From troubled teens to a multimillion-dollar industry: How surfing conquered Israel
Once seen as a pastime for troubled teens skipping school for the beach, surfing is now one of Israel’s fastest-growing sports, with tens of thousands of surfers, new schools, a wave park, a multimillion-dollar industry and booming surf tourism.
Nati Badash, a 52-year-old high-tech executive and father of three, is an avid surfer. He finds solace in the sport, which he believes is a cheaper alternative to therapy.
"It’s a feeling an outsider can’t understand," he says. "I come out of the water after two hours full of energy. It’s much cheaper than a psychologist."
Badash is one of many Israelis who have embraced surfing in recent years. The sport has become a way of life and, since October 7, a powerful tool for healing and coping with trauma.
Surfers come from all walks of life, from 4-year-olds to retirees in their 80s, from senior executives to combat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress. They find community, healing, and peace of mind between the waves.
As a result, dozens of surf clubs have sprung up across the country, Israel’s first artificial wave park has opened, surf tourism has flourished, and a multimillion-shekel industry has emerged.
"It’s an addiction," Badash admits. "My best friends today are from surfing. I even met my partner between the waves and, coincidentally, her name is Gal," the Hebrew word for wave. "We surf together and make sure to fly every year for our dream vacation in Sri Lanka. Surfing is life."
Shira Firstenberg, 37, a doctorate holder in education, started surfing eight years ago. Inspired by a film about surfers in Iceland, she now spends her mornings in the sea, finding focus and energy.
"The inspiration came from a film I saw about surfers in Iceland," she says. "I took a few lessons, bought a surfboard, and since then, I’ve been in the sea every morning. If the sea is flat, I swim or dive, and if there are waves, I surf. Only afterward do I go to work. For me, surfing is much more than a hobby. It’s how I start my day and arrive at work sharp and energized."
Surfing has no age limit, and surf clubs now cater to students in their 70s and surfers over 80. Amit Vizel, a longtime surfer, runs overseas surf trips with her husband, Dor Damari, and their passion for the sport has passed on to their baby daughter.
"It’s never too late to start and apparently it’s never too early either," she says. "There are babies who get on a surfboard as soon as they can stand. The sport supports fitness, health, mental well-being, a connection with nature, self-confidence, and social ties, and gives surfers a full life in every sense."
Surfing in Israel has grown from a niche pursuit to one of the country’s most popular sports. Estimates put the number of active surfers at around 30,000 to 50,000, while as many as 80,000 people surf occasionally.
The main surfing hubs are in Tel Aviv, including Hilton Beach, the Dolphinarium beach area, and HaTzuk Beach. Major surfing schools operate along the beaches of Herzliya and Netanya, at Bat Galim Beach in Haifa, and in Ashdod and Ashkelon, popular surfing centers in the south.
SRF Park TLV, Israel’s first artificial wave park, has given the sport a major boost. The facility offers artificial waves for surfers of different skill levels and was designed to make surfing accessible even when natural conditions are poor.
Dozens of surf schools now operate along Israel’s coastline, from Nahariya to Ashkelon. Thousands of children and teenagers take part in surfing classes and summer camps, and industry figures say this summer has been the strongest yet in terms of registration for children’s and teen surf camps.
Israel has also established itself on the competitive surfing scene. Surfer Anat Lelior represented Israel at two Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024, and a number of Israeli surfers compete internationally in World Surf League events.
Kobe Shafrir, a married father of three from the Tel Aviv area, has been surfing for more than 40 years and works as a private surfing instructor. He emphasizes the sport’s demands, requiring persistence, a genuine love of the sea and nature, and considerable physical ability.
"To understand and speak the language, you need to train for at least a year, both independently and through surfing lessons," he says. "For me, teaching surfing is no less than teaching an approach to life that has something in common with Zen or other Eastern philosophies rooted in a deep connection with nature. I give one-on-one private surfing lessons or lessons in small groups, usually just two or three students."
Surfing instruction is combined with teaching mathematics and serving as a 10th-grade homeroom teacher at Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium.
"At the end of the day, teaching surfing isn’t enough to make a living," he explains. "After all, it’s a seasonal business and there aren’t always good waves in the sea."
Shafrir combines surfing instruction with teaching mathematics and serving as a 10th-grade homeroom teacher at Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium.
"At the end of the day, teaching surfing isn’t enough to make a living," he explains. "After all, it’s a seasonal business and there aren’t always good waves in the sea."
Hani Ovadia, a handmade surfboard shaper in south Tel Aviv, caters to both beginners and experienced surfers. He creates surfboards tailored to each individual, considering factors like height, body type, weight, and the kind of waves they usually ride.
"There’s also the gimmick factor, like with any accessory, in surfing too," Ovadia says. "Customers come to me wanting to dedicate a board to a friend, a girlfriend or boyfriend, or a child celebrating a bar mitzvah, with a special inscription and an original design."
Ovadia’s studio is a hub for surfers, and he builds surfboards for some of the top surfers in Israel and abroad.
"I make surfboards from the initial stage using materials such as polyurethane foam and expanded polystyrene, entirely by hand from start to finish," he says. "Making a surfboard is a lot of work. Above all, it requires professional shaping and sanding to achieve the best possible result, customized to each individual surfer. That sanding stage alone takes several days, unlike a branded product that comes off a production line."
Ovadia’s work is not just about surfboards; it’s about creating unique experiences.
"I have models that I build individually, so they can take months. There is no mass production here. I also have an entire line of unique boards that I make for use in the wave pool at the surf park, because the material has to be adapted for wave-pool use, including to the force generated by the wave. The boards are obviously not cheap. They are carefully handcrafted, so we’re talking about several thousand shekels per board."
The surf park, SRF Park TLV, offers waves that would not look out of place in Sri Lanka, with 30 types of waves, different surfing styles, and 40 dunams of surfing paradise. The facility contains about 29,000 cubic meters of water and features 56 modules capable of generating up to 700 waves an hour.
The park has been a game-changer for surfing in Israel, providing a solution to the country’s wave problem.
"Considering that Israel has close to 70 days a year with good surfing waves at sea, the wave pool completely fills the gap," says Dor, an avid surfer. "There are surfing conditions here that are hard for us to find even in the Mediterranean."
Entrepreneur and owner Simon Tal Doyev, a former Israeli surfing champion, founded the country’s surfing organization and was among the founders of Gazoz, a surfing-equipment company.
"It’s a way of life for me," he says. "And today, finally, after a journey of more than 15 years, there is a real solution to Israel’s wave problem. A surfing lagoon covering 22 dunams is a dream that became reality. The municipality gave us a 40-dunam site for 20 years, and we managed to create a paradise for surfers here, from beginners to professionals."
The road to realizing the dream was challenging, but the park has become a hub for surfers.
"Everyone takes their turn, with no fighting and no stealing waves," Tal Doyev says. "The basic premise is that there simply aren’t always good waves in the sea."
The surf park has also been used for rehabilitation and trauma treatment, particularly among discharged combat soldiers dealing with PTSD.
HaGal Sheli, a nationwide nonprofit, works with at-risk populations, people dealing with trauma, and people with disabilities, helping them cope with personal, community, and national crises.
Since the war began, the organization’s teams have established emergency centers staffed by leading treatment professionals, using the sea and waves to assist residents of northern and southern Israel, soldiers, bereaved families, survivors of the Nova music festival, medical teams, and security forces.
Oran Weiss, a seven-time Israeli surfing champion, leads the "Voice of Nova" surfing workshop at SRF Park TLV, combining surfing with hydrotherapy.
"I’m a great believer in the healing power of water, in healing the mind and treating post-trauma," Weiss says. "The project grew out of my personal story. I started surfing in 1980 at Tel Baruch Beach, within walking distance of my home. The atmosphere at home was bad, my parents were going through a divorce, and the sea became my refuge."
Surfing has become a global culture, with tens of thousands of surf schools operating worldwide, millions of people learning to surf, and the sport entering the Olympic Games.
An entire tourism industry has developed around surfing, offering vacations that combine surf training, accommodations, excursions, and a sense of community.
Israelis have ridden that wave as well. Surfing trips are now organized for individuals, couples, families, and groups, with popular destinations including Sri Lanka, the Philippines, the Maldives, and Morocco.
Amit Vizel and her husband, Dor Damari, founders of the Chasing Fun company, are among the pioneers of the field in Israel. They offer surf trips to destinations around the world, catering to beginners and advanced surfers.
"In the past, it was mostly young people after the army," Vizel says. "Today, we see couples, families, fathers and children, women traveling alone, and groups of friends. A surf trip has become a tourism product in its own right, much like a ski vacation."
The trend continues to expand, with the company launching dedicated surf trips for families with young children, combining surfing lessons for parents with the toddlers’ first introduction to the sea.
"More than 10 couples have already met on our surf trips, gotten married, and become parents," Vizel says. "Now they’re coming back on trips with us, this time with their children."
