Rifaat "Jimmy" Turk ( ar, رفعت ترك; he, רפעת טורק, born 16 September 1954) is a retired

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic and ...

footballer, manager, and a former Deputy Mayor of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Turk was the first Arab to play for the Israel national team and to represent the country at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

Biography

Football career

Born in Jaffa, Turk was the son of a fisherman and dropped out of school during the eighth grade.Rifat Turk: Scoring for Arab Israelis
World Press Review, June 2003 After being spotted by a scout in 1970 at the age of 16, he joined Hapoel Tel Aviv's youth team, and made his debut for the club in 1972. The following year he made his debut for the Israel national team, and also became the first Arab to represent Israel at the Olympic games when he played in the football tournament of the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

.60 Sporting Heroes: No. 28 Rifat "Jimmy" Turk
The Jerusalem Post, 7 April 2008 Turk was subjected to anti-Arab abuse during nearly every game he played. In 1980, he was named Israel's player of the year. After leaving Hapoel Tel Aviv in 1984, Turk signed for Hapoel Jerusalem. He retired from playing in 1987, and went on to manage several clubs, including Hapoel Tayibe, the first Arab club to play in the top division. On 7 July 2015 replaced Nissan Yehezkel as Maccabi Ahi Nazareth's manager. On 13 January 2016, he was fired from his job.

Honours

*Israeli Championships (1): **1980–81

Political career

Turk is a member of

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

and was elected to the

Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality ( he, עיריית תל אביב-יפו) is the arm of local government responsible for the administration of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality handles such municipal affairs as education, ...

in 1998. In 2003, he was elected the city's deputy mayor.

Personal life

Turk's son Hanes is part of Hapoel Tel Aviv's youth system.

References

External links

The Association for Sports, Culture and Education in Jaffa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turk, Rifaat 1954 births Living people Israeli Muslims Israeli footballers Arab politicians in Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. players Israel international footballers Olympic footballers of Israel Maccabi Ahi Nazareth F.C. managers Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Arab-Israeli footballers Meretz politicians Footballers from Jaffa Deputy Mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo Association football midfielders Israeli football managers Israeli people of Turkish descent Israeli Football Hall of Fame inductees