Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year.
CAROLE ROBINER SHAW
NORMAN & MARY ROBINER
HON. SUSAN M. MOISEEV
HELEN & MANFRED MOSER
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
I wish my family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year.
JOSEPH & ELSE MERIN
FRED & BEVERLY KANDEL
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year.
DAVID & EILEEN HIGER
GEOFFREY, DANNY & MICHAEL
1111DI1 111115 711
to all
our friends
and relatives.
ALEX SPINNER & SON, HOWARD
lanon
GERSHON &
SONNY LIPENHOLTZ
1111M t1r2
to all
our friends
and relatives.
to all
our friends
and relatives.
MRS. ANN RUDY
MARC, CLIFF &
JUDY RUDY DUBOWSKI
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family.
LEONARD, JANICE &
DANIEL MALACH
ELYN & LARRY CHARLUPSKI
RACHEL, CORY & JORDAN
To All Our
Relatives
and Friends,
Our wish for a
year filled with
happiness,
health and prosperity.
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family.
THE SCHAVERS
EMMA, ISAAC, SHIRA, RONA
May the coming
year be filled
with health and
happiness and prosperity for
all our
family and friends.
LAWRENCE & RONA PASIK
MINDY & ALIYA
10
May the New Year Bring
To All Our Friends
and Family — Health,
Joy, Prosperity
and Everything
Good in Life.
MARSHA, HARRY, EMILY &
JENNIFER EISENBERG
The Judo Craze
Hits Israel
DANNY BEN-TAL
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
W
hose face adorns
the most popular
poster on Israeli
children's bedroom
walls this year? Michael
Jackson? Madonna? Yitzhak
Rabin?
Guess again. It's Yael Arad,
the attractive, shy, 25-year-old
judoka who became a na-
tional hero by winning
Israel's first ever Olympic
medal in Barcelona. Despite
being crowned Israeli Sports-
person of the Year in 1991,
having struck bronze at both
the European and World
Championships, Ms. Arad
was largely anonymous until
this summer. Now she com-
mands celebrity status,
receiving hundreds of fan let-
ters weekly, and endures the
vigorous attention of press
photographers and gossip
columnists.
The day after Ms. Arad's
semi-final victory over Ger-
man world champion Frauke
Eickhoff in the 61 kg. divi-
sion, 21-year-old Oren Smad-
ja — one of the six judo-
practicing offspring of former
national team coach Morris
Smada - captured the bronze
in the men's 71 kg. category.
Overnight, Israelis became
judo crazy. Even President
Chaim Herzog declared the
need to nuture the sport
among the country's youth.
Barcelona team manager
Yitzhak Ben-Belech, declared
unequivocally, "Judo is now
Israel's number one com-
petitive sport."
In fact, judo has been going
through a boom ever since the
Olympics. Notes national
judo team manager Yossi
Abramovitz, who personally
coaches over 300 youngsters,
"Ever since Yael returned
home with that silver medal,
I've had my work cut out for
me."
Two
months
after
Barcelona, the Israel Judo
Association's (IJA) cramped
Tel Aviv office was still abuzz
with excitement. Says IJA
secretary Esther Admon, who
organized the 1992 men's
under-21 and women's
under-19 European Judo
Championships, "It's only
natural that there be a
change in atmosphere. After
the years of hard work but lit-
tle recognition, there's a feel-
ing of moving forward."
"Olympic success," says Mr.
Abramovitz, "has influenced
many talented 17-18 year olds