![Photo by Nir Keidar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Photo_by_Nir_Keidar.jpg)
Sport in Israel plays an important role in
Israeli culture
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that ...
and is supported by the
Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been
Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(mainly) and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(secondly) - with the first being considered the
national sport
A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while oth ...
- in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the
Maccabiah Games
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 ...
, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.
The government's support and budgeting of sports in Israel is relatively low in comparison to other western countries. However, many Israeli athletes and teams managed to gain international success. The
Israeli national basketball team
The Israel men's national basketball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל) represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 33rd in the ...
has won 2 gold medals in the
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
and 1 silver medal at the
European Championship, and basketball club
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
is considered one of the best teams in Europe with 6 European titles. The
Israeli national football team
The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).
Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...
has won the
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...
and the
Israel Davis Cup team
The Israel men's national tennis team (Hebrew: נבחרת גביע דייוויס של ישראל) represents Israel in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Israel Tennis Association. As of June 2020, Jonathan Erlich became Captai ...
reached the semifinal of the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
. 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 ...
,
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 won 13 medals.
History
Jewish physical fitness was promoted in the 19th century by
Max Nordau
Max Simon Nordau (born ''Simon Maximilian Südfeld''; 29 July 1849 – 23 January 1923) was a Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic.
He was a co-founder of the Zionist Organization together with Theodor Herzl, and president or vice ...
and his concept of
Muscular Judaism
Muscular Judaism (german: Muskeljudentum) is a term coined by Max Nordau in his speech at the Second Zionist Congress held in Basel on August 28, 1898. In his speech, he spoke about the need to design the " new Jew" and reject the " old Jew", wit ...
. The
Maccabiah Games
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 ...
, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes inaugurated in 1932 is held every fours years.
In 1964, Israel hosted and won the
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...
. In 1970, the
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).
Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...
qualified for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, which was considered a major achievement for Israeli football. Israel was excluded from the
1978 Asian Games
The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...
due to Arab pressure.
Major sports
Football
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
(
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: , ''Kaduregel'') is the most popular sport in
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 ...
. The sport is governed by
Israel Football Association
The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variet ...
. It joined the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
in 1954, but was expelled in 1974 due to political pressure from Arab and Muslim members in the context of the
Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict is an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by the ...
. It was admitted to
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
as an associate member in 1992 and as a full member in 1994, therefore their teams compete as part of Europe in all international competitions.
The matches that draw the largest crowds are those of the
Israeli Premier League
The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...
. In 1967,
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...
became the first club to win the
Asian Club Championships. In the
2001–02 UEFA Cup
The 2001–02 UEFA Cup was won by Feyenoord at their home ground in the final against Borussia Dortmund. It was the second time they won the competition.
Liverpool could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2001–02 U ...
Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking out
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Lokomotiv Moscow
FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москв ...
and
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
.
Israeli teams were also qualified five times to the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
group stage, including
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...
in the
2002–03 and
2009–10 seasons,
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
in the
2004–05 and
2015–16 seasons and
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...
in the
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season.
The
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).
Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...
hosted and won the
1964 AFC Asian Cup
The 1964 AFC Asian Cup was the 3rd edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Israel from 26 May to 3 June 1964.
The tournament ...
and qualified for the
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May t ...
, which was held in Mexico.
Mordechai Spiegler
Mordechai "Motaleh" Shpigler ( he, מרדכי "מוטל'ה" שפיגלר; born 19 August 1944) is a retired Israeli footballer, and manager. Shpigler is placed second in Israel's all time goalscoring list, with 32 goals in 83 caps.
Early life ...
scored in a 1–1 draw against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Israel's Olympic football team qualified for the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
and the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
both times reaching the quarter finals. Israel's highest
FIFA ranking
The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...
was 15th in November 2008.
Famous matches of the Israeli football team include the 3–2 win in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in the 1994 world championship qualifying games, which ended up disqualifying the French team from the championship in the United States, the defeat of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
5–0 in 1999 during
Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament wa ...
qualifications, and a 2–1 win over
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in a friendly match in 1998, a game played in
Teddy Stadium
Teddy Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טדי) is a sports stadium in the Malha neighborhood of Jerusalem. Three football teams currently use the stadium: Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem, and the Israel national football team for select home match ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Successful Israeli players who also played outside Israel include
Eli Ohana
Eliyahu "Eli" Ohana ( he, אלי אוחנה; born ) is an Israeli former football player and the former chairman of Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He played as forward or midfielder for Beitar Jerusalem, KV Mechelen, S.C. Braga, and the Is ...
,
Giora Spiegel
Giora Spiegel ( he, גיורא שפיגל), (born July 27, 1947) is an Israeli former footballer and coach. As a footballer, he holds the record for the longest Israeli international career, spanning 14 years and 357 days.
Biography
Born in P ...
,
Ronny Rosenthal
Ronny Rosenthal ( he, רוני רוזנטל; born 11 October 1963), nicknamed "Rocket Ronny", is an Israeli former footballer who played as a forward.
After starting his career in his birth city with Maccabi Haifa, Rosenthal went on to play in ...
,
Avi Cohen
Avraham "Avi" Cohen ( he, אבי כהן; 14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010) was an Israeli footballer who played as a defender, and a manager. He was best known for his spells playing for two British clubs: Liverpool in England and Rangers ...
,
Eyal Berkovich
Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, he, אייל ברקוביץ'; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional association footballer, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter.
As a player he was an attacking midfielder ...
,
Haim Revivo
Haim Michael Revivo ( he, חיים מיכאל רביבו; born 22 February 1972) is a retired Israeli football player who played as a midfielder, and a businessman.
Sports career
Revivo is Jewish and was born to a traditional Mizrahi Jewish fami ...
,
Dudu Aouate
David "Dudu" Aouate (or Awat, he, דוד "דודו" אוואט, ''pronounced Dūdū Ahwaht''; born 17 October 1977) is an Israeli retired professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper ...
and
Yossi Benayoun
Yossi Shai Benayoun ( he, יוסי שי בניון; born 5 May 1980) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in England and captained the Israel national team. Born in Dimona, he is s ...
.
Notable Israeli players have included:
*
Dudu Aouate
David "Dudu" Aouate (or Awat, he, דוד "דודו" אוואט, ''pronounced Dūdū Ahwaht''; born 17 October 1977) is an Israeli retired professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper ...
, Israel, goalkeeper (
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...
& national team)
*
Tal Ben Haim
Tal Ben Haim (or Tal Ben Haim I, he, טל בן-חיים; born 31 March 1982) is an Israeli footballer who last played for Beitar Jerusalem. He can play at either centre back or right back. He has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bolton Wanderers ...
, Israel, center back/right back (
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
& national team captain)
*
Yossi Benayoun
Yossi Shai Benayoun ( he, יוסי שי בניון; born 5 May 1980) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in England and captained the Israel national team. Born in Dimona, he is s ...
, Israel, attacking midfielder (
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
& national team captain)
*
Eyal Berkovic
Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, he, אייל ברקוביץ'; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional association footballer, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter.
As a player he was an attacking midfielder ...
, Israel, midfielder (
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
,
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...
,
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
national team)
*
Avi Cohen
Avraham "Avi" Cohen ( he, אבי כהן; 14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010) was an Israeli footballer who played as a defender, and a manager. He was best known for his spells playing for two British clubs: Liverpool in England and Rangers ...
, Israel, defender (
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Rangers,
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
& national team)
*
Yaniv Katan
Yaniv Katan ( he, יניב קטן; born 27 January 1981) is a retired Israeli international footballer who played professionally for Maccabi Haifa, as a forward and winger. He earned 31 caps for Israel, scoring five goals.
Personal life
Katan ...
, Israel, forward/winger (
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...
& national team)
*
Eli Ohana
Eliyahu "Eli" Ohana ( he, אלי אוחנה; born ) is an Israeli former football player and the former chairman of Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He played as forward or midfielder for Beitar Jerusalem, KV Mechelen, S.C. Braga, and the Is ...
, Israel, won
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
and
Bravo Award
The Bravo Award was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine '' Guerin Sportivo'' to the most outstanding young European footballer.
The first winner of the award was Englishman Jimmy Case. The first non-European to win the ...
(most outstanding young player in Europe); national team; manager
*
Haim Revivo
Haim Michael Revivo ( he, חיים מיכאל רביבו; born 22 February 1972) is a retired Israeli football player who played as a midfielder, and a businessman.
Sports career
Revivo is Jewish and was born to a traditional Mizrahi Jewish fami ...
, Israel, attacking/side midfielder (
Celta Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues) ...
,
Fenerbahçe & national team)
*
Ronnie Rosenthal
Ronny Rosenthal ( he, רוני רוזנטל; born 11 October 1963), nicknamed "Rocket Ronny", is an Israeli former footballer who played as a forward.
After starting his career in his birth city with Maccabi Haifa, Rosenthal went on to play in ...
, Israel, left winger/striker (
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
& national team)
*
Giora Spiegel
Giora Spiegel ( he, גיורא שפיגל), (born July 27, 1947) is an Israeli former footballer and coach. As a footballer, he holds the record for the longest Israeli international career, spanning 14 years and 357 days.
Biography
Born in P ...
, Israel, Midfielder (Israel national team)
*
Mordechai Spiegler
Mordechai "Motaleh" Shpigler ( he, מרדכי "מוטל'ה" שפיגלר; born 19 August 1944) is a retired Israeli footballer, and manager. Shpigler is placed second in Israel's all time goalscoring list, with 32 goals in 83 caps.
Early life ...
, Soviet Union/Israel, striker (Israel national team), manager
*
Yochanan Vollach
Yochanan Vollach ( he, יוחנן וולך, also Jochanan Wallach or Yohanan Wallach, born May 14, 1945) is an Israeli former footballer. He was a member of the Israeli national team that competed at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of th ...
, Israel, defender (
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...
& Israel national team)
Basketball
![Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Hapoel_Jerusalem_Basketball.jpg)
Basketball (כדורסל, ''Kadursal'') is the second most popular sport in Israel.
Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...
,
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...
and
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
dominate the domestic league and are among the top teams in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv has won the
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
championship 6 times, in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
,
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants 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 ...
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. Hapoel Jerusalem won the
Eurocup in 2004.
The
Israel national basketball team
The Israel men's national basketball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל) represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 33rd in the ...
has participated 23 times in the
European Championship. Their best achievements were a silver medal in
Eurobasket 1979
The 1979 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1979, was the 21st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Twelve national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entere ...
, and 5th place in
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
and
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
. The national team also played in two
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
and once in the
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 ...
.
![Omri gasspi israel-finland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Omri_gasspi_israel-finland.jpg)
Israeli basketball is known for its
national under-20 team, winning silver medals twice, in
2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
The 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 2000 European Championship for Young Men) was the fifth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Ohrid, in Macedonia, hosted the tournament. Slovenia
Slo ...
and
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 ...
, and finishing 4th twice (1994, 2005), 5th (1992), and 6th (2007).
Israel U-20 also took place in the U-21 World Championship, finishing twice in 7th place (2001,2005), and 6th place (1993).
The renowned "Israeli coaching school" produced many of the most successful European basketball coaches, such as
Ralph Klein
Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...
,
Pini Gershon
Pinhas "Pini" Gershon ( he, פנחס "פיני" גרשון, born 13 November 1951), is an Israeli former professional basketball player and coach. He won three top-level European-wide club championships as the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv. He wo ...
,
David Blatt
David Michael Blatt ( he, דוד מיכאל בלאט; born May 22, 1959), is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player.
Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and p ...
, and
Zvi Sherf
Zvi Sherf ( he, צבי שרף; born December 18, 1951 in Tel Aviv, Israel), known almost universally by his nickname Zvika ( he, צביקה), is an Israeli former basketball player and professional basketball coach.
Coaching career
Sherf played b ...
.
Israeli player
Omri Casspi
Omri Moshe Casspi ( he, עומרי משה כספי, born June 22, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He mainly played at the small forward position, but could play also at the power forward position.
Casspi was drafted 23 ...
previously played in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
.
Gal Mekel
Gal Mekel ( he, גל מקל, pronounced ; born March 4, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He played for the Dallas Mavericks and spent time in Europe and Israel.
He played college basketball for two years at Wichita Sta ...
, previously played in the NBA and
Shay Doron
Shay Doron ( he, שי דורון) (born April 1, 1985) is an Israeli professional basketball player in the Israeli league. She currently plays for Maccabi Ashdod.
Biography
Doron was born in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, to Yehuda and Tamari Doron. Fo ...
previously played in the
WNBA.
David Blatt
David Michael Blatt ( he, דוד מיכאל בלאט; born May 22, 1959), is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player.
Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and p ...
coached the NBA
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
. Other notable Israeli basketball players have included:
*
Moshe "Miki" Berkovich, Israel, Euroleague, 6'4"
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...
*
Oded Katash
Oded Kattash ( he, עודד קטש, born October 10, 1974) is an Israeli professional basketball coach for Maccabi Tel Aviv and former player. During his playing career, at a height of 194 cm (6' 4 ") tall, he played at the point guard posi ...
, Israel, Euroleague, 6'4"
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...
*
Doron Sheffer
Doron Sheffer ( he, דורון שפר; born 12 March 1972), is an Israeli retired professional basketball player. He spent most of his club career playing with Maccabi Tel Aviv. During his playing career he played at the point guard and shooting ...
, Israel,NCAA, Euroleague, 6'5" point guard
*
Nadav Henefeld
Nadav Henefeld (Hebrew: נדב הנפלד; born June 19, 1968) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. During his playing career, he was a 2.00 m (6'6 ") tall Power forward (basketball), power forward.
Early career
Henefeld was born ...
, Israel, NCAA, Eurolegue, 6'7 power forward
*
Tal Brody
Talbot "Tal" Brody (Hebrew: טל ברודי; born August 30, 1943), nicknamed Mr. Basketball, is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player and current goodwill ambassador of Israel. Brody was drafted #12 in the National Basketball ...
, US & Israel, Euroleague 6' 2"
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...
*
Lior Eliyahu
Lior Eliyahu ( he, לִיאוֹר אֱלִיָּהוּ; born 9 September 1985) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He is 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) in height and he weighs 105 kg (225 pounds). He plays at the power forward posi ...
, Israel, 6' 9" power forward, NBA draft 2006 (
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
; traded to
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
), playing in the Euroleague
*
Yotam Halperin
Yotam Halperin ( he, יותם הלפרין; born January 24, 1984) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He is currently the sporting director for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League and the Champions League. He is a 1. ...
, Israel, 6' 5" guard, drafted in 2006 NBA draft by
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
*
Omri Casspi
Omri Moshe Casspi ( he, עומרי משה כספי, born June 22, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He mainly played at the small forward position, but could play also at the power forward position.
Casspi was drafted 23 ...
, Israel, 6' 9" power forward, drafted in 2009 NBA draft by
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
*
Gal Mekel
Gal Mekel ( he, גל מקל, pronounced ; born March 4, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He played for the Dallas Mavericks and spent time in Europe and Israel.
He played college basketball for two years at Wichita Sta ...
, Israel, 6' 3" guard, drafted in 2009 NBA draft by
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
*
Deni Avdija
Deni Avdija ( he, דֶנִי אָבְדִיָה, sr-cyr, Дени Авдија; born 3 January 2001) is an Israeli-Serbian professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the sma ...
, Israel, 6' 9" power forward, drafted in 2019 NBA draft by
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
Chess
![Arad chess](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Arad_chess.jpg)
While
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
, as an intellectual sport, has always been played in Israel, the arrival of large numbers of
Jewish immigrants from the former
Soviet Union
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 ...
in the 1990s brought many
chess grandmasters
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black in chess, White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's King (chess), king. It is sometimes called interna ...
to Israel and increased interest in the game.
Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand ( he, בוריס אברמוביץ' גלפנד; be, Барыс Абрамавіч Гельфанд, Barys Abramavich Hel'fand; russian: Борис Абрамович Гельфанд, Boris Abramovich Gel'fand; born 24 June 1968) ...
is the 2009 World Cup winner.
Swimming
Israel Swimming Association
The Israel Swimming Association ( he, איגוד השחיה בישראל), founded in 1995, is the major swimming federation in Israel. It brings together all clubs in the country, organizes the Israeli swimming championships as well as the swimmin ...
is the major swimming federation in Israel. Swimming is popular in Israel's many beaches along the
Mediterranean coast
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...
, the
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...
, in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
at the shores of
Eilat
Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...
, in the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
and in swimming pools. Famous Israeli swimmers include
Eithan Urbach
Eithan Urbach (born 12 January 1977 in Haifa) is a former backstroke swimmer from Israel. Urbach competed in two events in the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Ol ...
,
Michael Halika
Michael "Mickey" Halika ( he, מיכאל "מיקי" חליקה; born November 11, 1978 in Jerusalem) is a former Israeli swimmer.
Swimming career
Despite being of Israeli nationality he won the 400 metres medley titles in ...
,
Gal Nevo
Gal Nevo ( he, גל נבו; born 29 June 1987) is a record-holding Israeli swimmer.
Biography
Gal Nevo was born in Kibbutz Hamadia in the Beit She'an Valley. When the local swimming pool closed, Nevo would practice at Gan HaShlosha National Par ...
,
Yoav Gath
Yoav Gath ( he, יואב גת; born November 8, 1980) is an Olympic and national-record backstroke swimmer from Israel. He swam for Israel at the 2000 Olympics.
Biography
Yoav Gath was born in Haifa. He trained at Hapoel Kiryat-Tivon swimming c ...
,
Yoav Bruck
Yoav Bruck ( he, יואב ברוק; born March 6, 1972, in Lakhish) is a former swimmer from Israel, who competed in three Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1992.
Bruck is Jewish. He finished 32nd in the 50m freestyle (23.72) ...
,
Vered Borochovski
Vered Borochovski ( he, ורד בורוכובסקי; born 27 August 1984 in Ashdod) is a former Israeli swimmer who represented Israel at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί ...
,
Amit Ivry
Amit Ivry ( he, עמית עברי; born September 2, 1989, in Eilat, Israel) is an Israeli Olympic swimmer, Maccabiah Games champion, and national record holder. She competes in the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and medley.
Ivry won ...
, and
Anna Gostomelsky
Anna Gostomelsky (; , he, אניה גוסטומלסקי; born 9 June 1981) is an Israeli swimmer who represented Israel at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Gostomelsky was born to a Jewish family in Kiev, Soviet Union (now Ukraine). ...
. At the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Israel's team qualified to the final of the prestigious
Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay.
Uri Bergman
Uri Bergman ( he, אורי ברגמן; born 1953) is an Israeli paralympic swimming champion. He competed at the 1976, 1980, and 1984, and 1988 Summer Paralympics.
Life
Bergman was born in 1953 in Kibbutz Givat Brenner and contracted polio as ...
won 12 gold medals 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 ...
, and other paralympic swimmers such as
Izhak Mamistvalov
Itzhak Mamistvalov is an Israeli Paralympic swimmer. Mamistvalov was born with cerebral palsy, and uses his right hand only when swimming. Classified S1, the class for swimmers with the most severe disabilities, he competes in S1 ...
and
Keren Leibovitch
Keren Or Leibovitch ( he, קרן לייבוביץ) (also Keren Or Leybovitch; born July 25, 1973) is an Israeli Paralympic swimmer.
Leibovitch is a three-time world champion, a five-time European champion, a holder of three world records (for the ...
won several gold medals as well.
The country's first swimming pool was built in 1933 as part of the
Jerusalem YMCA Jerusalem International YMCA is a YMCA branch in Jerusalem established in the early twentieth century.
History
In 1924, Archibald Clinton Harte, General Secretary of the International YMCA, raised the sum of one million dollars towards the const ...
. The first regulation-size swimming pool was built in 1935, just before the second
Maccabiah
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 ...
, in
Bat Galim
Bat Galim ( he, בת גלים, ''lit.'' Daughter of the Waves) is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel, located at the foot of Mount Carmel on the Mediterranean coast. Bat Galim is known for its promenade and sandy beaches. The neighborhood spans from R ...
.
Rowing
Rowing is a growing sport in Israel, and has seen a major breakthrough in recent years
Dani Fridman Israel Champion, is currently ranked 10th in the world, and
Moran Samuel
Moran Samuel ( he, מורן סמואל; April 24, 1982) is an Israeli paralympic basketball player and world champion rower.
She was chosen to light a ceremonial torch on Israel's Independence Day in 2019. She represented Israel at the 2020 Summer ...
is Israel's 1st rowing world champion (paralympic). Samuel, won her first Paralympic bronze medal, after coming 3rd at the Rio
2016 Summer Paralympics
)
, nations = 159
, athletes = 4,342
, opening = 7 September
, closing = 18 September
, opened_by = President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva
, events = 528 in 22 sports
, stadium = Maracanã
, sum ...
. Other Rio 2016 participants are Yulia Chernoy and Reuven Magnagey, who rowed together in a double scull boat and finished 9th.
![MORAN SAMUEL WORLD CHAMPION, PHOTO BY DETLEV SEYB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/MORAN_SAMUEL_WORLD_CHAMPION%2C_PHOTO_BY_DETLEV_SEYB.jpg)
Th
Daniel Rowing Centrein Tel Aviv is Israel's prime training facility, and the home of the national Olympic and Paralympic squad. The sport is practiced in Tel Aviv
Yarkon River
The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River ( he, נחל הירקון, ''Nahal HaYarkon'', ar, نهر العوجا, ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antip ...
KishonPort of Haifa
The Port of Haifa ( he, נמל חיפה) is the largest of Israel's three major international seaports, the others being the Port of Ashdod, and the Port of Eilat. It has a natural deep-water harbor, which operates all year long, and serves both pa ...
an
TiberiusSea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...
.
Other prominent athletes ar
Oleg GonorovskiTomer ShvartsmanRoni Iusteran
Diana Egerton-Warburton
Th
Israeli Rowing Federationis an active member of the
International Rowing Federation
World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (former abbreviation FISA; french: Fédération internationale des sociétés d'aviron), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who ...
FISA
Tennis
Highly ranked players include
Shlomo Glickstein
Shlomo Glickstein ( he, שלמה גליקשטיין; born 6 January 1958) is an Israeli former professional tennis player.
He reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 22 in November 1982, and his career-high doubles ranking of World ...
(world ranked #22 at his peak),
Amos Mansdorf
Amos Mansdorf ( he, עמוס מנסדורף; born 20 October 1965) is an Israeli former professional tennis player.
His career-high singles ranking was World No. 18 (achieved in November 1987), the highest ever for any male Israeli tennis playe ...
(ranked #18 at his best),
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela ( he, דודי סלע; born 4 April 1985) is an Israeli professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009.
Sela won the French Open 2003 junior doubles title. Representing Israel ...
(ranked #29 at his best),
Anna Smashnova
Anna Smashnova ( he, אנה סמשנובה, russian: Анна Смашнова; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007.
Smashnova reached her career-high singles ...
(ranked #15 at her best),
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player.
Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reached ...
(ranked #11 at her best) as well as the doubles team of
Andy Ram
Andreas "Andy" Ram ( he, אנדי רם; born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics.
He is the first Israeli tennis player to win a senior Grand Slam ...
and
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich ( he, יונתן דאריו "יוני" ארליך, born 5 April 1977) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. During his career, he was mainly a doubles specialist, having won the men's doubles title at the ...
(world #5 team in 2006 and 2008 Australian Open champions) - all of whom have trained at the
Israel Tennis Centers
Israel Tennis Centers ("ITC"; Hebrew: המרכז לטניס בישראל) is the largest social service agency for children in Israel, serving more than a half million children and their families since its first center opened in Ramat Hasharon in ...
. Since 2008, both men's and the women's teams have qualified for the top groups in the world - the men are in the
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
world group, and the women are in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
world group I. In December 2012, 12-year-old Yshai Oliel of
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
,
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 ...
, won the 51st Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship for his age group.
Track and field
![Jewish settlers near Beit HaKerem c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Jewish_settlers_near_Beit_HaKerem_c._1925.jpg)
Track and field
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
in Israel are mainly focused around the
Maccabiah Games
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 ...
and the international
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 ...
, where Israel has achieved notable successes during its short history. The
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-born
Aleksandr Averbukh
Aleksandr "Alex" Valeryevich Averbukh ( he, אלכס אברבוך, russian: Александр Валерьевич Авербух; born October 1, 1974) is a retired Russian decathlete and Israeli Olympic athlete, who competed in the pole vault. ...
was the most successful Israeli track and field athlete, having won three gold medals in the
pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
at European championships (
2000 — indoor,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
) as well as two medals at the World championships (
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
and
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
).
On August 5, 2022, Israeli-born
Blessing Afrifah
Blessing Akwasi Afrifah ( he, בלסינג אקווסי אפריפה, born 26 October 2003) is an Israeli track and field athlete who specializes in the sprints. He is the 200 metres gold medallist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022. ...
won the gold medal in the 200 meter race at the
World Athletics U20 Championships
The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the year ...
.
Marathons
Long-distance running is popular in Israel. The
Tiberias Marathon
The Tiberias Marathon is an annual marathon road race held along the Sea of Galilee in Israel. At approximately 200 meters below sea level, this is the lowest course in the world. The competition was first held in 1977, and also hosts the annual I ...
,
Tel Aviv Marathon
The Tel Aviv Marathon is a major marathon held annually in Tel Aviv, Israel, in February. Inaugurated in 1981, it was held annually until 1994. In 2009, it was revived and has been taking place annually since, attracting about 40,000 runners in 2 ...
, and the
Jerusalem Marathon
The Jerusalem Marathon () is an annual marathon running event held in Jerusalem during the month of March. The course begins at Israel's parliament (the Knesset), passes through Mount Scopus and the Old City, and finishes at Sacher Park. The c ...
take place annually in January, February, and March respectively. Another half marathon is held annually at
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi ( he, עֵין גֶּדִי, ), also spelled En Gedi, meaning "spring of the kid", is an oasis, an archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. Ein Gedi, a kib ...
, near the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
. There are various other shorter distance races over the course of the year through very different regions and terrains.
Minor sports
American football
The center of American football in Israel is the
Kraft
The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015.
A merger with Heinz, arra ...
Family Stadium in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Currently, there are 4 leagues playing
Flag Football
Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...
. The WAFI which has 13 teams: high school level which has 12 teams and a youth team, all under the association of The AFI. There're also 3 leagues playing tackle-football: a junior high football league (which has donated equipment), a high school league - IHFL and an adult's league - IFL (
Israeli Football League
The Israel Football League (IFL; he, ליגת הפוטבול הישראלית), also known as the Kraft Family Israel Football League for sponsorship reasons with the Kraft Family, is an amateur American football league consisting of eight tea ...
). The IFL has 11 teams coming from
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
,
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
,
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
,
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
and
Ramat HaSharon
Ramat HaSharon ( he, רָמַת הַשָּׁרוֹן, ''lit.'' '' Sharon Heights'', ar, رمات هشارون) is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon t ...
. The game is mainly played by
ex-pats
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
from America, South Africa, England and France. The largest league in 2007 was men's contact who competed in the annual Holyland Bowl championship. Some 1000 players are involved in weekly football activities.
In 2015 the
Israel national American football team
The Israel national American football team is the official American football senior national team of Israel. The team formed in 2012, mainly with Israeli Football League players and coaching staff.
First game
The first international American f ...
had their first international game, in the qualifier for the European Championship.
Baseball
Baseball was first introduced into the region on July 4, 1927, when baseball equipment was distributed at the Sephardic Orphanage in Jerusalem.
The
Israel Baseball League
The Israel Baseball League (IBL; Hebrew: ליגת הבייסבול הישראלית, ''Ligat ha-Beisbol ha-Israelit'') was a six-team professional baseball league in Israel. The first game was played on June 24, 2007.
League structure
The six ...
, managed by Larry Baras, was established in 2007. It was the first professional baseball league in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. In its first and only season it had six teams that played in three stadiums. The first and only champions were the
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox
The Beit Shemesh Blue Sox ( he, בית שמש בלו סוקס) were an Israeli baseball team from Bet Shemesh.
The Blue Sox was one of the inaugural teams in the Israel Baseball League. They had the best regular season record (29-12, .707), and ...
managed by
Ron Blomberg
Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He played f ...
.
The
Israel national baseball team
The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...
applied, unsuccessfully, to participate in the
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26.
Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...
. They were subsequently invited to participate in the newly created qualifying round of the
2013 World Baseball Classic
The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.
Unlike ...
. During the
2017 World Baseball Classic
The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...
qualifier Israel qualified for the main tournament and finished in sixth place.
Team Israel won the
2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool
2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool was the second tier of Confederation of European Baseball men competition. It featured 14 teams, competing in two groups of 6 and 8 teams in early July 2019. The two group winners, Team Israel and Team ...
in early July 2019 in
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
winning all five of its games. It thus advanced to the playoffs against
Team Lithuania in the
2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the
2019 European Baseball Championship
The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany.
The tournament contributed ...
.
["> "Meet the Senior National Team Coach: Eric Holtz,"]
IAB - Israel Association of Baseball. Israel won the best-of-three playoff series 2–0, and thereby qualified for the
2019 European Baseball Championship
The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany.
The tournament contributed ...
.
In Round 1 of the 2019 European Baseball Championship, Israel went 4–1. The team thereby advanced to the Championship's eight-team playoffs. In the Championship playoffs, Israel defeated
Team France in the quarterfinals, lost to
Team Italy in the semi-finals, and came in fourth.
Because Team Israel finished in the top five in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, it earned the right to participate in the
2020 Olympics qualifiers Africa/Europe Qualifying Event. As the winner of that tournament it qualified to be one of the six national teams that competed at the
2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Every member of the 24-member Team Israel that competed to qualify in the Olympics was Israeli, with four of the players native-born.
The others made ''
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
'' to Israel, under Israel's
Law of Return
The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isra ...
, which gives anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent or who is married to a Jew the right to return to Israel and be granted Israeli citizenship.
Boxing
![Yuri Foreman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Yuri_Foreman.jpg)
In Israel, boxing is not just a sport but an educational vehicle for helping young people overcome prejudices. The Israel Boxing Association (IBA) operates certified gyms in cities throughout the country, with 1,800 active members from Arab villages and Ethiopian and Russian immigrant population centers. Boxers as young as 11 train and participate in matches organized by the association. Israeli
Yuri Foreman
Yuri Foreman (born August 5, 1980) is an Israeli professional boxer who held the WBA super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010. He was born in Gomel, Belarus, but currently fights out of Brooklyn, New York. Foreman has also pursued Jewish reli ...
is a former
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
super welterweight champion.
Roman Greenberg
Roman Greenberg ( he, רומן גרינברג; born May 18, 1982) is an Israeli former heavyweight boxer based in the United Kingdom, with Moldovan origins (his parents emigrated from Soviet Union when he was 6 years old), former International Bo ...
is currently
International Boxing Organization
The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a US based corporation that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and regional championships.
It is an independent and well-known organization not recognized by the "big four" gove ...
's (IBO's) Intercontinental
heavyweight champion
At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...
.
Hagar Finer
Hagar Finer ( he, הגר פיינר, born 1984) is an Israeli boxer. She is the WIBF bantamweight champion 2009.
Biography
Hagar Finer was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 15, 1984. She took up martial arts at the age of 13 and became the Is ...
is the
WIBF
The Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) is one of the more recognized world championship fight sanctioning organizations in women's boxing. Founded in March 1989, it is based in Miami, Florida, and presided over by Barbara Buttrick. The ...
champion bantamweight.
Adi Rotem of
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
is the current world champion in
Thai boxing
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
in the under-52 kilogram class.
Ilya Grad
Ilya Grad (born June 22, 1987) is an Israeli Muay Thai boxing champion. His current professional record stands at 35-13 (16 KOs). In 2010 he was considered one of the eight best amateur Muai Thai boxers in the world. In February 2012, Grad won th ...
is considered one of the eight best amateur Thai boxers in the world.
In February 2012, Grad won the WCK international title in China and was permitted to enter Malaysia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, on an Israeli passport.
Ido Pariente
Ido Pariente ( he, עידו פריינטה; born August 31, 1978) is an Israeli mixed martial arts fighter and trainer. His nickname is "The Hebrew Hammer". He is one of Israel's top fighters.
Pariente was the Victory Fighting Championship Lig ...
is an Israel lightweight Pankration World Champion.
Canoeing
Michael Kolganov
Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, he, מיכאל (מישה) קולגנוב, russian: Михаил Калганов; born October 24, 1974) is a USSR-born Israeli sprint kayaker and former world champion (1998–99). Competing in th ...
, a Soviet (Uzbek)-born Israeli sprint canoer, has been a world champion and won an Olympic bronze in the K-1 500-meter.
Cricket
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 ...
became an associate member of the ICC in 1974. Israel competed in the
1979 ICC Trophy
The 1979 ICC Trophy was a limited overs cricket tournament held in England between 22 May and 21 June 1979. It was the inaugural ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, with matches between the 15 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and w ...
, the inaugural edition of what is now the
Cricket World Cup Qualifier
The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualifi ...
, but failed to get past the first round. They also failed to progress beyond the first round in the
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
and
1986 tournaments.
They reached the plate competition of the ICC Trophy
in 1990 and
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
and in 1996 competed in their first
European Championship in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, finishing eighth in the eight team tournament.
In the
1997 ICC Trophy
The Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg 1997 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between 24 March and 13 April 1997. It was the Cricket World Cup qualification tournament for the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Bangladesh national ...
in Malaysia, they faced political demonstrations throughout the tournament from the
Islamic Party of Malaysia
The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamen ...
. They were the first Israeli sports team to play in the country and finished in 21st place.
In 1998, they finished ninth in the European Championship ahead of only
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
and the following year travelled to Gibraltar to take part in a quadrangular tournament also involving
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
Israel have been playing in Division Two of the European Championships since 2000, finishing fifth in 2000, fourth in 2002, sixth in 2004 and seventh in 2006.
In November 2007, Israel were defeated in a relegation match against
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, in the first international cricket game played in Israel. The loss meant that they were relegated from Europe Division Two to Europe Division Three. In 2009 they were re-promoted to second division with a win over Croatia.
At the
2016 ICC Europe Division Two
The 2016 ICC World Cricket League Europe Division Two was an international 20-over cricket tournament played in Stockholm, Sweden, from 17 to 20 August 2016. It was the first official ( ICC-approved) international cricket tournament to be played ...
tournament Israel finished fourth, behind
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
There is a night cricket league playing a modified form of indoor cricket.
Curling
Israel national men's curling team has been competing as part of the European playdowns since 2014. Israel has sent teams to the world mixed, world mixed doubles and world men's seniors competitions as well.
Equestrian
Notable Israeli equestrians include:
*
Daniel Bluman
Daniel Bluman (born 15 March 1990) is a Colombian-born Israeli Olympic show jumping rider. In July 2019 Bluman, as part of Israel's four-rider squad, qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Early and personal life
Bl ...
(born 1990), Colombian-born Israeli Olympic
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
rider
Fencing
Notable Israeli fencers have included:
*
Boaz Ellis
Boaz Ellis (born October 15, 1981) is an Israeli foil fencer. He is a 5-time Israeli national champion, and a 3-time NCAA champion.
Biography
Ellis was born in Tzippori, a moshav in Israel, and is Jewish. He attended Chaklai Nahalal High Schoo ...
(foil), 5x Israeli champion
*
Delila Hatuel
Delila Hatuel ( he, דלילה חטואל; born November 15, 1980) is an Israeli Olympic foil fencer. She represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has been ranked ninth in the world.
Biography
Delila Hatuel born in Acre, Israel. ...
(foil), Olympian, ranked # 9 in world
*
Lydia Hatuel-Czuckermann
Lydia Hatuel-Czuckermann (; born August 15, 1963, in Casablanca, Morocco) is an Israeli fencer. One of Israel's top female fencers, she competed in the individual foil event at the 1984, 1992, and 1996 Olympiads. Her fencing career started at t ...
(foil), 20x Israeli champion
*
Noam Mills
Noam Mills ( he, נעם מילס; born May 27, 1986) is an Israeli fencer, who competed in the individual women's épée event for Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She is a three-time junior Israeli champion in épée, and a four-t ...
(épée), female Olympic fencer, junior world champion.
*
Ayelet Ohayon
Ayelet Ohayon (איילת אוחיון; born October 20, 1974) is a three-time Olympian Israeli foil fencer. She also won the silver medal at the 1993 Junior World Cup Championships, the gold medal at the 2000 European Championships, and a gol ...
(foil), European champion
*
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 ...
;
killed by terrorists
Figure skating
![Zaretski & Zaretski Lift - 2006 Skate America](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Zaretski_%26_Zaretski_Lift_-_2006_Skate_America.jpg)
Israel has one regulation
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...
, located in
Metulla
Metula ( he, מְטֻלָּה) is a town in the Northern District of Israel. Metula is located next to the northern border with Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the L ...
, a city on the
Lebanese border. Israel has been sending teams to the
Winter Olympics
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 h ...
since 1994. In 2002,
Galit Chait
Galit Chait ( he, גלית חייט, ''Galit Hayat''; born on January 29, 1975) is an Israeli former competitive ice dancer. She and her partner Sergei Sakhnovski competed internationally for Israel from 1995 to 2006, becoming the 2002 World bro ...
(world championship bronze medalist) and
Sergei Sakhnovski (world championship bronze medalist) finished sixth in
ice dancing
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...
.
[Israel's Winter Athletes Come to U.S. Seeking Ice and Medals](_blank)
/ref> Alexandra Zaretski
Alexandra "Sasha" Zaretsky ( he, אלכסנדרה זרצקי, russian: Александра Зарецкая, , be, Аляксандра Зарэцкая) (born December 23, 1987) is an Israeli retired ice dancer. With her brother Roman Zaretsky, ...
, Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
ian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian, and Roman Zaretski
Roman Zaretsky ( he, רומן זרצקי, russian: Роман Зарецкий, be, Раман Зарэцкі; born December 4, 1983) is an Israeli retired Ice dancing, ice dancer. With his sister, Alexandra Zaretsky, he is the 2009 Skate America ...
, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian a brother and sister ice-dancing pair, came in ninth in the 2008 world championships and first in the 2009 World University Games
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred t ...
.
Other notable Israeli skaters include:
* Alexei Beletski, Ukrainian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian
* Natalia Gudina
Natalia Gudina ( uk, Наталія Гудина, russian: Наталья Гудина, born 11 November 1977) is an Israeli former competitive ice dancer. Representing Israel with husband Alexei Beletski, she placed as high as 14th at the World C ...
, Ukrainian-born Israeli, figure skater, Olympian
* Tamar Katz
Tamar Katz ( he, תמר כץ, born September 26, 1989 ) is an Israeli-American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2005, 2007, and 2008 Israeli national champion.
Personal life
Tamar Katz was born September 26, 1989 in Dallas, Texas. The ...
, US-born Israeli, figure skater
* Lionel Rumi
Lionel Rumi ( he, ליונל רומי; born August 12, 1986) is a French-Israeli Ice dancing, ice dancer and model. He skated for France with Élodie Brouiller and Scarlett Rouzet until 2008 and then began representing Israel with Brooke Frielin ...
, Israel, ice dancer
* Michael Shmerkin
Michael "Misha" Shmerkin (born 5 February 1970) is an Israeli former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Skate Canada International silver medalist (1994 and 1995), 1993 Ondrej Nepela Memorial champion, and 1995 Skate Israel champion. H ...
, Soviet-born Israeli, figure skater
Golf
Israel has a single 18-hole golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
named Caesarea Golf & Country Club
The Caesarea Golf Club was established in January 1961 by the Rothschild family.
Past and present
When James Armand de Rothschild visited the Roman ruins in Caesarea, they reminded him of the golf courses back in Scotland, and as a veteran golfer ...
and located in the town of Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
and a smaller 9 hole course called Gaash Golf Club located at kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
Ga'ash
Ga'ash ( he, גַּעַשׁ, ''lit.'' Storm) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain to the north of Tel Aviv, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of .
Etymology
The villa ...
. Notable Israeli golfers include Rami Asayag, Asher Iyasu
Asher Iyasu ( he, אשר איסו, born in Ethiopia) is an Israeli golfer who was the first golfer to win the Caesarea Golf & Country Club's tournament from the Beta Israel community.
His first real success came in a doubles tournament in which h ...
and world blind golfing champion Zohar Sharon
Zohar Sharon ( he, זוהר שרון) is a blind Israeli golfer who won titles in Israel as well as Europe.
Biography
Zohar Sharon lost his sight in a chemical accident while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Following the accident, Sharon beg ...
. Laetitia Beck
Laetitia Beck ( he, לטיסיה בק; born February 5, 1992) is an Israeli professional golfer. She made her professional debut at the 2014 Women's British Open.
Beck has won the Israeli Open Golf Championship five times, including for the firs ...
has won the Israeli Championship five times, including for the first time when she was 12 years of age, and won gold medals in golf in both the 2009 and 2013 Maccabiah Games, and is the first Israeli to compete in an LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
tournament.
Gymnastics
Israeli gymnast Neta Rivkin
Neta Rivkin ( he, נטע ריבקין; born June 19, 1991) is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast.
She is one of Israel's most successful rhythmic gymnasts. A three-time Olympian, in 2011 she won the silver medal in clubs at the 20 ...
won a silver medal in the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
The Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships are the European championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. They were first held in 1978. The European Championships and the European Junior Championships were united in 1993. Prior to 2006, ...
held in Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
in 2011, to become the first gymnast of the country to win a medal at the European Championships. Rivkin also won the first world medal for Israel in rhythmic gymnastics at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. The tournament is promoted and organized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the three tournaments in rhy ...
held in Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, France in 2011, and she won the bronze medal at the hoop final. The Israeli rhythmic gymnastic group also won the bronze medal at the event final of 3 ribbons and 2 hoops at the World Championships in Montpellier.
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 ...
became the first Israeli rhythmic gymnast to win an individual all-around medal at the 2017 World Championships. She is the most decorated Israeli rhythmic gymnast, with 6 silver and 5 bronze medals at the World Championships (2017, 2018, 2019), 2 bronze medals at the 2017 European Championships and 2 gold and 2 silver medals at the 2019 European Games and recently at the 2020 European Championships, she won the gold medal in the Individual All-Around Event making her the first Israeli to win an All Around gold medal in the European Championships.
In 2013, Alexander Shatilov
Alexander "Alex" Shatilov ( he, אלכסנדר "אלכס" שטילוב, russian: Александр Шатилов; born March 22, 1987) is a USSR-born Israeli artistic gymnast. He specializes in the floor exercise, in which he won several medals ...
won a gold medal at the European championship in gymnastics in Moscow, Russia. In 2017, 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 ex ...
, an Israeli artistic gymnast, won a silver medal at the World Championships. In 2021, 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 ex ...
, an Israeli artistic gymnast, won a gold medal at 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 ...
.
Handball
Israel's national handball team participated in the 2002 European Men's Handball Championship
The European Men's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe and takes place every two years since 1994, in the even-numbered year between the World Championship. In addition to crowning ...
in Sweden. Local power Hapoel Rishon Lezion qualified for the quarterfinals of the EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...
in 2000.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey started in Israel in 1986 when the first rink opened in Kiryat Motzkin
Kiryat Motzkin ( he, קִרְיַת מוֹצְקִין) is a city in the Haifa District of Israel, north of the city of Haifa. In it had a population of . The city is named after Leo Motzkin (1867-1933), one of the organizers of the First Zionis ...
. Israel has a following of over 1,000 ice hockey players. Israel took part in the 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Ice Hockey Division II World Championships
The IIHF World Championship Division II are an annual sports event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The division championships are played in two groups, part of the Ice Hockey World Championships
From 2001 until 2011, the tw ...
.
Notable players have included:
* Eliezer Sherbatov
Eliezer "Elie" Alexeevich Sherbatov ( he, אליעזר שרבטוב; born 9 October 1991) is an Israeli-Canadian ice hockey player who plays for the Jonquière Marquis of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, after having played for HC Mariupo ...
, Israel, left wing (Israel national ice hockey team
The Israel national ice hockey team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בהוקי קרח) is the national men's ice hockey team of Israel. Since 2015, the team's Captain has been Eliezer Sherbatov. Israel was ranked 35th as of May 2017 by the Internatio ...
)
* Max Birbraer
Maxim Birbraer ( he, מקס בירבראייר; born December 15, 1980) is a Kazakhstan-born Israeli former professional ice hockey forward. Birbraer is Jewish and has played for the Israel national ice hockey team.
Playing career
Birbraer w ...
, Russian from Kazakhstan; lived & played in Israel; 1st Israeli drafted by NHL team (New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
)
* Oren Eizenman
Oren Eizenman (born March 27, 1985) is an Israeli-Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He last played for the Nippon Paper Cranes in the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH).
Biography
Eizenman was born in Toronto, Canada, to Ronit and Moshe ...
(Israel national team)
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is the country's fastest growing sport.
The Israel men's national lacrosse team
The Israel men's national lacrosse team is governed by the Israel Lacrosse Association. Their best finish was at the 2016 European Lacrosse Championship, winning the silver medal. Israel finished in 7th place at the 2014 World Lacrosse Champion ...
has competed in the European Lacrosse Championships
The European Lacrosse Championships began in 1995, the same year as the founding of the European Lacrosse Federation (ELF), to determine the best national lacrosse team of Europe. The men's tournament was held that first year, with the women
...
in 2012 finishing in 8th place, and in 2016 finished 2nd. Additionally they finished 7th at the World Lacrosse Championship
The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years.
The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as a ...
in 2014.
Domestically, there are two men's clubs and one women's club that operate within Israel.
Martial arts
Capoeira
Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...
clubs operate in various locations in Israel.
Krav Maga
Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...
is taught to most citizens in the army, and practiced recreationally throughout the country. The Association of Martial Arts in Israel is chaired by Hamad Amar
Hamad Amar ( ar, حمد عمار, he, חָמַד עַמַאר; born 5 November 1964) is an Israeli Druze politician who currently serves as a member of Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu since 2022, previously serving from 2009 to 2019 and again from ...
, an Israeli Druze
Israeli Druze or Druze Israelis ( ar, الدروز الإسرائيليون; he, דְּרוּזִים יִשְׂרְאֵלִים) are an ethnoreligious minority among the Arab citizens of Israel. In 2019, there were 143,000 Druze people living ...
member of the Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
. Nili Block
Nili Block ( he, נילי בלאק; born January 16, 1995) is a professional Muay thai and Kickboxing fighter. She is a 4-time Muay Thai and 2-time Kickboxing world champion representing Israel.
Early life
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in the Un ...
is a world champion kickboxer
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...
and Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
fighter. Yulia Sachkov
Yulia Sachkov ( he, יוליה סצ'קוב, born 1998), is an Israeli kickboxer. She is the 2019 World Kickboxing Champion in the under-48 kilogram (114.5 pound) weight class of K-1 style kickboxing. is a world champion kickboxer.
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 ...
is one of the three sports in which Israeli athletes have won Olympic medals. It is the most successful Israeli sport at the Olympics providing five of the nine Olympic medals Israel has won. In 2013, Yarden Gerbi
Yarden Gerbi (or Jerbi, he, ירדן ג'רבי; born July 8, 1989) is an Israeli former judoka world champion. She won an Olympic bronze medal competing for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Women's 63 kg Judo.
Gerbi won the gold m ...
won a gold medal at the Judo World Championships, and in 2016 she won a bronze medal at the Olympics. Other notable Israeli judokas include:
* 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 ...
, Israel, Olympic silver (light-middleweight)
* Daniela Krukower
Daniela Yael Krukower ( he, דניאלה קרוקובר; born 6 January 1975 in Colegiales, Buenos Aires) is a former judoka from Argentina.
Biography
Krukower was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a Jewish family, and at an early age moved wit ...
, Israel/Argentina, world champion (under 63 kg)
*Sagi Muki
Sagi Aharon Muki (or Moki; he, שגיא אהרון מוקי; born 17 May 1992) is an Israeli half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships.
In August 2011 Muki won the European ...
, Israel, World Judo Championships gold (half-middleweight)
* Alice Schlesinger, Israel, World Judo Championships bronze; European junior champion (under 63 kg)
* 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 ...
, Israel, Olympic bronze (lightweight)
* 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 ...
, Israel, (half-lightweight)
* Arik Ze'evi
Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi ( he, אריאל "אריק" זאבי, born 16 January 1977) is a retired Israeli dan 6 black belt in Judo. He had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight Judo competitions. He is an Olympic bronze medal fina ...
, Israel, Olympic bronze (100 kg)
Motorsport
The Israel Motor-Sport Association was founded in 1990. It has organised rally, autocross, rallycross and drag racing competitions.
Auto racing was legalized in 2011. A 1.5 km permanent racetrack was opened in Port of Eilat
The Port of Eilat ( he, נמל אילת) is the only Israeli port on the Red Sea, located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.
History
The Port of Eilat was declared in 1952, and constructed between 1952-56. Today it is mainly used for tradi ...
, where Formula Israel competitions are held.
Notable Israeli drivers include Chanoch Nissany
Chanoch Nissany ( he, חנוך ניסני; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli-Hungarian auto racing driver now based in Budapest, Hungary. He is a businessman, and initially took up motor racing as a hobby. He is the first Israeli racing driver ...
(Formula One test-driver), Roy Nissany
Roy Nissany ( he, רוי ניסני; born 30 November 1994) is an Israeli racing driver who is set to compete in the Formula 2 Championship with PHM Racing by Charouz. He is also currently a Formula 1 test driver with Williams Grand Prix Eng ...
and Alon Day
Alon Day (Hebrew: אלון דאי, born November 4, 1991) is an Israeli professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet SS for PK Carsport and is a four-time champion in th ...
.
Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
was introduced in Israel in 1999 by Jodi Carreira. Today there are clubs in Raanana, Modi'in, Jerusalem, Kfar Etzion and Tel Aviv, all of which have teams participating in the Israel National Netball League
Israel Netball
has sent senior and junior teams to international events, culminating in its first international win in Ireland in June 2008. The netball tournament of the Maccabiah has been hosted by Israel Netball since 2001. Currently ranked 36, Israel is a member of the International Netball Federation
World Netball, previously known as the International Netball Federation and the International Federation of Netball Associations, is the worldwide governing body for Netball. The INF was created in 1960 and is responsible for world rankings, m ...
(INF) and of Netball Europe (NE).
Rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
is a minor sport brought to the country by British soldiers during the Mandate era. The first game post-independence was in 1951, organized by Leo Camron
Leo Camron (14 March 1916 – 21 July 2007), aka "Leo Caminsky" or "Arieh Camron", was a South African-Israeli educationalist and sportsman, from Natal particularly remembered for his English textbooks, and rugby advocacy.Bath, Richard (ed.) '' ...
. A wave of immigration from English speaking countries, and France, since 1967 renewed interest in the sport, particularly in areas with large English-speaking populations such as Ra'anana
Ra'anana ( he, רַעֲנָנָּה, lit. "Fresh") is a city in the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel. It was founded in 1922 as an American-Jewish settlement, 1 km south of the village of Tabsur, where an important ...
and Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. A national league was set up in 1972, and the Israel Rugby Union (now Rugby Israel) formed in 1975. Israel's first international match was away to Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
on 25 May 1981, and ended 9–9. The Israel Union joined the International Rugby Board
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
in 1988. Rugby union has also featured at the Maccabiah Games
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 ...
since 1981. Israel has entered the Rugby World Cup Sevens
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...
.
The women's rugby league in Israel consists of two teams in Tel Aviv, two in Haifa and one each in Jerusalem, Galilee and Ra’anana. An eighth club is scheduled to open in Beersheba in October 2019.
Kibbutz Yizre'el
Yizre'el ( he, יִזְרְעֶאל) is a kibbutz in north-eastern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley near Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
After the Bahri dynasty, Mamlu ...
has been a big centre of Rugby in Israel after a group of South African Olim
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
made a push to make the game bigger in the country.
Softball
The Israel Softball Association (fastpitch) was established in 1979 by a group of immigrants from North and South America. The Israel Softball Association is a registered Non Profit Organization which is recognized by the Sports Authorities in Israel and is a member of "Ayelet" - the Israeli Association of Non-Olympic Competitive Sports.
The activities conducted by the Israel Softball Association have assisted in the social integration of immigrants countrywide, and today its members also include many native Israelis.
The Association consists of 10 men's teams Divided into A Pool and B Pool, 3 women's teams,21 junior boys teams and 4 junior girls teams.
The Israeli National Teams represent the country in European Championships and other International Competitions.
Water Polo
Both men and women competed at the 2022 European Championships. By virture of its performance at the 2022 European Championships, the women's side qualified for the 2023 World Championships, being the first time the team will compete in this tournament. Israel will host the 2024 European Championships.
Windsurfing
Israeli windsurfer 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 ...
won two Olympic medals, gold and bronze, and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...
. Israeli windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi
Shahar Tzuberi (or Zubari, he, שחר צוברי; born September 1, 1986) is an Israeli windsurfer and Olympic bronze medalist, surfing in the "Neil Pryde" RS:X discipline. He is a nephew of Gad Tsobari, the 1972 Olympic wrestler who escaped fr ...
won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In March 2012, Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits
Lee (Lee-El) Korzits ( he, לי (לִי-אֵל) קורזיץ; nicknamed Leeka; born 25 March 1984) is an Israeli Windsurfing, windsurfer who has won four Windsurfing World Championships titles (in List of World Championships medalists in sailing ...
won the women's RS-X title in the Sailing World Championships for the third time in a row. Israeli windsurfer Katy Spychakov
Katy Spychakov ( he, קטי ספיצ'קוב; born 6 August 1999) is an Israeli windsurfer. Spychakov won the 2015 Female Under 17 Techno 293 World Championships, the 2016 RS:X Class Youth Female World Championships, and the 2019 U21 Women's RS: ...
won a silver medal in the Women's 2019 RS:X World Championships, and was an U21 winner in the Women's 2019 RS:X World Championships.
Wrestling
Seven Israeli wrestlers competed at the 2010 Senior European Championship in Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
. Four were Greco-Roman wrestlers while the others were freestyle.[Grappling with a grim reality](_blank)
/ref> Gotsha Tzitziashvily competed at the Summer Olympics
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 ...
in Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. He held the world championship title in the 84-kilogram weight class in 2003.
Underwater sports
Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Stand Up Paddle boarding
Stand or The Stand may refer to:
* To assume the upright position of standing
* Forest stand, a group of trees
* Area of seating in a stadium, such as bleachers
* Stand (cricket), a relationship between two players
* Stand (drill pipe), 2 or 3 jo ...
or SUP is becoming increasingly popular in Israel. A very accessible lifestyle sport on flat water there are many expeditions available such as the '4 Seas in 4 days'. SUP Surfing is also very popular in Israel and it can offer some world class conditions.
Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games
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 ...
are an international Jewish athletic event, similar to the Olympics, held every four years in Israel. The first games were held in 1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
.
Boycotts and violence against Israeli sportsmen
Israeli athletes and teams are barred from some competitions. In addition, in many worldwide competitions, such as the Olympics
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 vari ...
, some Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and Muslim competitors avoid competing against Israelis. Some countries even force their athletes not to compete against Israelis or in Israel. Mushir Salem Jawher
Leonard Mucheru Maina (born 13 June 1978 in Nyandarua) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who started from 2004 until 2007 as Mushir Salem Jawher ( ar, مشير سالم جوهر), having acquired the citizenship of Bahrain.
Career
Mucheru ...
, a Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
n-born marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
er, lost his Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
i citizenship after competing in the Kinneret Marathon in Israel.
Integration of Arab citizens in sports
Despite the country's political problems, Arab sportsmen have always been full participants in Israeli sports teams, contributing to Israel's success in the international arena, also playing in the Israel national football team
The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).
Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...
. They include Rifat (Jimmy) Turk, Najwan Ghrayib
Najwan Ghrayib ( ar, نجوان غريب, he, נג'ואן גרייב; born January 30, 1974) is an Arab-Israeli former footballer, and former manager of his hometown club - Maccabi Ahi Nazareth. Between 2009 and 2010, he was the assistant manager ...
, Walid Badir
Walid Badir ( ar, وليد بدير, he, ואליד באדיר; born 12 March 1974) is an Arab-Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
He won four league titles in five seasons with Maccabi Haifa before joining Hapoe ...
, Salim Toama, Abbas Suan
Abbas Suan (sometimes spelled Suwan or Swan, ar, عباس صوان, he, עבאס סואן, born January 27, 1976) is a retired Arab-Israeli footballer from Sakhnin in the Galilee. As a footballer he was considered by many as one of the best Isra ...
and more. Another Israeli Arab, Johar Abu Lashin, born in Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
, was an IBO Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
champion.
Olympic Games
Israel has won thirteen Olympic medals. 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 ...
won Israel's first Olympic gold medal at 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), ...
.
Sports media
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
, newspapers
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
and news web sites
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikipe ...
discuss Israeli sports.
In 2010, Israel sports radio, the country's first English-language all-sports talk radio station, was established, covering Israeli and American sports.
The main football leagues air on Sport 1, Sport 2 (both owned by Charlton Broadcasting Company
Charlton may refer to:
People
* Charlton (surname)
* Charlton (given name)
Places Australia
* Charlton, Queensland
* Charlton, Victoria
* Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...
) and Sport 5
Sports Channel ( he, ערוץ הספורט, ''Arutz HaSport''), also known as the Sport 5 ( he, ספורט 5, ''Sport Hamesh'') is one of the major Israeli television company and sports journalism outlet owned by the RGE Group. Available on Cab ...
. Other sports channels include Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
and Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
.
Facebook page, Follow Team Israel, shares the news of Israeli sport to the world.
See also
*List of Jews in sports
This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jewish and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature (See also: Lis ...
*Krav maga
Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...
*Hapoel
Hapoel ( he, הפועל, lit. ''the worker'') is an Israeli Jewish sports association established in 1926 by the Histadrut Labor Federation.
History
During the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine period Hapoel had a bitter rivalry ...
*Maccabi World Union
Maccabi World Union is an international Jewish sports organisation spanning five continents (Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Europe) and more than 50 countries, with some 400,000 members. The Maccabi World Union organises the Macc ...
References
External links
Follow Team Israel
- Sharing the stories of Israeli sport to the world
TourTheIsrael
- Israel bike racing organization
The Israel Football Association
Israel Basketball Association
Sports Associations in Israel
- Photos by Lev Borodulin
Lev Abramovich Borodulin (russian: link=no, Лев Абрамович Бородулин; 25 January 1923, Moscow – 21 December 2018, Tel Aviv) was a Russian and Israeli photographer, master of sports photography.
Biography
Between 1940 and ...
Sports in Israel - photos by Lev Borodulin
Sport: Yishuv to the Present
Israel Netball
Stand up paddle boarding in Israel
{{Sport in Europe
Sport in Asia