Egyptian judo fighter Islam El Shehaby was met with loud boos and jeers after refusing to bow or shake the hand of the Israeli fighter who bested him at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Or Sasson, Israel’s fifth-ranked fighter, beat El Shehaby with two throws in the first-round for an automatic victory, with a minute…
American Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas aren’t the only ones in Rio with a Jewish connection. On Tuesday, 16-year-old Sae Miyakawa of Japan performed her floor routine to a klezmer arrangement of the song “Kol HaOlam Kulo,” which was written by founder of the Hasidic Breslov movement Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Though the…
The Olympic swimmer who scored a silver medal in Rio this week always has the grandfather who survived Auschwitz in his thoughts — and on his arm. Fabien Gilot, the French swimmer who is part of the the men’s swimming team that won second place in the 4×100 freestyle relay race on Monday, has an…
The Israeli judo fighter Yarden Gerbi made worldwide headlines after she won bronze in the under-63 kilogram weight category in Rio on Tuesday and secured the country’s first Olympic medal since 2008. While Gerbi celebrates her victory over France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou, here are five other interesting facts that you (probably) didn’t know about this 27-year-old…
As American Jews (and their media) are fawning over Olympian gymnast Aly Raisman, fewer know about her teammate Gabrielle Douglas’ complex religious background — a mixture of Christianity and Judaism. “I used to be Jewish,” she wrote in her 2012 memoir. “Well not exactly Jewish — but my family practiced some of the Jewish traditions.”…
As someone who lacks all athletic talent, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I have little to no interest in watching the Olympics. I always feel badly about myself when watching these super-fit gymnasts jump 10 feet into the air while I give myself a pat on the back just for getting up and…
9 things to know about the Jews of Brazil:
This year, the Rio Olympics marks 20 years since Palestinians first participated in the international games in Atlanta. With six athletes competing in swimming, running, dressage (horse training), and judo (a martial art) this is the largest Palestinian delegation ever. Just two of the Palestinian contestants — XXX — actually qualified for their events at…
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