Israeli surfers walk out of the water after competing in a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
ASHDOD — When the sun goes down, surf’s up in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, where dozens participated this week in the city’s second annual night surfing contest.
Ashdod set up special lights on Gil Beach along the Mediterranean coast for night surfing several years ago to cater to surfers who say it is one of the best places to catch waves in Israel.
The lights went out for over a month during last summer’s war between Israel and the militant Hamas group that rules Gaza. The Palestinian coastal strip lies just further south along the shore.
During the fighting, Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel, many of which exploded in Ashdod, some 20 miles, or 30 kilometers, north of Gaza.
About 40 people competed in the five-hour contest on Wednesday night. Surfers said the water was very cold and they gathered around heaters on the beach to warm up afterward.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Here is a series of images by AP photographer Oded Bality from the surfing competition.
Israeli surfers enter the water to surf during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (photo credit: AP/Oded Balilty)An Israeli surfer catches a wave during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)An Israeli surfer waits for his heat during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)An Israeli surfer gets dressed during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea beachfront in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb.4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)Israeli surfers wait to surf during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)Israeli surfers and spectators watch a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)An Israeli surfer carries his surfboard as he waits for his round during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)Israeli surfers and spectators watch a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)An Israeli surfer catches a wave during a night surfing competition in the Mediterranean sea in Ashdod, southern Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 (photo credit: AP/Oded Balilty)
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
Advertisement
Discover Israel's most beloved poet
She died more than four decades ago, but Leah Goldberg remains a magnetic and enigmatic figure: Israel’s most beloved poet, a powerful woman who lived with her mother and never married, who reinvented herself from the ashes of World War I through her magical writing.
You can screen 'The Five Houses of Leah Goldberg' June 4-11. Join The Times of Israel Community today to support our work and watch this and other outstanding documentary films in our DocuNation series.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
