Grapevine: Scooting to the finish line

The motivation to be first past the finishing line is something that doesn't fade with time, electric scooter race proves.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Noa Tishby 521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Noa Tishby 521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
■ AGE DOES not dull the desire for a competitive edge. At the initiative of Afikim Electric Vehicles and Mishan Sheltered Living in Ramat Efal, some 30 septuagenarians participated in a race on electric scooters.
The race included riding on dirt tracks, asphalt and paving as well as on undulating terrain. To make the race even more exciting organizers deliberately placed obstacles in the path of drivers to test their reflexes. At the very start of the race the female contestants declared that they would prove once and for all that women are better drivers than men. And indeed the winner was Masha Dalba, with Moshe Yankowitz coming in second and Sarah Levy third. Afikim CEO Sharon Laventer said that this was the third race of its kind and each time it generated fresh excitement among participants and spectators, especially because, for some of the participants, the electric scooter is their only means of getting around.
Mishan general manager Pini Gavish said that as someone who lives with senior citizens day in and day out, he was unfailingly surprised by the competitive spirit demonstrated by the seniors or the fact that the women never tired of proving their superiority. The motivation to be first past the finishing line was something that didn’t fade with time.
■ ACTRESS, PRODUCER and fashion model Noa Tishby is on a frequent commute between Hollywood, where she lives, and Tel Aviv, where her mother lives – but it’s not just to see her mother that she comes home. It’s also because she’s the house model for ml. But now she has an additional reason to come home. She’s also been chosen as the international presenter for Michal Negrin, which means not only Tel Aviv but also Tokyo and lots of other exciting cities.
■ LESS THAN eight weeks after the death of his grandfather, business tycoon and mega philanthropist Sammy Ofer, a new Sammy Ofer came into the world, weighing in at 3.8 kg. The son of Idan and Batya Ofer, he is the sixth child in the immediate family. On his fathers side he has four siblings from previous unions, and on his mother’s side he has a sister born during his mother’s first marriage.
■ THE ISRAEL launch of Ashoka will take place on July 17 at the Tel Aviv Museum with the participation of President Shimon Peres, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Ashoka social entrepreneurs from Israel, Canada and the United States. Ashoka is a global organization that financially and professionally supports individual social entrepreneurs and brings them together into communities of social entrepreneurs to help promote transformation and development for the communities around them. Social entrepreneurs are ambitious and persistent individuals who have devised innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They don’t wait for governments or business sectors to deal with problems, if at all, but look at flaws in the system and try to bring about change by creating awareness among entire societies and persuading them to take a leap of faith in order to move forward.
The managing director of Ashoka Israel is Dr. Nir Tsuk who joined Ashoka in June 2005 immediately after completing his PhD at Cambridge. At Ashoka he started out as a director of global fellowship and then served on Ashoka’s People Team before launching Ashoka in Israel, where it has been quietly operating as a pilot project until it was ready to make the big splash.
■ IN ISRAEL the instant association with the Ben-Shemen Youth Village is President Shimon Peres, who met his late wife, Sonia, there more than 70 years ago. But today Ben-Shemen has other connotations. For instance it is a musical mecca for young pianists who don’t want to spend the school vacation shopping, partying or working. Founded and directed by pianist and musicologist Michal Tal, who teaches at the Givatayim Conservatory, has a doctorate in music and who studied at the Tel Aviv Music Academy, Indiana University and the Juilliard School in New York, the young pianists’ program gives budding pianists the time and the place they need to practice and improve as well as exposure to audiences through concerts for two hands, four hands and six hands. The music repertoire runs from classics to jazz and teachers in the program are from the Jerusalem Music Center.
Much as the youngsters love to sit and play, tickling the ivories is not all that they do. There’s fun and games as well, including yoga for those who feel they need the discipline.