Zvi Nishri ( he, צבי נשרי; January 4, 1878 – July 22, 1973) was a pioneer in modern
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
in
British Mandate for Palestine
The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordan, both of which had been conceded by the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I in 1918. The manda ...
and later,
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 ...
.
Biography
Zvi Orloff (later Nishri) was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in Russia, where he served as a soldier.
His sister was the sculptor,
Chana Orloff.
Raful Eitan
Rafael "Raful" Eitan ( he, רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government ...
was a nephew.
He
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to Palestine in 1903.
He initially worked as a laborer, in
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 ...
.
Physical education career
In 1906 he became involved in physical education.
In 1908, he started to teach physical education, and by 1912, he was involved in training teachers on the subject.
In 1911, he introduced
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n gymnastics to Palestine.
He taught at the
Herzliya High School for 40 years.
Nishri authored the first physical education publications in Hebrew, and established the first physical education and sports terminology in Hebrew.
In 1913, he began a prolific career as an author, writing publications on gymnastics, football, and other physical education topics.
Nishri was a founder in Palestine of the
Maccabi movement, which he coached in gymnastics, and of the
Hebrew Scout Movement.
Awards and recognition
Nishri was inducted as a member of 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 ...
in 1981.
The
Wingate Institute
Wingate Institute ( he, מכון וינגייט), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports ( he, המכון לחינוך גופני ולספורט ע"ש אורד וינגייט), is a sports training institute located so ...
established a prize in his honor.
In addition, the Wingate Institute's Terner Pedagogical Centre contains the Zvi Nishri Archives.
Published works
*Nishri Zvi, (Heb.) ''A Summary of the Physical Education History'', Tel Aviv: The Ministry for Education and Culture, The Department for Physical Training, 1953
See also
*
Sports in Israel
Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport (Israel), Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and ...
*
Education in Israel
The education system in Israel consists of three tiers: primary education (grades 1–6, approximately ages 6–12), middle school (grades 7–9, approximately ages 12–15) and high school (grades 10–12, approximately ages 15–19). Compulsory ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishri, Zvi
People from Petah Tikva
Physical education
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire
Jews from the Russian Empire
1878 births
1973 deaths
Israeli sports coaches
Israeli Jews
Jewish sportspeople
Palestinian sportspeople
Place of birth missing
Jewish educators
Imperial Russian Army personnel
Scouting and Guiding in Israel
Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery