Zvi Nishri

Zvi Nishri (Hebrew: צבי נשרי; January 4, 1878 – July 22, 1973) was a pioneer in modern physical education in British Mandate for Palestine and later, Israel.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Zvi Nishri

Personal information
Native name	צבי נשרי
Nationality	Russian-born Palestinian/Israeli
Born	(1878-01-04)January 4, 1878 Russia
Died	July 22, 1973(1973-07-22) (aged 95)

Biography

Zvi Orloff (later Nishri) was born to a Jewish family in Russia, where he served as a soldier.^[1][6] His sister was the sculptor, Chana Orloff. Raful Eitan was a nephew.^[7]

He immigrated to Palestine in 1903.^[1] He initially worked as a laborer, in Petah Tikva.^[1]

Physical education career

In 1906 he became involved in physical education.^[1][8] In 1908, he started to teach physical education, and by 1912, he was involved in training teachers on the subject.^[1][9] In 1911, he introduced Scandinavian gymnastics to Palestine.^[8] He taught at the Herzliya High School for 40 years.^[8]

Nishri authored the first physical education publications in Hebrew, and established the first physical education and sports terminology in Hebrew.^[1][8] In 1913, he began a prolific career as an author, writing publications on gymnastics, football, and other physical education topics.^{[1][5][8][10]}

Nishri was a founder in Palestine of the Maccabi movement, which he coached in gymnastics, and of the Hebrew Scout Movement.^{[1][6][11][12]}

Awards and recognition

Nishri was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.^[1] The Wingate Institute established a prize in his honor.^[2] In addition, the Wingate Institute's Terner Pedagogical Centre contains the Zvi Nishri Archives.^[13]

Published works

• Nishri Zvi, (Heb.) A Summary of the Physical Education History, Tel Aviv: The Ministry for Education and Culture, The Department for Physical Training, 1953

See also

• Sports in Israel
• Education in Israel

• Scouting portal