Israel’s Flag Bearer in 2024 Paris Paralympics Is Survivor of Oct. 7 Hamas Terrorist Attacks
Workers work to convert the Eiffel Tower Stadium from the beach volleyball venue to the Paralympic blind football venue for the coming Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Aug. 18, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Wheelchair tennis player Adam Berdichevsky, who also survived the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, is one of Israel’s flag bearers for the 2024 Paris Paralympics for athletes with physical disabilities that will begin on Aug. 28.
Berdichevsky, 41, is from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak near the Israel-Gaza border. He and his wife and three children survived the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7 by hiding in the safe room in their home for 14 hours before being rescued and evacuated to Eilat with other members of the kibbutz. Hamas terrorists murdered six people at the kibbutz that day, and took eight others as hostages back to the Gaza Strip.
“This year has been, and still is, unbearable,” Berdichevsky said in a released statement cited by Jewish News. Talking about his motivation to compete in the Paralympics this year following the atrocities of Oct. 7, he explained he has a “strong desire to represent the country during these times, and the support from my family.”
“I hope the rest of the hostages will return, which is the most important thing,” he added.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists kidnapped over 250 people from southern Israel during their surprise invasion of the Jewish state on Oct. 7. They also murdered about 1,200 people in the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Berdichevsky will be competing this year in his third Paralympics.
The athlete, a former professional soccer player, lost his leg in 2007 during a boating accident in Thailand that killed a fellow Israeli and injured many others. When their boat capsized, Berdichevsky and his then-girlfriend jumped into the water, but his leg got sucked into the boat’s engine and was severed. He started playing tennis after rehab and went on to win the Israeli national championship six times. Berdichevsky has represented his home country as a member of the Israeli national wheelchair tennis team, winning 21 titles in international tournaments and 13 in doubles. He is currently ranked 41st in the world by the International Tennis Federation.
Israel’s second flag bearer for the 2024 Paralympics is goalball player Lihi Ben David, who competed at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics.
More than 4,000 athletes will compete in 22 sports in the 2024 Paralympics from Aug. 28 through Sept. 8. Israel’s delegation is comprised of 28 athletes — 14 men and 14 women.
Israel won a record-breaking seven medals at the Olympics Games in Paris that concluded in early August. The country now has a total of 20 Olympics medals in its history, which include nine in judo and four in gymnastics.
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