The 6th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

Sephardic Jews and Sport: Sports in the Yishuv (Jewish Settlement) in Israel in Light of the Newspaper ‘Hed Hamizrach’

Moshe Ovadia
Education School, The Academic College at Wingate, Netanya, Israel

During the Ottoman period, Sephardic Jews became very influential in Jewish society in the Yishuv. Their influence was manifested in Jewish society`s economic life. This situation changed after the government`s transition in Palestine from Ottoman Rule to British Rule, which included Military and later Mandate rule. During this period, the Yishuv`s leadership moved from Sephardic Jews to Ashkenazi Jews. Ashkenazi Jews were mainly identified with the Zionist movement, and they contributed to the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Their activity spread among the Diaspora Jews, even though the veteran Sephardim in the Yishuv participated and contributed to Zionist activity in Palestine.

The attitude of Sephardic Jews regarding their societal status change after the Ashkenazi Jews replaced their leadership in the Yishuv can be seen in a Sephardic newspaper that served as a communication tool for the Sephardic community in Israel. In the newspaper, discourse can be found on reducing social gaps between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews and preventing discrimination due to ethnic background.

Among the issues that were discussed in ‘Hed Hamizrach’ was sport in the Yishuv, as well as sport activity among Jewish communities abroad, in Europe and Islamic countries. The contribution of ‘Hed Hamizrach’ to the sport discourse among Jewish Sephardic scholars, who were responsible for sport information in ‘Hed Hamizrach’ articles, will be examined in the presentation.

Moshe Ovadia
Moshe Ovadia
Moshe Ovadia
Wingate College








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