time Grammy-award-winning American pop singer Christina Aguilera will perform in Israel for the first time on Aug. 10 at Live Park in Rishon Letzion. Meanwhile, Bruno Mars has sold all 124,000 tickets for his Oct 4 and 7 shows at Yarkon Park and now may add a third date.

Legendary hard rock band Guns N’ Roses performed in front of a sold-out crowd of 60,000 at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park. It was their fourth show in Israel over the past 20 years (see previously). Police closed several roads in Tel Aviv due to congestion ahead of the concert.

Recent events on the real Jerusalem’s streets include breaking ground at the new Einstein House Museum (see also above), Museum of Tolerance opening, Hebrew Book Week (6,971 books published in Israel in 2022), and the 12th Temech (Haredi women’s business) conference.

The National Library of Israel is exhibiting its collection of 36 kabbalistic maps. The 17th century scrolls are arboreal (tree) diagrams of the Divine, their branches composed of images and words rooted in the fundamentals of Kabbalah, a strain of Jewish mysticism that began in the 12th century.

Rick Richman’s new book tells how Zionism, supported by Americanism, created a modern miracle. Told through the little-known stories of eight individuals who collectively changed history. Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, Jabotinsky, Abba Eban, Brandeis, Golda Meir, Ben Hecht, and Ron Dermer.

The Special in Uniform Band of the Israel Defense Forces rocked the popular Zappa Club in Tel Aviv with their 500th performance in less than two years. The band’s upbeat concert, comprising IDF soldiers with special needs, had the audience on its feet for most of the evening.

The Israeli team beat Korea 3:1 to finish third in the U20 World Soccer Cup. Their amazing run of last-minute victories (see previously) came to an end in the semi-finals with a narrow 1:0 defeat by Uruguay.

Israel’s Aviad Sido, 26, became the youngest Israeli to ascend Mount Everest. The former IDF special forces commander compared the journey to life itself, filled with sadness, determination, courage, tragedy, and the hope of starting anew.