Helen Mirren says her time working at an Israeli kibbutz shortly after the 1967 Six Day War helped make her the actress she is, and Israel’s Adi Deutch lost his leg from a Lebanon landmine blast, but ran the NYC marathon.

By: Michael Ordman

CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Israel visit helped make Helen Mirren

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren was honored with the Career Achievement Award at the 29th Israel Film Festival. She said her time working at an Israeli kibbutz shortly after the 1967 Six Day War helped make her the actress she is.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/202663#.VjunY-Ln-Vd

Israeli amputee runs NYC marathon

Israel’s Adi Deutch lost his leg from a Lebanon landmine blast in 1979. In 2012 the US Friends of the IDF enrolled Adi in the Strides program and gave him an athletic prosthetic leg. Adi now runs triathlons, cycles, plays soccer, volleyball and just ran the New York Marathon.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/fidfs-israeli-miracle-man-in-nyc-marathon/2015/11/02/0/

Israel hosts “pianist of the century”

At 28, Russian-German pianist Igor Levit has been described as “the pianist of the century”. He won BBC Music Magazine and Royal Philharmonic Society awards in 2014. He has just been in Israel for five concerts in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/variation-is-the-spice-of-life-for-young-pianist-of-the-century/

Israeli animation at its best

Israeli animators, comics, artists and cartoonists gathered recently at the 15th annual Animix Festival in Tel Aviv. Israeli animation and artwork is popular all around the world.

http://www.animixfest.co.il/

Tel Aviv’s first street-art gallery

Israel has opened the Street Art Gallery in the heart of Tel Aviv’s Florentine back-alley graffiti scene. Its first exhibition entitled “Temporary Crew” showcased 13 artists with names such as Know Hope, Wonky and Signor Gi. The gallery plans to offer street art tours of the area.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Israels-first-dedicated-Street-Art-Gallery-opens-in-Tel-Avivs-Florentine-neighborhood-430107

Jerusalem street party

A reminder of the cosmopolitan nature of Israel’s capital city. This video was recorded just a few weeks ago.

Simply Red are coming to Tel Aviv

Simply Red last performed in Israel in 1992 in front of 50,000 fans. They are returning on Jun 14 2016 to perform at the Menora Mivtachim (formerly Nokia) Arena in Tel Aviv as part of their 30th anniversary celebrations.
http://igoogledisrael.com/2015/11/simply-red-line-up-a-june-2016-concert-in-tel-aviv/

Rare songbird arrives in Israel

50 years after their last autumn appearance in Israel, a flock of 30-40 blue-cheeked bee-eaters, including fledglings, flew over a group of ornithologists at the Yerucham Lake Park in the Negev. The bird experts played recordings of bee-eaters to attract the birds and managed to ring six of them.
http://www.israel21c.org/rare-songbird-reappears-in-israel-after-50-years/

Click here for all of this week’s Good News from Israel.

Send Passover Packages to Needy Israeli Soldiers - Bring Them Joy!

We are honored to thank the young men and women of the IDF who risk their lives every day to protect the citizens of Israel. Since October 7th, soldiers have been on the battlefield for months - many are hoping to come home for Passover.

Join us in sending Passover food packages (and personal notes) to Israeli soldiers and their families.

Many soldiers spend the Passover holiday with needy families back home. The soldiers greatly appreciate your love and concern. Bring them Passover joy!

CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR PACKAGE AND NOTE TO ISRAELI SOLDIERS!