Israeli Paralympic women’s goalball team wins silver medal
Israel’s women’s goalball team won silver at the Paris Paralympics last week. It was the country’s first Paralympic medal in a team sport since 1988 and its eighth at these games.
The team fell 8-3 to Turkey in the gold medal game. Lihi Ben David, who had been one of Israel’s Paralympic flag bearers alongside October 7 survivor and wheelchair tennis player Adam Berdichevsky, played with a broken finger she had sustained during the team’s 2-1 victory over China in the semifinals.
The squad had beaten Brazil in pool play before losing to both Turkey and China in that stage. Israel then beat Canada 5-1 in the quarterfinal on Tuesday before its victory over China to earn a spot in Thursday’s gold medal match.
Goalball is a handball-style sport for athletes with vision impairment in which teams of three attempt to throw a ball embedded with bells into their opponents’ goal.
“The Goalball team, which includes a young Israeli Arab woman, all train and live in the dormitories of the Jewish Institute for the Blind — Beir Chinich Ivrim — based in Jerusalem,” Robert Katz, JIB’s director, said. “With its state-of-the-art indoor pool, fitness center and indoor gym all located on its campus (Jewishblind.org) JIB is recognized not only as Israel’s premier school for the Blind, but as the National Sports Center for the Blind.”
Plenty of people from Bergen County were following every goal online, Mr. Katz said. Dianne Bekritzky, JIB’s treasurer, and her husband, Stan, made aliyah from Teaneck three years ago. Both of Dianne’s parents were blind. And Mr. Katz has lived in either Bergenfield or Fair Lawn since 1988. “Needless to say, producers of the Paralympics Online programming surely noticed a spike in viewership halfway around the world, from here in New Jersey,” Mr. Katz said.
Israel made its goalball debut at the 2016 Paralympics and had never made it to a medal match before Thursday. The silver medal is Israel’s first in a team sport since its men’s volleyball team won silver in 1988.
While political demonstration is prohibited on the field of play at the Paralympics, subtler references, such as hair accessories, have not run afoul of the rules. Several members of the goalball team wore yellow ribbons in their hair during the semifinal match, a sign of solidarity with Israeli hostages. And during the Olympics last month, Israeli silver medalist judoka Inbar Lanir also wore a yellow scrunchie, telling an Israeli news outlet, “Those who understand it, will understand.”
The goalball team features Ben David, 28, Elham Mahamid, 34, Noa Malka, 21, Gal Hamrani, 31, Or Mizrahi, 31, and Roni Ohayon, 25.
“I think it’s a huge honor,” Malka told Israel’s Sport5 broadcaster after the team’s semifinal win. “The situation in Israel is always on our minds throughout the tournament. I’m so proud of the team and of the girls, I’m proud to be a part of this thing.
“We knew the whole time what we were capable of, and today we proved it.”
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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