Yael Arad and Oren Samdja took
home the country's first med-
als — both for judo. [tinyurl.
com/4fl6zs] Israel's medal count
now stands at six with sailor Gal
Fridman winning the country's
first gold in 2004. Nothing beats the
pride on Fridman's face as the first
notes of Hatikvah were played in
Athens. [tinyurl.com/26te35] And
in a lovely article, Time Magazine's
Jeff Chu called the gold medal win
— three decades after the Munich
murders — "Israel's Olympic
[tinyurl.com/5k772j]

Jews in Sports
Web site has
biographies
of99 Jewish
Olympians.

MADE POSSIBLE BY JNF.

This is Israel today. And this is JNF.

In the face of the current water crisis, over

1.5 million Israelis receive water from 200

If you're not a high-performance
sailor or cut out to compete in the
100-meter dash, maybe there still
is a sport for you. A couple of sites
have suggested events in which
Jews could perform swifter, higher,
stronger.
Ohr Somayach proposes:
• Kipah Frisbee;
• the 18 Blessing Lip-Sprint;
• the Clean and Jerk Torah Lift;
• and Underwater Shofar
Blowing. [tinyurl.com/4rx621]
And if Stuart Spector [tinyurl.
com/2cvrn] had his way, Jewish
events would include:
• Balance Beam: The accountant
or bookkeeper that balances my
mother's checkbook in the shortest
amount of time will be declared
winner.
• Oyga Vault (say it out loud): A
sound-enhanced pole vault com-
petition, in which the vaulter gains
extra points for exclaiming, "0y,
such tsuris this is causing me!"
And my favorite, what must be a
truly grueling competition:
• Naches Shlep: Proud bubbies
and zaydies have two minutes to
boast about their grandchildren. ❑

reservoirs, dams and water recycling centers

created by JNF. And we're currently building

5 new reservoirs to help. We've evolved into

a worldwide environmental leader dedicated

to the growth, prosperity and security

ofIsrael. The momentum is mounting.

Visit j nf.

org or call 1. 8 8 8 .JNF. 0 0 g g today.

JNF, for

JEWISH
NATIONAL FUND

ISRAEL

forever.

www. jnf. org

Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based

Internet producer who writes, lectures

FORESTRY • WATER • COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • SECURITY

and teaches about the Jewish Internet.

He can be reached at highway®rogers.

Diar.or.,

EDUCATION • RESEARCH • TOURISM St. RECREATION • ECOLOGY

COM.

1414320

July 31 • 2008

B5

