H.E Mr Lars Faaborg-Andersen Ambassador-designate of the Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel, his wife Mrs Jean and Mr Zinger
Members of the Diplomatic Corps in Israel were invited at the offices of the Israel Olympic Committee on Sunday afternoon 17thNovember.
Mr. Ephraim (Ziggy) Zinger addressed the audience with a short history and highlights of the Olympic Games, and the guests were then invited for refreshments and the “Experience”. The hosts made sure that this exclusive presentation was for the diplomatic corps alone.
Ambassadors and Diplomatic Corps' visit to the Olympic Committee was organized in collaboration with Diplomacy-PR team, Silvia Golan and Aviva Shwartz.
Israel’s Olympic history goes back only to 1952 (the country was but four years old!) and has been a roller-coaster ride of tears; tears of joy, but also of intense sadness. Israel’s Olympic memory will always be tinged by the sadness of the games in Munich in 1972 when Arab terrorists slaughtered 11 Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village.
On the other hand, Israelis have been the proud winners of six medals over the years, including one gold medal. Considering the size of the country and the fact that sport has never played an intense role in Israeli society, the country’s pride and joy – as if the medal is “ours”, not the athletes’ – is quite understandable.
The Olympic Experience is a multi-media exhibition lasting about 40 minutes, where guests are led through the sparkling history of the games worldwide, with special accent on Israel, from the rebirth of the event 1896 (women were banned at the first games!) to the present.
It becomes clear why the Olympic Games attracts the attention of the entire world. No other international sporting event – and there are dozens – is quite like it. The scenes of Israeli sportsmen and women receiving their medals are inspiring – and brought tears of joy to many of those attending.
“The Olympic Experience” can be enjoyed at the Israeli Olympic Center, 6 Shitrit Street (2nd floor) in the Hadar Yosef area of Tel Aviv, the very center of Israeli sports.
There are English and Hebrew versions and the groups can be up to 50 people, 8 times a day. Prior arrangements and reservations are essential (call 03-7955900 ext1) http://www.olympic.one.co.il
Mr Zinger with H.E. Prahlad K . Prasai, embassador of Nepal and wife
Photos Silvia Golan
