Shimon Mizrahi (; born October 16, 1939,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

) is an Israeli

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club.

Biography

Shimon Mizrahi was born in Tel Aviv. He is the son of a bank manager who was also a football player and a tennis player for Maccabi Tel Aviv, and a mother who was also a tennis player. In 1957, Mizrahi enlisted in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and served as an investigator in the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. In the final year of his service, he began studying law, and after his discharge, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Law of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

Professional career

Mizrahi is the senior partner in the B. Arnon – S. Mizrahi

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

office, and specializes in traffic violation cases. In 2006, he defended the prominent attorney Dori Klagsbald, in a high-profile case of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, following the death of two, a mother and child, that were killed by Klagsbald's vehicle.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Mizrahi was appointed the

of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club in 1969. In the wake of the club's financial problems, he introduced various strategies to rescue Maccabi from bankruptcy, such as selling tickets for Maccabi games, which had previously been free. Mizrahi realized that in order to secure Maccabi's dominance in the Israeli Super League, it would have to sign American players. Since he became the club's chairman in 1969, Maccabi has won 44 Israeli Super League championships, winning the league's title in all but eight seasons (1992–93, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17, 2021–22). The club has also won 36 Israeli State Cup and 7 Israeli League Cup titles during his tenure. The club also won the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

championship (

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

), with Mizrahi running the club. However, Maccabi's main achievement during his time as the club's chairman, includes the winning of 6 top-tier level European-wide titles, as they won the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championship 5 times (

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

), and also the

FIBA SuproLeague The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, o ...

championship (

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

). Mizrahi was at one time accused by rival

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

of failing to make the Israeli Super League more competitive, by having plans to implement payment limits to players. However, Mizrahi agreed to several new league rules which were meant to weaken Maccabi, such as the Brisker Rule, which limits the number of foreign players every team can sign, and the implementation of a

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

format, instead of a best-of-five playoff series system, among other rule changes. On 21 December 2021, Mizrahi was announced as a candidate for the Class of 2022 at the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

Personal life

Mizrahi 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 ...

Awards and accolades

*In 2007, Mizrahi was chosen by

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

, as one of 50 best sport managers in the world. *In 2011, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for sports, for his long-time contribution to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Although this award was contested, it was upheld by the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, 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 jud ...

. *In November 2018, Mizrahi was honored and announced as a EuroLeague Basketball Legend. He was the first EuroLeague Basketball Legend selected from the club executive level.Maccabi Başkanı Shimon Mizrahi, Euroleague efsanesi olarak onurlandırıldı! .
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References

External links

*
Resume of Shimon Mizrahi
at Israel Prize website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mizrahi, Shimon 1939 births Living people Basketball executives Israeli Jews Israel Prize in sport recipients Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. Lawyers from Tel Aviv