Emmanuel Simon was an athlete, doctor, and pioneer in physical education and sports medicine in Israel. He was a founder of World Maccabi and a member of its board. In 1944, Simon was among those who conceptualized the idea to create Israel’s Wingate Institute of Physical Education and Sport.
Simon taught physical education at Reali School in Haifa and initiated a youth army cadet training program during the British Mandate in 1938.
He was a member of the first and second Maccabiah Games organizing committees and in 1939 was founder of the Physical Education Department of the National Committee. When Israel became a state in 1948, Simon was the first director of the Israeli governmental body responsible for sports, until 1953.
Germany’s 800-Meter champion in 1919 and 1921, Simon immigrated to Palestine in 1924, where he won the Maccabi 5,000-Meters championship.
Among the many honors bestowed upon him, Simon was recipient of the Dov Hoz Prize in 1975, the UNESCO Noel Baker Prize for Research in 1975, and the Joseph Schneider Prize from Wurzburg University in 1982.
