Nissim Kivithi did not get the appreciation he deserved in real time.
This happens a lot in the State of Israel, which does not have a tradition of sports culture, so it is easier for us to attack than to appreciate.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Kivati is remembered mainly for his mistakes, the ones that caused him to broadcast for almost an entire half an incorrect result in the World Cup match between Brazil and Spain, or his confusion in certain games, not to mention his voice that apparently did not fit the modern age that was more dominated by the image And less on the radio.
But Nissim Kivithi was the greatest sports broadcaster of all in an era of two radio stations and one TV channel, of an era without internet in which Israel was physically and mentally cut off from the world.
Kivithi broadcast Hapoel Tel Aviv's match against Arsenal in 1951. He broadcast it for the Hebrew audience of the BBC, but was part of the most important radio station in Europe in the fifties and sixties and broadcast major sporting events for it around the world.
In English or Hebrew I hoped it didn't change, the professionalism and eloquence were exactly at the same level.
Ask yourself if there is a sports broadcaster in Israel today, who is able to broadcast a football game in English.
I hoped he was a connoisseur in an era where you had to read books upon books in preparation for the Olympic Games or the World Cup in soccer, he was a connoisseur of the Olympic disciplines without glancing for a moment at the computer he didn't really have in front of his eyes and entered only at a later stage.
Everything is written on handwritten pages, with never-ending work and above all with a tremendous understanding not only of the radio medium but also of the television medium.
For example, at the Olympic Games in Munich two huge events took place of course.
One is the murder of the athletes which I hoped due to his extensive knowledge in news broadcasts, he knew how to report both the dramatic events but also from the technical point of view, when the new close-up cameras entered the athletics and swimming competitions.
Kivithi interviews Yossi Mizrahi, photo: Moshe Shay
I hoped like all the broadcasters were exposed to the wonder for the first time.
For the Israeli broadcaster who came from Channel 1, this was not a problem.
He described, for example, Mark Spitz and marked him and his body structure, as someone who is going to make history in the past, as if the changes in sports photography did not really apply to him, because he knew how to adapt to any situation.
How it ended all sports fans know, Spitz became one of the biggest stars in the history of the sport.
I hoped he knew how to use the television medium to the maximum even in the Olympic games he broadcast.
In the eyes of many, Shidar Nissim hoped for the greatest goal of the Israeli national team of all time, that of Eli Ohana against Australia in the 1990 World Cup qualifiers. True, Israel participated in the World Cup with the late Nehemiah ben Avraham who accompanied them in the historic moments, and it is true that the late Meir Einstein was in the game The one against France that suffocated and entered our mythology is high at the top, but this combination of Ohana's audacity that passed the Australian defense and the goalkeeper, and the broadcast of my hope: "Ohananah yesnnnnnn" were engraved in the consciousness of every sports fan in Israel at the end of the millennium, just like that broadcast by Carl Lewis Against Ben Johnson.
The late Kivithi with Yoram Arbel, one of his heirs, photo: Moshe Shay
Kivithi treated with the same seriousness a negligible game in the National Football League as it was called then, and the 100 meter final in the Olympics.
It comes from a love for local and international sports, a rare trait in our districts then and today.
And he also left public broadcasting, just as critics began butchering him on the morning news and turning him into a punching bag.
As the years passed, everyone realized how wrong they were and I hope he received the respect he deserves in the rather modest pantheon of sports broadcasting in Israel.
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The late Alex Giladi once said of him, "May he not have an heir, because he is the greatest of all." Kiviti's influence was not only on sports broadcasting in Israel, but on the entire sports culture in the young country. Fortunately, we had time to thank him for that just before he left To meet Nehemiah, Meir and Alex above. From the president of the country who hosted him in his home to the little sports fan, in meetings with him on the street, everyone was given the opportunity to thank him for moments that shaped our love for sports.
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