Zvi Nishri

Zvi Nishri  (January 4, 1878 – July 22, 1973) was a pioneer in modern physical education in British Mandate for Palestine and later, Israel.

Biography
Zvi Orloff (later Nishri) was born to a Jewish family in Russia, where he served as a soldier. His sister was the sculptor, Chana Orloff. Raful Eitan was a nephew.

He immigrated to Palestine in 1903. He initially worked as a laborer, in Petach Tikvah.

Physical education career
In 1906 he became involved in physical education. In 1908, he started to teach physical education. By 1912, he was teaching it to prospective teachers. In 1911, he introduced Scandinavian gymnastics to Palestine. He taught at the Herzliya High School for 40 years.

Nishri authored the first physical education publications in Hebrew, and established the first physical education and sports terminology in Hebrew. In 1913, he began writing physical education publications in Hebrew, starting with books on gymnastics and football. Over the years, he published scores of such books.

Nishri was a founder in Palestine of the Maccabi movement, which he coached in gymnastics, and of the Scout movement.

Awards and recognition
Nishri was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. The Wingate Institute established a prize in his honor. In addition, the Wingate Institute's Terner Pedagogical Centre contains the Zvi Nishri Archives.

Published works

 * Nishri Zvi, (Heb.) A Summary of the Physical Education History, Tel Aviv: The Ministry for Education and Culture, The Department for Physical Training, 1953