The Board of Directors of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday its recommendation that Yael Arad be elected as a member of the IOC.
Arad will become the second Israeli to be elected to the IOC, after Alex Giladi. She is one of eight new candidates for election to the 141st IOC Session, which will meet in Mumbai, India, from October 15 to 17.
Arad was the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, having won the silver medal in the half middleweight competition in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She was also the European champion and the runner-up of the world champion in judo and currently serves as the chairwoman of the Olympic Committee in Israel.
In announcing the candidacy of Arad and the other candidates, IOC President Thomas Bach said, “These candidates bring added value to the work of the IOC because of their experience and diverse expertise in different walks of life. What they all have in common is their love of sport and their strong belief in the Olympic values and what the IOC stands for. Furthermore, the selection of four women reinforces the IOC’s commitment to gender equality by increasing the membership to 44 women, which brings the percentage of women up to 41.1 per cent.”
President Isaac Herzog said, “Congratulations to Yael Arad, chair of IOC Israel for being unanimously elected by the IOC Board to join the IOC. Yael is the second Israeli to join the IOC (following Alex Giladi). I wish her and the Israeli athletes much success and achievements.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)