Eric Zavi was one of the candidates to receive the Israel Prize in the field of sports, which as we know will not be awarded this year because the members of the committee headed by Avi Namani were unable to reach a unanimous agreement. The past Judai was Nemani’s candidate, but the other committee members Rotem Israel, Prof. Avi Moyal and Keren Leibovitz proposed other candidates, agreement as mentioned was not reached and the result was ultimately bleak.
In the sports program on 103FM, Zeevi was interviewed this evening (Monday) and admitted: “I found out a bit how it works. “It turns out that in order for someone to receive the Israel Award, someone has to present him as a candidate. I didn’t even know that the committee was meeting, it was a bit of a blur. Apparently someone presented me as a candidate without my knowledge, maybe. Mickey Berkovic, for example, did not come up as a candidate and is a consensus. I think it should have been handled differently and I still feel young in Israeli sports and there are other names. Paralympic athletes are also worthy, because the Israel Prize is a kind of recognition for life’s work. I would choose Korzitz from the candidates presented, although Dreigor is also worthy, because of her contemporary story.”
Zavi also commented on the achievements of the Israeli judo delegation in the last three days at the Tbilisi Grand Slam, a competition that ended with a gold medal for Rez Hershko: “I think that some kind of arrowhead is emerging here, at least as of today, a year and a half before Paris, that Rez Hershko is truly a brand herself as the clear favorite for a medal from the Israeli delegation. Right now in her weight category, it is relatively a weight that is not saturated with strong athletes, but there are about four or five girls who can challenge Raz, but I think she is definitely a candidate for a medal in Paris.”