Sports in Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Football (soccer) and basketball are considered the most popular sports in Israel. The nation has reached many achievements in other sports, such as handball and track and field athletics, in addition to a wide variety of other athletic activities.
When it comes to sports in Israel, the emphasis has traditionally been on participation rather than the production of elite athletes. Part of the reason for this is the necessary compulsory military service that almost all Israelis perform after turning 18 years old. Another reason may be in the Jewish ethos and psyche that has traditionally considered athletic pursuits as a form of competition. This can be seen in the story of the Maccabees (and Hanukkah) and their rejection of the Ancient Olympic ideals.
Nonetheless, many modern Israelis follow football and basketball sporting teams almost as ardently as many other Europeans do. In the Olympic Games, Israel has won 6 medals in judo, fencing, canoeing, and windsurfing.
From a participatory perspective, many Israelis enjoy non-competitive activities such as swimming, going on tiyul (hiking trips) and playing Matkot on the beach. A game that is particularly popular at junior level is an Israeli form of dodgeball known as Ga-ga. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Popular sports in Israel
[edit] Football (Soccer)
The main sport in Israel is football (soccer), which is played amongst Israel's teams, both Jewish and Arab. Football was played in Israel even before the state of Israel was established, back when the British were governing the area. Israeli football is governed by the Israel Football Association. The most popular and crowd attracting matches are played in Israeli's Premier League - Ligat ha'Al.
Football in Israel is played by men and women, though the women football league is much less popular among Israeli football fans.
[edit] History of Israeli Football
As Israel developed politically, soccer teams have affiliated themselves with political parties, such as Hapoel, Maccabi, Beitar and others. These are still frequented by their respective political party leadership. For instance, it is likely that someone would see party leaders from the Likud party at Beitar Jerusalem soccer games. That said, the political aspect has become less prominent in recent years.
American Football in Israel is based at Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem. Currently there are four leagues playing American Flag Football. The largest league in 2007 is men's contact and it includes 57 teams which compete for the annual Holyland Bowl championship. The women's league is the WAFI which has 13 teams. The Yosef Goodman High School League has 12 teams, and the Tuesday Night co-ed league has 5 teams. Some 1000 players are involved in weekly football activities
[edit] Basketball
Basketball is considered the second most popular sport in Israel, after soccer. The Israeli basketball team of Maccabi Tel Aviv is among the top teams in Europe, and has won the European championship 5 times, in 1977, 1981, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
[edit] Tennis
Tennis is increasingly popular in Israel with professional players placing higher and higher in the professional ranks. Highly ranked players include Amos Mansdorf, Anna Smashnova, Shahar Pe'er (ranked #15 by the WTA on January 29, 2007) and the doubles team of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich (world #7 team in 2006) - all of whom have trained at the Israel Tennis Centers. As of 2008, both the men's and the women's teams have qualified for the top groups in the world - the men are in the Davis Cup world group, and the women's team are in the Fed Cup world group I.
[edit] Ice Hockey
- See also: Israel Ice Hockey Federation
Ice Hockey started in Israel in 1986 when the first rink opened in Qiryat Motzkin 1986. Israel has a following of over 1,000 Ice Hockey Players. Recently, Israel was relegated to the 2007 Ice Hockey Division II World Championships. Currently, The Israel ice hockey season is underway, with six teams particpating this year: Metulla, Haifa, Maalot, Rehovot, Rishon Lezion, and Bat Yam. Roller Hockey is also big in Israel with over 10 rinks in the country.
[edit] Handball
Handball is also becoming a popular sport in Israel. Israel's National Handball Team participated in the 2002 European Men's Handball Championship in Sweden. Hapoel Rishon Lezion qualified to the Quarter Finals of the EHF Champions League in 2000.
[edit] Baseball
- See also: Israel Baseball League
There are around 1,000 baseball players in Israel and in the summer of 2007, the Israel Baseball League, which is directed by Larry Baras. It is the first ever professional baseball league in the Middle East. Currently there are 6 teams that play in 3 stadiums. The first and current champions are the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox managed by Ron Blomberg.
[edit] Athletics
Track and field athletics in Israel are mainly focused around the Maccabiah Games and the international Olympic Games, where Israel have achieved notable successes during its short history.
[edit] Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games is an international Jewish athletic event, similar to the Olympics, held every four years in Israel. The first games were held in 1932.
[edit] Olympic Games
- See also: Category:Israel at the Olympics
Although Israelis have won several medals over the years, Israel is most commonly remembered for the incident at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, where Arab terrorists stormed the Israeli team residence, took 11 hostages, and later murdered them all. Gal Fridman won Israel's first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
| Year | Athlete | Medal | Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Yael Arad | Silver | Judo |
| 1992 | Oren Smadja | Bronze | Judo |
| 1996 | Gal Fridman | Bronze | Windsurfing |
| 2000 | Michael Kolganov | Bronze | Canoeing |
| 2004 | Ariel Zeevi | Bronze | Judo |
| 2004 | Gal Fridman | Gold | Windsurfing |
[edit] Sports media in Israel
Sports have been a major part of Israeli broadcasting since the early days of organized sports in the country. The media's influence on Israeli sports has increased considerably in recent years, which is most evident in soccer and basketball, where team budgets rely largely on payments from television networks who bought the rights to broadcast sporting events[citation needed].
Television, radio, newspapers and news web sites are the major channels where Israeli sport is analyzed, broadcast and discussed. Generally, football attracts the major attention of Israeli media, which is evident on all of the above channels.
[edit] Israeli Arabs in sports
Despite the country's political problems, a growing number of Arab sportsmen are joining Israeli sports teams and contributing to Israel's success in the international arena. Abbas Suan, one of Israel's top soccer players, is an Israeli Arab.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Sports in Israel (Borodulincollection)
- The Israel Football Association
- Israel Basketball Association (Hebrew)
- Sports Associations in Israel - List containing links and phone numbers
