Israel Women's National Basketball Team

Israel's senior women's team competes in Women's EuroBasket qualifying and final tournaments. Its historical milestones include its 1950 international debut and the European Championship hosted in Tel Aviv in 1991.[1][6] The team returned to EuroBasket as a co-host in 2023 and later completed the first stage of 2027 qualifying with a 6–0 record.[7][5]

Age-group teams are distinct national programmes. Their results, including the under-20 team's 2026 European silver medal, are not part of the senior team's competitive record.[3]

Israel's women's basketball team competed at the 1950 Women's EuroBasket in Budapest during the closing period of the War of Independence, finishing 11th among 12 teams.[1] The tournament marked the first appearance of any Israeli basketball team—men's or women's—on the European stage, and the journey to Hungary was the first El Al flight carrying an official representative delegation of the State of Israel.[1]

The delegation comprised 16 players and two coaches, with ten players drawn from Hapoel clubs and six from Maccabi. Head coach Aharon Umshuyf-Amishav and assistant coach Baruch Shperling led a squad assembled with remarkably little preparation: the team held only a single two-day training camp in Jerusalem before departing, and some selected athletes had previously competed in athletics, tennis, gymnastics, or swimming rather than basketball.[1]

Players also came from kibbutzim and towns across Israel, bringing varied backgrounds and few shared practice opportunities. Maya Kraf-Reshef recalled the unlikely cohesion of the squad, saying: "somehow we were united as a team."[8] The team travelled by plane, ship, and train through Vienna, Naples, Budapest, and Paris, with the train journey from Budapest to Paris taking two and a half days.[8] In Communist-ruled Budapest, the players had been warned not to speak Hebrew or discuss politics and were told they would be under surveillance. Kraf-Reshef also recalled being taken by taxi to meet Hungarian Jews eager to hear about the new State of Israel.[8]

On the court, Israel secured one victory, over the Netherlands, before finishing near the bottom of the standings.[1] Proponents of the trip viewed it not only as a competitive exercise but also as an opportunity to gain international experience and develop team stability and coordination.[1] Despite the modest result, participants later described pride in representing Israel internationally at an early and defining moment in the country's history.[8]

The senior national side operates alongside reserve, youth, cadet, and age-group teams. Before becoming senior head coach, Shira Haelion had coached at each of those levels, while results achieved by teams such as the under-20 side belong to distinct national programmes.[4][3]

A landmark at youth level came in 2005, when Israel's under-20 women's team won the Division B European Championship in Brno, Czech Republic. Guard Shay Doron averaged a tournament-best 24.7 points per game, was named tournament MVP, and led what the Jewish Virtual Library describes as the first international tournament title for an Israeli women's team.[2]

Israel's women's team reached the final eight of the continental championship in 1990, a result described as a one-time achievement at that level.[9] In 1991, Israel qualified through a tournament held in Greece before playing the European Championship finals in Tel Aviv.[6][10]

In its opening game on June 12, Israel defeated Czechoslovakia 91–90 before approximately 3,000 home spectators. Anat Draigor scored 33 points; after she fouled out late in the game, Aluma Goren and Limor Mizrahi helped defend Israel's lead.[6] The result was considered a major upset, and coach Efi Birenboim had not expected Israel to win the game.[6]

Sources differ on Israel's final placing at the 1991 championship. Walla Sport reports that the team lost its remaining group and classification games and finished last, while Maariv states that it finished among the top eight alongside strong Eastern European sides.[6][10] After the 1991 victory, Israel went 17 consecutive European Championship games without another win. By 2011, it had made four tournament appearances during the preceding decade, compared with two in earlier decades.[6] Israel finished 11th at the 2011 European Championship.[7]

Israel co-hosted the 2023 Women's EuroBasket with Slovenia, with its group games taking place at Tel Aviv's Drive-In Arena.[7] It was the team's first tournament appearance since its 11th-place finish in 2011. Israel qualified automatically as a co-host while also participating in qualifying, where it beat Sweden twice and lost twice to Latvia.[7]

Israel was drawn alongside Belgium, Italy, and Czechia and lost all three group games, including a 49-point defeat to Belgium.[11] The campaign ended without advancement to the knockout rounds in Slovenia. While characterising the exit as a disappointment, The Jerusalem Post observed that Israeli women's basketball was on an upward trajectory.[11]

Israel's attempt to qualify for EuroBasket 2025 ended without success. A loss to Latvia eliminated its chance to advance, and the campaign concluded with a 100–39 defeat to France in Riga. France and Latvia advanced from the group.[12]

In September 2025, the Israeli Basketball Association's professional committee approved Shira Haelion's appointment as head coach of the senior women's national team. She became the first woman to hold the position, while assistant coach Limor Peleg joined her in the national team's first all-female coaching staff.[4]

Haelion had worked through every level of the women's national programme, coaching reserve, youth, and cadet teams, and had previously served as an assistant to former head coach Eli Rabi.[4] Her first assignment at the helm of the senior team was the opening window of EuroBasket 2027 qualifying in November 2025.[13]

Israel opened its EuroBasket 2027 qualifying campaign in Haelion's debut as head coach with a 98–91 away victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. Alisa Baron scored 27 points, Abi Meyers 21, Dorian Dahan-Swiesch 17, and Danielle Raber contributed 16 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists.[14]

Israel went on to win all six first-stage group games. Its results included a 94–71 victory over Bosnia, a 76–52 win over Luxembourg, and a 90–54 defeat of Ireland in a game hosted by Ireland in Latvia.[15][16] Dahan-Swiesch led Israel in the final group game with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.[16] Israel had already secured first place before that final game and completed the stage with a perfect record.[15][5]

For the second stage, Israel was drawn into Group I alongside Turkey, Montenegro, and Poland. The top two finishers in each second-round group qualify for EuroBasket 2027.[5]

Israel's under-20 women's team claimed the first medal won by an Israeli women's national basketball team at a European championship when it took silver at the 2026 FIBA U20 Women's EuroBasket in Lithuania. After finishing second in its group, Israel eliminated Hungary, Poland, and Belgium before losing 79–66 to France in the final. Gal Raviv led Israel with 29 points and eight rebounds and was named to the tournament's All-Star Five.[3]

The senior team's wider legacy also includes players who later distinguished themselves in other forms of international sport. Moran Samuel played for Israel's women's national basketball team before a spinal stroke left her paralysed. She later helped re-establish an Israeli women's wheelchair basketball team and represented Israel at the 2011 and 2013 European Wheelchair Basketball Championships.[17][18] The wheelchair team is a separate programme and should not be conflated with the senior national side.

A February 2024 EuroBasket qualifier between Israel and Ireland was relocated from Dublin to Riga. UK Lawyers for Israel said Basketball Ireland had cited an inability to guarantee the Israeli team's safety in Dublin and later called on FIBA to sanction Ireland over its players' conduct.[19]

Israel won the match 87–57. The Jerusalem Post reported that Irish players declined to shake hands with their Israeli counterparts. Basketball Ireland said its players would line up by their bench rather than at centre court during the anthem, describing those actions as a response to Israeli player Dor Saar's public accusation that the Irish were antisemitic—an accusation the Irish federation disputed.[20] A 2026 Ynet report said that the teams exchanged handshakes when they met again during the 2027 qualifying campaign.[16]

Sources also conflict on Israel's final placing at the 1991 European Championship. Walla Sport reports that the team finished last, while Maariv places it among the top eight.[6][10] The two retrospective accounts do not agree.