Today is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, a historically minor Jewish holiday that has gained momentum and become an important day in Israeli history. While we all know that Rosh Hashana is the official new year for the Jewish calendar, today’s holiday of “Tu Bishvat” is celebrated as the “New Year of the Trees. Read More »

Say what you want about Madonna, but numbers don’t lie. The pop legend’s Super Bowl performance on Sunday was the most watched of all time, with 114 million people tuning in. The next time she sings “Like a Virgin,” it will be to a maximum crowd of 8 million – assuming everyone in Israel attends her show in Tel Aviv. Read More »

By Vicki Cobb Here, he is a household name, a national hero in the eyes of these bright students. Nine years after his untimely death, Ilan Ramon, the first and only Israeli to travel to space, is a powerful inspiration for the hundreds of Israeli students reaching for the stars. Read More »

Earlier today, Hollywood’s phones were ringing off the hook as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for this year’s Oscars, which will take place February 26th. Read More »

For most high school students, a winning experiment in a science fair means a blue ribbon and maybe some extra credit in biology. That’s so 20th century. Thanks to an amazing initiative launched by YouTube and Lenovo, the science fair is not only global, but out of this world. Read More »

Leave it to the Israeli people to make something out of nothing. Tel Aviv, a bustling metropolis which is the heart and soul of modern Israeli society, would have been unrecognizable a century ago. Unlike Jerusalem, whose history dates back thousands of years, Tel Aviv was literally nothing but a pile of sand dunes when it was founded in 1909. Read More »

As if it wasn’t enough that his wife Beyonce is storming the headlines after giving birth to their first child, music mogul and all around legend Jay-Z is investing big in a hot new tech sector, just signing a multi-year agreement to be the face and voice of Duracell Powermat JV . Read More »

Like Captain Planet before them, Israelis and Palestinians are teaming up to “take pollution down to zero” – at least when it comes to the Kishon River, one of the country’s most polluted. This joint ecological venture between the West Bank city of Jenin and the Gilboa Regional Council is amazing for many reasons. Read More »

By David Shamah Once upon a time, you went to the library to find out stuff you didn’t know. Then came the Internet — and research that once took days and weeks now could be done in a matter of minutes. Read More »

Is Channukah early this year? Is it late this year? When was the last time Channukah was ever on time? According to the Jewish calendar, Channukah begins on the 25th of the month of Kislev. Read More »

(Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Technion Executive Vice President and director General Dr. Avital Stein and congratulated her on the selection of the Technion, along with Cornell University, to build an applied science and engineering campus in New York City. Read More »

  Answer a few simple questions, and earn yourself a sizable cash prize. Sounds like pretty typical trivia show fare, right? Well, the problem with most quiz shows is, when you get the answer wrong, it’s usually just a step backwards, or an anti-climatic “game over. Read More »

By Avigayil Kadesh Israel’s Olympic windsurfing hopeful Lee Korzits readily admits to being a hyperactive thrill-seeker. Only on the water is she truly able to focus. “I can’t concentrate anywhere else, so it’s like a meditation place for me,” she says. “I learn to be quiet – really quiet. Read More »

As a sideline to what has been over a month long of festive international exposure events showcasing dance, music, theatre and arts to the eyes of presenters visiting Israel from all parts of the world, one exceptional musical evening, organized by Read More »

Bradley Chalupski, celebrating his win andholding a (frozen) piece of Israeli history   In 1980, at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY we witnessed the “Miracle on Ice” – the amazing win by a young U.S. hockey team over the feared Soviet squad. It is one of, if not the most celebrated underdog story in modern sports history. Read More »

He arrived in Israel with one purpose in mind–contributing to the establishment of the Israeli Air Force. He was the second Commander of the “101 Squadron” and a one of a kind pilot. The IAF is saying goodbye to one of the most influential people to ever serve the State of Israel. Read More »

What do you get when you combine Alvin Ailey, one of the most respected names in modern dance, with Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin? You get Minus 16, best described as breaking down the barrier between audience and performer. Read More »

Roberto Cavalli’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection   While most of us spent last week getting our pies and plane tickets ready for Thanksgiving, in Israel, the grand feast was taking place on the runway with Tel Aviv Fashion Week 2011. Read More »

On Monday evening, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a long-overdue ban on the act of “declawing” cats. Declawing involves the surgical removal of all claws of the cat, and they cannot grow back. Read More »

For better or worse, it’s not hard to find “Israel” in the news. But you’d have to search pretty hard to find Israelis in the news, the people that make up the country the size of New Jersey. Read More »