Orna Ostfeld (; born December 23, 1952) is an Israeli former basketball player and current basketball coach.

Early life and non-basketball activities

Ostfeld is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Israel. She is a graduate of Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport Sciences, and is the first Jewish

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher to work in the Arab school in Taibe. In 2003, she was elected a member of the

Ramat Hasharon Ramat HaSharon (, ) is an affluent city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon, Israel, Sharon region, bordering the cities of Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon, Hod-HaSharon to the east, and Herzliya and kibbutz ...

Municipality Council.

Basketball career

Player

Ostfeld played basketball in the Israel Super League, and for the Israeli National Women's Basketball Team. As a player for Israel's Maccabi Ramat Khen, Ostfeld was entered in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' for scoring 108 points in a 221–21 team victory on November 17, 1981, the most-ever points scored in a women's professional game.

Coach

As a basketball coach, during a seven-year period that began in 1998, Ostfeld guided the Anda Ramat HaSharon basketball team to four championships and

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

basketball titles.

Other basketball activities

In 1986, she founded the women's basketball team in Ramat Hasharon. Ostfeld is also one of the founders of the Ramat HaSharon Sports Association. In 2004, her advocacy for increased funding and media coverage of women's sports led the

Israeli High Court of Justice The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 judges appointed ...

to order that the Union of Local Authorities fund women's sports associations at a rate of 1.5 times the sum allocated to equivalent men's sport associations. Ostfeld is a board member of the Israel Basketball Federation.

Personal life

Ostfeld has two adult sons from a previous marriage, Jonathan (b. 1977) and Ben (b. 1980). She lived with a woman partner for many years.

Honors

Ostfeld was awarded the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

’s European Women and Sport Award in 2005 “As a player, administrator, and coach”, recognizing her dedication to and advancement of women's sports in Israel. It was awarded to five women from five continents, for their contribution and promotion of women's sport. Ostfeld received the Pillar of Achievement Award from the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostfeld, Orna 1952 births Living people Israeli women's basketball players Jewish Israeli sportspeople Jewish basketball players Women's basketball players Israeli basketball coaches Sportspeople from Jerusalem Wingate Institute alumni Female sports coaches Israeli LGBTQ sportspeople Jewish LGBTQ women