Zvi Nishri

Zvi Nishri

Zvi Nishri (Orloff)

Personal information
Nationality	Russian-born Palestinian/Israeli
Born	January 4, 1878 Russia
Died	July 22, 1973

Zvi Nishri (Orloff) (January 4, 1878 – July 22, 1973) was a pioneer in modern physical education in Palestine, and subsequently in Israel.

Early life

Nishri, who was Jewish, was born in Russia, where he served as a soldier. His sister was the sculptor, Chana Orloff, and his nephew was Raful Eitan.

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

Physical education career

In 1906 he became involved in physical education. In 1908, he started to teach physical education. By 1912, he was teaching it to prospective teachers. In 1911, he introduced Scandanavian gymnastics to Palestine. He taught at the Herzliya High School 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 writing physical education publications in Hebrew, starting with books on gymnastics and football. Over the years, he published scores of such books.

Nishri was a founder in Palestine of the Maccabi movement, which he coached in gymnastics, and of the Scout movement.

Honors

Nishri was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.

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

References

Further reading

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