Ari Varon, president of the Israel Association of Baseball, believes children currently playing locally will represent Israel at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, as he spearheads an ambitious transformation of the sport from its American immigrant roots into a distinctly Israeli athletic culture.
Varon entered his role with passionate determination to expand the sport’s reach beyond its traditional base among North American immigrants. A Tel Aviv resident, married with three children, he made aliyah from Oregon at age 13 and discovered baseball accidentally at a training session.
“For me, baseball is much more than a game,” Varon said in an interview. “It’s a place where I learned values, gained lifelong friends, and now I want to pass that on to the next generation.”
The baseball faces a critical juncture following its success at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and its restoration to the Olympic program for Los Angeles 2028 after being absent from the 2024 Paris Games.
Varon sees this as an opportunity to solidify Israel’s national team internationally while demonstrating to Israeli children the heights they can reach.
The sport provided Varon with integration tools as a teenage immigrant who barely spoke Hebrew. “Baseball was the place where I found a common language. It didn’t matter if I didn’t speak Hebrew—on the field, everything was clear: rules, team, responsibility. It gave me an incredible sense of belonging,” he explained.
The association head emphasizes the character-building aspects of baseball for his own three children and the next generation.
“I want them to have the opportunity to grow up with the values that baseball provides—discipline, cooperation and also patience,” Varon said. “It’s not a game of immediate solutions, but of planning, strategic thinking and proper utilization of opportunities.”
Leagues, fields and Olympic dreams
Varon assumed his position at a critical moment for Israeli baseball. While the sport gained international exposure at Tokyo 2020, domestic conditions remain far from ideal. The number of fields is limited, youth leagues struggle for budgets, and schools barely recognize the sport.
“I want baseball to be accessible to every child in Israel who wants to try,” he declared. “That means more fields, more coaches and an organized program that connects the sport to the education system.
“It’s impossible for this to remain an ‘American niche’ game—there’s real potential here, and children who come fall in love with it very quickly.”
His vision extends beyond Israel’s borders. With baseball’s return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in three years, Varon sees a double opportunity to continue establishing the national team globally while showing Israeli children how far they can go.
“Anyone who saw the national team in Tokyo knows this isn’t fantasy,” he said. “Israel can compete with the greats for real. My goal is that we’ll reach Los Angeles with a young and hungry squad.”
One of Varon’s greatest challenges involves establishing a different sports culture in Israel than the one in the United States, where baseball is almost a religion.
“I understand why some people say baseball is too slow,” he acknowledged with a smile, while believing the perception can change. “Those who understand the game discover a whole world.”
According to Varon, Israeli culture can provide an interesting twist to the game. “There’s energy here, creativity, healthy chutzpah. That’s what’s needed to develop the Israeli style in baseball, one that doesn’t try to copy the Americans but finds its own original path.”
When asked what drives him to invest so much time and energy, Varon quickly responds. “I feel a mission,” he said simply.
The challenges are clearly numerous: raising budgets, convincing decision-makers to invest in fields, and expanding the fan base in a country where sports compete for attention against countless other options.
“My dream? To see a packed baseball stadium in Tel Aviv, with families coming to enjoy the game, and knowing that the children who played today on Ra’anana or Petach Tikvah fields are those representing Israel on the Olympic stage in Los Angeles,” he said.
There are six baseball leagues across Israel, with players ranging from ages 5 through 50.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
