City Notes: Thousands head North to celebrate Family Day

Thousands of families visited various tourist sites in the North last weekend to celebrate Family Day.

By COMPILEDTAMARA ZIEVE
Families enjoy their day out at the Kibbutz Gonen holiday resort. () (photo credit: YOSSI LARON)
Families enjoy their day out at the Kibbutz Gonen holiday resort. ()
(photo credit: YOSSI LARON)
NORTH Thousands of families visited various tourist sites in the North last weekend to celebrate Family Day, enjoying the mild, pleasant weather in the great outdoors with tours, workshops and other activities.
Families staying at the Kibbutz Gonen holiday resort went for rides through the Galilee and Hula Valley in open safari trucks. Tour guide Yossi Laron said that parents and children took advantage of the mild temperatures, bathing in thermal and mineral springs, while listening to explanations about the families of cranes that live there.
Hundreds of other families visited the Ein Gev Port, east of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), to take part in various events and activities.
Ein Gev tourism CEO Haim Satityahu said that masses of visitors came to the area to bask in the sun on the Kinneret beaches, as well as to go sailing. “The visitors also enjoyed creative workshops at Grandpa Yossi’s carpentry shop, a train ride at the kibbutz, and fresh juices from the fruit store,” he added.
Representatives of the Kinneret Drainage and River Authority said dozens of families traveled to the region on Saturday for guided walks in the new Sovev Kinneret trail, where hyacinths and cyclamen have bloomed prematurely due to the early spring weather.
Tzahi Carmieli, the father of a family who arrived with a full car from Karmiel, said: “It is important for us to take the kids out, particularly on a nice day like today, to make the most of Family Day, for real bonding and a trip in nature. We are amazed by the magical views of the Kinneret; we can’t believe it is winter right now.”
Yoni Dotan of the Kinneret Drainage and Rivers Authority said that numerous fishing enthusiasts Families enjoy their day out at the Kibbutz Gonen holiday resort. (Yossi Laron) 6 METRO | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014 CITY NOTES came to the Kinneret, and many families had picnics on the shores of the Kinneret Towns Association. He noted that the daytrippers took care to clean up after themselves.
Museums were additional sites of interest on the family-oriented day. Many visited the Tel Hai Open Museum of Photography and participated in photogram workshops, as well as having their own family portraits taken. Others visited the open museum at the Tefen Industrial Park, where they listened to stories, had picnics, wandered around the sculpture garden and participated in creative workshops.
Man killed in bus accident near Tiberias A 60-year-old man was pronounced dead Monday morning after a bus hit a private car, on the road between Ginossar and Tiberias near the gas station at Nof Ginossar.
Following attempts to resuscitate the man at the scene, he was pronounced dead. It was not immediately clear if he had been in the bus or in the car.
Another passenger was treated for light injuries.
CENTER 2 killed in Petah Tikva car explosion In the early hours of Monday morning, a car driving down Golomb Street in Petah Tikva exploded, killing two people.
Police arrived at the scene, and suspect the incident was of a criminal nature. The investigation was transferred to the Central District’s central unit.
English-language performing arts community puts on ‘Vagina Monologues’ A new English-language performing arts community in Tel Aviv is putting on a production of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. The group, called The Stage, is kicking off performances this weekend, with the first show running this Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Beit Yad Lebanim in Tel Aviv. Other performances are being held on February 15 and 20, at the same time and place.
The play is based on interviews Ensler conducted with 200 women, concerning their perspectives on sex, relationships and violence against women.
The group is collaborating with Beit Yad Lebanim in order to raise fund and awareness for the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center, which will benefit from the proceeds. Regular tickets cost NIS 50, and are NIS 40 for students and soldiers.
Netanya mayor hosts police chief Danino for city tour Last week, Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar hosted Police Insp.-Gen.
Yohanan Danino for a comprehensive tour. The visit began in the city center, where the mayor presented the challenges facing the rapidly developing city as it absorbs new immigrants.
“Creating a secure and highquality environment, which provides high standards of personal and community security across the city, is our target,” the mayor said. “The fruitful cooperation between the municipality and the police has stood the test, and we are grateful for this. In about three months’ time we will inaugurate the Police Square in Netanya, in recognition of the efforts and hard work of the police for the security and quality of life of Netanya’s residents.”
For his part, Danino said that he had a “soft spot” for Netanya, where he started his career as a prosecutor.
“I cannot ignore the great work that Feirberg-Ikar and her team have been doing,” he said. “The mayor is one of the most prominent in Israel, and in her own unique way she has managed to change the image of the city for the better.”
“And the proof: Today, there is ‘the other Netanya,’ and we must praise the work done here in the municipality, and the police officers who provide professional services for the benefit of local residents.
SOUTH 6th Limmud Arava to take place in desert Several hundred people are expected to gather in the desert next week for the sixth year of Limmud Arava, to discuss issues pertaining to Jewish, Zionist and Israeli identity. Speakers include Natan Sharansky, Giora Eiland, Prof. Orit Kamir, Dr. Avigdor Shinan, Dr. Zohar Raviv, Prof. Rivka Carmi, Dr. Guy Tal, Rabbi Benny Lau, Orna Assaf Malka, Yair Garbuz, Danny Kerman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Gidon Levy, Ehud Banai and others.
Singer-songwriters Shlomi Shaban and David Menahem will also attend the weekend, to put on evening performances.
The two-day conference will run on February 13 and 14 in Sapir, the community settlement of the Central- Arava Regional Council. Discussions will cover tradition, current events, education, history, philosophy, politics, psychology, creative writing and art.
Participants may purchase overnight packages, and there is also the option for a field trip led by ornithologist Oded Keinan, researcher of the Arabian babbler in the Arava desert.
Eilat kids get underwater education Fifteen hundred schoolchildren in Eilat were set to enrich their underwater education this week, with a screening of a film called Eilat’s Reef Talks, hosted by educator Zvika Livnat, as part of their environmental studies. The screening was also open to the general public on Tuesday.
The Local website quoted Rona Shapira, head of the Environmental Education Department, as saying: “Lectures will accompany projections on a huge screen, of rare video clips that were recently filmed in our gulf’s waters. This is an experience that enriches knowledge, laughter and visual beauty, that moves the students and brings them close to the underwater kingdom in an unforgettable manner.”
Livnat is an artist, educator and underwater photographer who began his career in Eilat’s waters over 20 years ago. His films have won many international awards and his work is broadcast daily on Israel’s National Geographic channel. Livnat has delivered hundreds of lectures in schools, universities and museums around the world.