The History of Israeli sports is a short one. Israel did not really put emphasis on physical conditioning or athletic ability until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is due to the fact that the Greeks, inventors of the Olympics, were very into athletics and physical prowess, and Jewish people in the area that is now Israel did not want to be associated with the Greeks, so they abhored any ideas and practices in which the Greeks were fond of. This all changed and changed quickly. There was a movement based on the overall health of the people in Israel and the culture of ports began to change.
In 1932 Israel hosted the first ever Maccabiah Games. These are Israel's version of the Olympics that are held once every four years, and people of Jewish descent from all over the world are invited to participate and compete. It is actually recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an official qulifying event for the Olympics. Some very famous and successful Olympians have competed in the Maccabiah games, including former overall Olympic medal winner record holder, and American swimmer Mark Spitz. The participants compete in a variety of individual and team sports.
Overall Basketball and Soccer are the two biggest sports in Israel. Soccer is huge and the Israeli Soccer league is one of the biggest around. It competes in the Premier league level with many teams from Europe, and although an underdog, Israeli teams have proven time and time again that they deserve to be included in such competitions. Basketball also has a very good league in Israel. The stand out team for many years has been Maccabi Tel Aviv, however in recent years other teams have emerged as being contenders in the league.
Also more recently baseball has made its way onto the scene of sports culture in Israel. Many young people with the popularity of baseball in Asia and the America's have caught on and started to try to play this growing sport. Cricket, a game similar to baseball, has been played in Israel for longer in baseball but never gained the popularity that Baseball seems to be gathering.
Source: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/Culture/CULTURE-+Sports.htm
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