Connect with us

RSS

Israeli Judokas Win Israel’s First Two Medals at Paris Olympic Games

Paris 2024 Olympics – Judo – Women -78 kg Victory Ceremony – Champ-de-Mars Arena, Paris, France – August 01, 2024. Silver medallist Inbar Lanir of Israel celebrates. Photo: REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

Israeli judokas Peter Paltchik and Inbar Lanir won on Thursday the first two medals for their country in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Paltchik — who was also a flag bearer for Israel during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic — beat Daniel Eich of Switzerland in the men’s under 100-kg category and took home the bronze medal. The Ukrainian-born Israeli judoka, 32, got extremely emotional after the bout when he hugged his coach Shay Oren Smadga, whose 25-year-old son, Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Omer Smadga, was killed from mortar fire while fighting in June with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip. Oren celebrated his 54th birthday just one day before the IDF announced that Omer was killed.

Paltchik told Israel’s Sport5 broadcaster that his bronze medal win on Thursday was dedicated to Omer. Oren, who won a bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, later talked about being in Paris and coaching the Israeli judo team following his son’s recent death.

“It was very important for me to be here, to bring the spirit to the athletes, because we worked every day for four years for this moment,” he said, according to Reuters. “We are proud of our country. We love our country. We want to win the war because what happened on Oct. 7 is very sad; I think the people in the world did not understand it.”

Also on Thursday, Lanir won the silver medal in the finals of the women’s under 78-kg category. The 24-year-old came in second place after Alice Bellandi of Italy. Lanir’s win is Israel’s second Olympic silver medal in the history of the country.

“I’m so, so happy right now,” she told Israel’s Sport5 just minutes after winning the silver medal. “It’s a bit hard to be happy after losing in the final because I always want to beat everyone, but I’m really happy. The fact that I have the privilege to give a little happy news during this time is worth everything to me.”

More than half of Israel’s total Olympic medals have been in judo. The first was a bronze medal won by Yael Arad, the current president of the Israeli Olympic Committee, at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

The post Israeli Judokas Win Israel’s First Two Medals at Paris Olympic Games first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Treasure Trove explores what security guards and athletes have in common

“Guard and Sport” was the theme of the trading cards included in packages of Dubek cigarettes sold in Palestine in 1939. This is the cover of the album in which the complete set of 216 cards could be stored. The image is of one of the Notrim (guards) who were Jewish auxiliaries, mainly police, armed and […]

The post Treasure Trove explores what security guards and athletes have in common appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

Continue Reading

RSS

Iran Says Hamas Leader Haniyeh Was Killed by Short-Range Projectile

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, March 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that Palestinian terror group Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh was slain in Tehran by a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kg, and vowed severe revenge.

Wednesday’s assassination has aroused fears of direct conflict between Tehran and its arch-enemy Israel in a region shaken by Israel’s war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.

Revenge for the killing of the Hamas leader will be “severe and at an appropriate time, place, and manner,” the Guards’ statement added, blaming the “terrorist Zionist regime” of Israel for his death.

Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president.

The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that the explosion which killed Haniyeh was a bomb that was covertly smuggled into the guesthouse where he was staying in Tehran two months ago.

Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.

The statement by the elite Guards force also accused the “criminal US government” of supporting the attack which Iranian media said was in a northern suburb of Tehran.

Haniyeh was buried on Friday in Qatar, where he was based.

The post Iran Says Hamas Leader Haniyeh Was Killed by Short-Range Projectile first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Brandeis Center Calls Title VI Settlement with North Carolina State a ‘Step Forward’

Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law chairman and founder Kenneth Marcus testifying before the Knesset about campus antisemitism in the US. Photo: Brandeis Center.

JNS.orgThe Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced a settlement with the school on Thursday, following an early mediation process through the US Department of Education to address a complaint about campus antisemitism.

The student who filed the complaint reported incidents of harassment the university failed to address, including a tunnel filled with swastikas and someone screaming at her “Death to Jews! Death to Zionists!”

Brandeis reported that the academic institution will implement a non-discrimination policy aligning with the 2019 Executive Order 13899 and North Carolina’s House Bill 942 (also known as the Shalom Act) which utilizes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

North Carolina State will also revise training for students and staff, and conduct a campus survey to assess the depth of anti-Jewish sentiment.

Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center, called the settlement “a significant step forward in our efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses.” He said the agreement “paves the way for meaningful change on both NCSU’s campus and on college campuses throughout the country.”

Robin Pick, senior counsel at the Brandeis Center, stated that “by committing to combat antisemitism in accordance with Executive Order 13899 and North Carolina House Bill 942, which apply to training, education, recognizing, identifying and combating antisemitic hate and discrimination, NC State has the opportunity to be a leader and a model for other universities in the fight against antisemitism.”

The post Brandeis Center Calls Title VI Settlement with North Carolina State a ‘Step Forward’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News