It is a sad day for Israel when its own leadership fails to congratulate one of Israel's competitors at the Beijing Paralympics who on the first day of the competition won Israel's first silver medal this year.
Neither Prime Minister Ehud Olmert , President Shimon Peres or the Minister of Science, Culture and Sport Ghaleb Majadle bothered to contact Israeli swimmer Inbal Pezaro to congratulate her on her silver medal win on Sunday,in the 100 meters freestyle, recording a new Israeli record time of 1:21.57 minutes.
Yet when Israeli windsurfer Shahar Zubari won a bronze medal towards the end of the Beijing Olympics, Olmert, Peres and Majadle all rushed to congratulate the young Israeli whose claim for fame earned him instant celebrity status in Israel. Albeit Zubari was certainly entitiled to all the fame and glory, his hard won medal earned him.
However, the lack of interest displayed by Israeli government ministers regarding Israeli athletes participating at the Paralympics in Beijing is disgraceful. Many of the athletes participating at this year's Games are IDF veterans wounded in war, others were maimed as a result of car accidents and others were born with disabilities.
Their determination and sheer will to overcome their disabilities and train long hours in preparation for the Games, while setting their own physical handicaps aside, should be a source of admiration and pride to the entire Israeli public.
Pezaro who is the youngest member of the Israeli team was born with a spinal disorder, her disability however has not prevented her from winning the World Championship for the 100 meters breastroke, and at the age of 17 winning a silver medal in the 100 meters breastroke and a bronze medal in the 200 meters freestyle competition at the Athens Olympics.
This years delegation to the Paralympics is comprised of 42 athletes and 15 coaches, who will compete in swimming, shooting, table tennis, rowing, tennis, archery, basketball, equestrian, track and field, sailing and cycling.
Delegates are Men's archery:Amit Dror ,Men's marathon:Beza Nebeva, Men's basketball:Allon Dor-Oon, David Drai, Lior Dror , Ron Furman, Shay Haim, Liran Hendel, Avi Lerman , Dotan Meishar
Ariel Ottolenghi, Rotem Philipps, Ro'i Rosenberg and Eyal Sar-Tov .Men's cycling, Nati Gruber , Equestrian Dressage:Omer Ben-Dor , Rowing Women's singles: Pascal Bercovitch , Rowing Mixed Fours : Anastasia Dobrovolski , Shir Kalmanovitz , Reuven Magnagey, Andrey Zuhbaia , accompanied by Genady Sapoznikov, Mixed doubles:Igor Kogan, Mari Kogan and Men's singles: Eli Nawi, Sailing: Dror Cohen Arnon Efrati, Beni Vexler, Men's rifle prone: Doron Shaziri , Swimming Men - Lioz Amar, Ziv Better, Izhar Cohen and Iyad Shalabi, Swimming Female: Keren Leybovich , Inbal Pezaro and Inbal Schwartz. Table tennis Men's singles and team: David Altaraz , Liran Geva , Zeev Glikman and
Shmuel Shur and Tennis : Open Women's singles:Ilanit Fridman, Quad singles and doubles:Boaz Kremer and Shraga Weinberg.
At the Paralympics in Athens in 2004, the Israeli team won 4 gold medals, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals. Let's hope the Beijing Paralympics team will better that win, they deserve to, for their sheer strength and determination to overcome their disabilities has proved if nothing else
that they are Israel's real leaders.
09/08/08
Margot Dudkevitch
Infolive.tv
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