Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
has competed at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
as a nation since 1952. Its
National Olympic Committee
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
was formed in 1933, during the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
.
Israel has sent a team to each
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
since 1952 (except when they participated in the
American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies late ...
), and to each
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
since 1994. The country became a member of the
European Olympic Committees
The European Olympic Committees is an organisation based in Rome, Italy, consisting of 50 National Olympic Committees from the continent of Europe.EOC members include transcontinental countries Turkey and the Russian Federation, as well as Israel, ...
(EOC) in 1994.
Medal tables
Medals by Summer Games
Medals by Winter Games
*
Bold — Highest in column.
Medals by summer sport
List of medalists
History
![Israeli stamps 1964 - Israel at the 1964 Summer Olympics 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Israeli_stamps_1964_-_Israel_at_the_1964_Summer_Olympics_2.jpg)
In 1933 the
Palestine National Olympic Committee was officially formed, and was recognized by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
in May 1934, despite never competing (the 1936 games were held in Nazi Germany and were boycotted by this Jewish Olympic committee, while the 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to WWII).
Although the Palestine National committee represented
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
,
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
living in British-ruled
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
, its rules stated that they "represent
dthe
Jewish National Home
A homeland for the Jewish people is an idea rooted in Jewish history, religion, and culture. The Jewish aspiration to return to Zion, generally associated with divine redemption, has suffused Jewish religious thought since the destruction o ...
."
In 1948, shortly after the State of Israel was established, its request to participate in the
1948 Olympics was denied, as Mandatory Palestine had ceased to exist and the newly formed State of Israel wasn't yet recognized by IOC.
Israel was previously part of the
Asian Games Federation
The Asian Games Federation (AGF) was the governing body of sports in Asia from 1949 to 1982. The federation was disbanded on 16 November 1982 in New Delhi and succeeded by the Olympic Council of Asia. The AGF was responsible for the organisation ...
until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 instead of joining the new
Olympic Council of Asia
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah.
The headquarter ...
, Israel opted to join the
European Olympic Committees
The European Olympic Committees is an organisation based in Rome, Italy, consisting of 50 National Olympic Committees from the continent of Europe.EOC members include transcontinental countries Turkey and the Russian Federation, as well as Israel, ...
.
Competing
Israel won its first Olympic medal in its tenth Olympic appearance, in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, in
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
when
Yael Arad
Yael Arad ( he, יעל ארד; born May 1, 1967) is an Israeli judoka. She was the first Israeli to win an Olympic Games, Olympic medal. She is widely recognized as one of Israel's most successful athletes and is credited with bringing judo into ...
won a silver medal.
She was followed a day later by another judoka,
Oren Smadja
Shay-Oren Smadja ( he, אורן סמדג'ה; born June 20, 1970) is a former Israeli judoka and a judo coach. Smadja won the Olympic Games, Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics, making him the first Israeli man to win an Olymp ...
, who won bronze.
Since then, Israel won a bronze medal in five successive Summer Olympics until the streak ended in 2012. Additionally, in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
Gal Fridman
Gal Fridman (or Friedman, he, גל פרידמן; born September 16, 1975) is an Israeli windsurfer and Israel's first Olympic Games, Olympic gold medalist. Fridman won a bronze medal, Bronze Medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta 1996 Summer ...
became Israel's first gold medallist, in men's windsurfing.
This was his second medal, following his bronze in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
,
and he is the only individual multi-medallist. Israel also won 2 bronze medals in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
.
In the postponed
2020 Games Israel received 2 gold medals, won by
Artem Dolgopyat
Artem Olegovich Dolgopyat ( he, ארטיום אולגוביץ' דולגופיאט; ukr, Артем Олегович Долгопят; born 16 June 1997) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli artistic gymnast. He is the 2020 Olympic champion on floor e ...
in men's gymnastics (floor routine), and
Linoy Ashram
Linoy Ashram ( he, לינוי אשרם; born ) is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around Champion, the 2018 World All-around silver medalist, two-time (2017, 2019) World All-around bronze medalist, the ...
in women's rhythmic gymnastics (individual all-around), and 2 bronze medals, one won by
Avishag Semberg
Avishag Semberg (or Abishag Samberg, he, אבישג סמברג; born 16 September 2001) is an Israeli taekwondo athlete. She was an Olympic bronze medalist for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's 49 kg competition. She won Isr ...
in
taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
, and 1 won by the
judo Mixed team. As a member of the
Israel national judo Mixed team,
Ori Sasson became Israel's second multi-medalist, while the latter bronze one is a shared one.
Through 2018, Israel has not won any medals in the Winter Olympics.
Ágnes Keleti
Ágnes Keleti (''né'' Klein; 9 January 1921) is a Hungarian-Israeli retired Olympic and world champion artistic gymnast and coach. She is the oldest living Olympic champion and medalist, reaching her 100th birthday January 9, 2021. While repres ...
, who emigrated to Israel in 1957, holds more medals than any other Israeli citizen. During the
1952 and
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
Ágnes won 10 medals competing for
Hungary at the Olympics
Hungary first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, and has sent athletes to compete in most Summer Olympic Games and every Winter Olympic Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1920 Games for its role in Wo ...
. The only Jew to hold more medals than Keleti is American swimmer
Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...
, who won 11.
Israel has been
more successful at the
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
than at the Olympics, with 375 medals between 1960 and 2016.
Conflicts with nations
1972 Summer Olympics
Eleven members of the
Israeli Olympic team were murdered by
Palestinian terrorists during the
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
.
The tragedy caused the Israeli delegation to withdraw from the remainder of the Games.
The murdered people were:
*
David Berger, 28, weightlifter
*
Ze'ev Friedman
Ze'ev Friedman (10 June 1944 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli flyweight weightlifter. A member of the Israeli Olympic team, he was killed in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.
Biography
Ze'ev Friedman was born in Prokopyevsk, Soviet Unio ...
, 28, weightlifter
*
Yossef Gutfreund
Yossef Gutfreund (1 November 1931 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli wrestling judge for his country's 1972 Olympic team. He was murdered in the Munich massacre by Black September terrorists along with 10 other members of the Israeli team.
Bi ...
, 40, wrestling referee
*
Eliezer Halfin
Eliezer Halfin (18 June 1948 – 6 September 1972) was a Latvian-born wrestler with the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Along with 10 other athletes and coaches he was taken hostage and later murdered by Pale ...
, 24, wrestler
*
Yossef Romano
Yossef Romano ( he, יוסף רומנו; 15 April 1940 – 5 September 1972), also known as Joseph Romano or Yossi Romano, was a Libyan-born Israeli weightlifter with the Israeli team that went to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Ger ...
, 32, weightlifter
*
Amitzur Shapira
Amitzur Shapira ( he, עמיצור שפירא; 9 July 1932 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli sprinter and long jumper. He was head coach for the Israeli track and field team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He was murdered by ...
, 40, track coach
*
Kehat Shorr, 53, shooting coach
*
Mark Slavin
Mark Slavin ( he, מרק סלבין, russian: Марк Славин; 31 January 1954 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler and victim of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
He was the youngest of th ...
, 18, wrestler
*
Andre Spitzer
Andre Spitzer ( he, אנדרי שפיצר; 4 July 1945 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli fencing master and coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He was one of 11 athletes and coaches taken hostage and subsequently killed by terrorists ...
, 27, fencing coach
*
Yakov Springer
Yakov Springer (June 10 1921 – 6 September 1972) was a wrestler and a Powerlifting, weightlifting coach and judge, but is best known as one of the victims of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
During the Holocaust, Springer to ...
, 51, weightlifting judge
*
Moshe Weinberg
Moshe Weinberg ( he, משה ויינברג sometimes Weinberger; 19 September 1939 – 5 September 1972) was an Israeli wrestler who was the coach of the national team, as well the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv.
He began his career in Hapoel Haifa. H ...
, 33, wrestling coach
On 3 August 2016, two days prior to the start of the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
officially honored the Israelis killed for the first time. They were also honored during the Opening Ceremonies of the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
.
1980 Summer Olympics
Israel was one of the countries that
boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest at the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, but also because of
Soviet opposition to Israel and
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...
.
2004 Summer Olympics
An Iranian judoka,
Arash Miresmaeili
Arash Miresmaeili ( fa, آرش میراسماعیلی , born March 3, 1981 in Khorramabad) is an Iranian judoka. He now serves as the President of the Iranian Judo Federation.
World Judo Championships
He won the gold medal in two World Judo Cha ...
, did not compete in a match against Israeli
Ehud Vaks
Ehud "Udi" Vaks ( he, אהוד "אודי" וקס; born 27 June 1979) is an Israeli judoka.
Vaks won a bronze medal at the 1998 under-20 World Judo Championships in the under 60 kg weight class.
2004 Olympics
In the 2004 Summer Olympi ...
during the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, due to the government of Iran having taken steps to avoid any competition between its athletes and those from Israel. He was officially disqualified for being overweight, however Miresmaeli was awarded US$125,000 in prize money by the Iranian government, an amount paid to all Iranian gold medal winners. The
International Judo Federation
The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in July 1951. The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National ...
conducted an investigation to see if he intentionally came in overweight in order to miss the bout. He was officially cleared of intentionally avoiding the bout, but his receipt of the prize money raised suspicion.
2016 Summer Olympics
![Or Sasson - Rio 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Or_Sasson_-_Rio_2016.jpg)
Saudi Arabian judoka,
Joud Fahmy, forfeited her match in the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
possibly in order to avoid competing against Israeli
Gili Cohen
Gili Cohen ( he, גילי כהן; born June 19, 1991) is an Israeli retired Olympic judoka. In 2013, she won the silver medal at the European U23 Championships, and she was a bronze medalist at the 2014 European Judo Championships. She comp ...
. Later in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Israeli
Or Sasson
Or "Ori" Sasson ( he, אור "אורי" ששון; born 18 August 1990) is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the se ...
defeated Egyptian judoka
Islam El Shahaby in the first round, after the match ended, Sasson tried to shake his opponent's hand, but El Shahaby refused.
Prior to the 2016 opening ceremony, the
Lebanese delegation was assigned to ride on the same bus as the Israeli delegation. The head of the Lebanese team, Salim al-Haj Nicolas, admitted that he demanded that the bus door be closed on the Israeli team, and that the Lebanese demanded that the Israeli athletes not board the bus.
Udi Gal
Udi Gal ( he, אודי גל; born June 11, 1979) is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a sailing world championship three-time bronze medalist.
Biography
Gal is Jewish, and was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He started sailing at 8 years of age, and ...
, an Israeli Olympic sailor, said his team ultimately decided to travel separately to avoid an "international and physical incident" but added "How could they let this happen on the eve of the Olympic Games? Isn't this the opposite of what the Olympics represents?"
Rio 2016 Olympics: Lebanese athletes refuse to travel with Israel team
/ref>
Olympic participants
Summer Olympics
Winter Olympics
See also
* Israel at the Paralympics
* List of flag bearers for Israel at the Olympics
* Sport in Israel
Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) - with the first ...
* Jewish Olympics
The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
* Antisemitism in the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics, are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are co ...
* Boycotts of Israel in sports
Boycotts of Israel in sports refer to various disqualifications and denial of Israeli athletes. As part of a more or less systematic boycott of Israel, Israeli athletes and teams have been barred from some competitions. In many international compe ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Olympic medalists for Israel