Jewish Sports in the Diaspora, Yishuv, and Israel: Between Nationalism and Politics

Abstract

THE EMERGENCE OF ZIONISM, the Jewish national movement, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries involved a basic revolution in Jewish life and collective identity in the Diaspora. One of the main features of this revolution, whose ultimate goal was the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Eretz-Israel (Palestine), was the creation of the New Jew who would serve as the idealized symbol of national renewal. Zionism's founding fathers regarded gymnastics and sports as important activities for repudiating the biases surrounding the Jew's alleged physical inferiority. After centuries during which body culture was removed from Jewish life, the Zionist Movement introduced a major revision of the attitude toward physical development. The enhancement of physical prowess that aided pioneering tasks, such as building and defense of the homeland, also contributed to creating a community of athletes eager to demonstrate the revived strength of the Yishuv and later of Israel. Gymnastics and sports not only promoted Zionism's goal of revitalizing the nation, they also expressed deep political divisions in the Jewish collective. This article focuses on a major area of research in Zionist history that has been somewhat neglected: the rise of Jewish athletic and sports associations in the Diaspora and Eretz-Israel. The development of these associations and clubs is analyzed, their ideological views outlined, and their involvement in the dialectical tension between national goals and the goals of political parties clarified. Beginning with the prestate period and continuing through the following decades, this article describes the changing perception of sports and athletic associations from the birth of Israel to the present.