If Israel’s Health Ministry has its way, there will not be any competitive sports in Israel for at least the next six months. So said the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry Itamar Grotto. Grotto told this to a Knesset Coronavirus Knesset Committee meeting on Sunday morning as it held a special hearing regarding the future of competitive sports in Israel.

“For at least the next six months, it will not be possible to do competitive sports, especially contact sports,” Grotto declared.

The Knesset Coronavirus Committee is working on developing a strategic plan to restore as many aspects of social life as possible in an orderly way after Israel’s lockdown. Among other things that they are dealing with is the restoration of personal and competitive sports in Israel.

“In every other country, citizens can already go out into the open air, here we feel like criminals. The government makes a whole community feel like it is committing an offense,” said Bracha “Beatie” Deutsch, the ultra-Orthodox marathoner and mother of five who was set to represent Israel in the next Olympics. She spoke as a representative of the country’s competitive athletes.

“No help or financial support is being given to professional athletes,” Deutsch stressed. “Top-tier athletes, small gyms – dozens of private gyms – have applied for state guarantees. I don’t know anyone who got one.”

According to Yaron Sela, who represented small workout centers at the meeting gyms are losing 10% to 15% of their members. He said there is a real concern that these gyms might not be able to recoup the loss

The Secretary-General of the Olympic Committee of Israel Gili Lustig said that the postponement of the Olympics and other international competitions, combined with coronavirus restrictions, has “resulted in the complete paralysis of Israeli sports. We have no idea as to whether anything will be able to be done later.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)