Virgin Atlantic
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, which is represented in Israel by Maman Aviation, ended his visit to Israel with a party on Thursday evening at the ARCA complex at the Tel Aviv Port. Branson was in Israel for the opening of the company’s new London-Tel Aviv route.
During the evening, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss, the most senior Israeli in the world of aviation, and Branson himself, welcomed the guests. Many senior business people attended the event in order to view the charismatic British billionaire up close. Attending were Atlantic Virgin’s commercial manager in Israel Nicholas Bettles; Maman Aviation chair Nechama Ronen; Maman Aviation managing director Ofer Rijnhart; Eyal Waldman; Gil Shwed and Meital Danino; Inbar and Marius Nacht; Avishai Avrahami, Wix founders Nir Zohar and Giora Kaplan; and UK Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan.
Peres Circle
Members of the Peres Circle at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, led by executive director Yona Bartal, spent Wednesday evening at an end-of-summer party held at the home of drip-irrigation inventor Rafi Mehudar in Akirov Towers in Tel Aviv. The guests enjoyed an a cappella concert from the opera Nabucco conducted by Michael Shani. Attending were: Peres Center for Peace and Innovation chairman Chemi Peres; daughter of the late president, Prof. Zvia Walden; Peres Center director-general Efrat Duvdevani; Michael Strauss and his son Adi Strauss.
Skin
Last week at the Glilot Cinema-City complex, Oscar-winning director Guy Nattiv promoted his new film, Skin (the full version). This was the Israeli premiere of the film, which was produced by United King Films and Shoval Films. Attending were: Moshe Edri, Hezi Bezalel, Benny Shvili, Alex Shvili and many others. Nattiv dedicated the festive screening to Leon Edri and Michael Shvili, two pioneers of the Israeli film industry.
Muzot
Last Wednesday, the Muzot High School of the Arts marked its 15th anniversary with a festive fundraiser held at Zucker Hall at the Tel Aviv Cultural Hall in Tel Aviv, which was attended by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. The arts high school was designed for children who dropped out of other schools, and provides an equal opportunity for them to study art and other subjects such as theater, film and music for their bagrut exams.
The school principals, Vered Nitzani and Lital Wasserman, thanked the large audience who came to donate this great cause and to enjoy a cultural evening that included a concert by the Israeli Sinfonietta Beersheba.
Aerin
Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of cosmetic and beauty legend Estee Lauder, and owner of the global luxury lifestyle brand AERIN, arrived during the holidays for a private visit to the Holy Land. Lauder uploaded photos to her Instagram account of the prestigious Tel Aviv hotel, The Jaffa; handmade designer hamsas she purchased; her tour of the Kotel; and a picture of herself as a girl with her father, sister and the legendary former mayor of Jerusalem – the late Teddy Kollek.
Translated by Hannah Hochner.