Embodying the Revolution

Ofer Idels examines the ambivalent relationship between Zionism’s ‘muscular Judaism’ and the rise of global sports in Mandate Palestine, arguing that Zionist leaders often distrusted sports’ autotelic appeal.

Drawing on archival sources and contemporary theory, he traces the shift from gymnastics-centered physical culture to competitive sports, the Hebrew language's adoption of sporting terms, and debates over international participation such as the Berlin Olympics.

Idels shows how Zionist goals frequently infused sports with national meaning rather than allowing sports to generate significance independently, and how events like the Arab Revolt reshaped sporting practices toward militarized usefulness.

The book situates local developments within global trends, using cases like the Maccabiah and the culture of matkot to illuminate enduring contradictions in Israeli sporting life.

Through this lens, Idels reinterprets broader questions of identity, modernity, and the compromises embedded in nation-building.