Community news
War may be raging, but thank God the world keeps turning with a spectrum of non-war news from our community this week.
Most importantly, our precious Caroline Tabib has just shared publicly that she is expecting. This is such heartwarming news during such crazy times.
Aviv Gordon, para table tennis player and coach, announced his retirement after many years in the sport. While his career was indeed impressive – representing Israel with distinction and reaching a peak world ranking of #11 – we’re especially grateful to him for starting the successful Parkinsons table tennis program with Coach Rina Ashkenazi, and coaching many of the names we know and love, including the young hopefuls Michael Matos and Omer Gadot. You can read more about Aviv here and send him your good wishes.
No matter the number of missiles falling from the sky, Shraga Weinberg turned 60 this week. Thankfully, he remains a central part of the community, having taken up archery soon after retiring from wheelchair tennis. Happy birthday, dear Shraga!
Dani Shachar, a long-time athlete and coach at The Center and a good friend of former head coach Baruch Hagai, has passed away. Dani coached our very own Boaz Kramer in wheelchair basketball many years ago. Dani was a dedicated sportsman and coach, and a truly kind person.
Bar Kupershtein’s new music video
Former hostage Bar Kupershtein, son of Center member Tal Kupershtein, has released a powerful new music video that sends chills as he expresses through music what he went, and continues, to go through.
Listen to it here.
We’re still a sport center
Guy Sasson won doubles together with Niels Vink at the Cajun Classic 1000.
Yehonatan Levi continues his strong run, winning silver in both singles and doubles in the ITTF World Para Future Costa Brava Tournament in Spain. Unable to return home due to the war, Yehonatan continues to train and compete while abroad.
The online classes and limited in-person training continue.
And the cancellations continue
Our annual Yom HaZikaron (Israel Remembrance Day) ceremony, scheduled in three weeks, has been cancelled. Under these conditions, it simply isn’t possible to plan it.
We are still hoping that Maayan Zikri and Sergei Lysov will be able to travel to Asia for upcoming wheelchair tennis tournaments, and that Caroline Tabib will also be able to reach her competitions abroad (more details will be shared after the fact for security reasons). These competitions play a major role in qualifying for LA28, and missing them can be a major hit to their plans.
Pool project
The pool project continues at full speed. Work is currently focused on restoring the ceiling of the machine room, alongside renovations of the shower rooms.
This week’s close call
A missile fell about 20 meters from the home of Deena Levenstein Lior, assistant director of International Relations and head of content and social media. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Did you listen to Asael’s interview yet?
Don’t forget to listen to Asael’s beautiful interview with Manya Marcus on the podcast “What Came After.”
Listen to it here.
Pesach
We will be taking a week off of updates for Pesach. Wishing you a happy and peaceful Pesach.