Zvi Nishri (; January 4, 1878 – July 22, 1973) was a pioneer in modern

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 ...

British Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

and later,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Biography

Zvi Orloff (later Nishri) was born to a

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 ...

family in Russia, where he served as a soldier. His sister was the sculptor, Chana Orloff. Raful Eitan was a nephew. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Palestine in 1903. He initially worked as a laborer, in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

Physical education career

In 1906 he became involved in physical education. In 1908, he started to teach physical education, and by 1912, he was involved in training teachers on the subject. In 1911, he introduced

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n gymnastics to Palestine. He taught at the

Herzliya High School The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium (, also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High School) is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel, whose faculty and alumni includes many people influential in t ...

for 40 years. Nishri authored the first physical education publications in Hebrew, and established the first physical education and sports terminology in Hebrew. In 1913, he began a prolific career as an author, writing publications on gymnastics, football, and other physical education topics. Nishri was a founder in Palestine of the Maccabi movement, which he coached in gymnastics, and of the Hebrew Scout Movement.

Awards and recognition

Nishri was inducted as a member of 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 1981. The

Wingate Institute Wingate Institute (), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports (), is a sports training institute located south of Netanya, Israel. History Wingate Institute was established in 1957. It was named after Orde Wingate. ...

established a prize in his honor. In addition, the Wingate Institute's Terner Pedagogical Centre contains the Zvi Nishri Archives.

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishri, Zvi People from Petah Tikva Physical education Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Jews from the Russian Empire 1878 births 1973 deaths Israeli sports coaches Jewish Israeli sportspeople Mandatory Palestine sportsmen Place of birth missing Jewish educators Imperial Russian Army personnel Scouting and Guiding in Israel Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery

Biography

Physical education career

Awards and recognition

Published works

See also

References