Zionism, Nationalism and the Emergence of the Judische Turnerschaft

Looking at European Sports from an Eastern European Perspective: Football in the Multi-ethnic Polish Territories

“…Football was singled out for particular criticism because it exercised the feet rather than the body. 27 But more importantly from the perspective of the Turnerschaft, sport represented bourgeois capitalism and the shortcomings of modernity. Turnen was supposed to be the sport of the masses, of the whole Jewish community.…”

“…Turnen, by contrast, was perfectly suited to it, improving, it was argued, the moral and hygienic standard of the Eastern European Jewish masses, the basis of the future Jewish nation. 27 From the perspective of the Turnerschaft, sport was perceived to be modern, with Turnen deemed more appropriate for the backward Jewish masses. This perspective reflects a modernist belief, as this statement in the Jü dische Turnzeitung of 1909 shows:…”

“…According to the Jüdische Turnzeitung in 1913 and 1914, one of the many diseases modern sport was likely to lead to was the abnormal enhancement of the lungs and heart muscle. Football was singled out for particular criticism because it exercised the feet rather than the body 27 …”

“…As such, they were seen as a threat to the Zionist cause. Turnen, by contrast, was perfectly suited to it, improving, it was argued, the moral and hygienic standard of the Eastern European Jewish masses, the basis of the future Jewish nation 27 …”

Processes That Shaped Sports in Israel during the 20th Century

“…It was meant to serve the needs of the entire nation in its struggle for national liberation, following the models of the "German gymnastics movement" and the "Sokol." 20 Thus, at the beginning of the century, Maccabi functioned as an apolitical unifying framework for Hebrew youth from different backgrounds (such as farmers, workers, and urbanites) and was mainly supported by the middle class. 21 It tried its best to prevent the confl icts that were growing among its members, especially between the farmers and the workers, on issues such as Hebrew labor.…”