Shimon Mizrahi
Encyclopedia
Shimon Mizrahi is an Israeli lawyer and the chairman of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club.

Professional career

Mizrahi is the senior partner in the B. Arnon - S. Mizrahi law office and specializes in traffic violation cases. In 2006, he defended the prominent attorney Dori Klagsbald in a high profile case of manslaughter following the death of two a mother and child killed by Klagsbald's vehicle.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Shimon Mizrahi was appointed chairman of Maccabi in 1969, in the wake of the club's financial problems. He introduced various strategies to rescue Maccabi from bankruptcy, such as selling tickets for Maccabi games, which had previously been free. Mizrahi realized that in order to secure Maccabi's dominance in the Israeli league, it would have to sign American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 players. Since he became chairman in 1969 Maccabi has won the Israeli championship in all but three years (1992/93, 2007/08 and 2009/10 seasons). Maccabi has also won five European cup
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 titles (1977, 1981, 2001, 2004, 2005).

Mizrahi was accused by his rivals of failing to make the Israeli league more competitive with plans such as payment limits. However, Mizrahi agreed to several laws which were meant to weaken Maccabi, such as the Brisker Rule, which limits the number of foreign players every team can sign, the Final Four playoff system instead of a best-of-five playoff system, and more.

Awards and accolades

  • In 2007, Mizrahi was chosen by Time magazine as one of 50 best sport managers in the world.

  • In 2011, he was awarded the Israel Prize
    Israel Prize
    The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...

     for sports, for his long-time contribution for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Although this award was contested, it was upheld by the Israel High Court of Justice.

External links

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