The Olympic Games aren’t just a sporting competition, they are a sign of the times.
When Theodor Herzl was following the action from the 1896 Games in Athens, could he imagine that one day Israel would be competing at them?
That athletes wearing blue and white would proudly be representing the Jewish state?
Israel has always been a paradox. The idea of the Jewish state is older than the ancient games but yet younger than the modern ones.
David Ben-Gurion announced the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. 11 weeks later, the Summer Olympics took place in London. With the War of Independence raging, no team would attend, and so Israel’s first participation was at the 1952 Games in Helsinki.
It would also be the first Games for the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Israel, and Saarland.
The team consisted of 25 athletes competing in basketball, athletics, diving, shooting and swimming.
Israel has competed at every games since bar the 1980 boycott.
The fledgling country had won Nobel Prizes, Eurovision titles and whatever else, but never seen her flag raised at an Olympic medal ceremony.
Then a girl from Herzliya changed all that. Unassuming, humble and with a stubborn judogi that didn’t want to stay tied, she made her way through the tournament and all the way to the final.
Three of Israel’s seven Olympic medals have come in Judo.
Then came Gal Fridman who won gold in Athens in 2004. The eyes of the nation and the whole Jewish world were watching, urging him on. It didn’t matter if they couldn’t care less about the Olympics, let alone sailing, this transcended that. He did it. He was the one. He was the first. Still Israel’s only gold medalist and multiple medalist.
Sadly, no mention of Israel at the Olympics can happen without referencing the horrifics of Munich. Terrorists forever stained the Olympics as they brutally murdered 11 Israelis. But it doesn’t matter what they do to us, we aren’t going anywhere.
And the 2016 Israeli Olympic team which is its biggest ever features many Olim. A US swimmer, a Dutch judoka and some runners from Ethiopia are just some of those who are embracing their future in the land of their past.
We wish them the best of luck and so proud to have them represent us.
You can follow all the progress of Israel at the Rio Olympics at https://www.facebook.com/FollowTeamIsrael/.
