Country's weightlifting federation defends athlete, while stressing its 'rejection of all normalization with the Zionist state'

Mostafa Rajaei banished from sport after gesture on podium with Israeli Maksim Svirsky at a championship in Poland Saturday, which 'crossed the red lines of the Islamic Republic'

Bringing weightlifting back to the Maccabiah Games after over 3 decades, competitors from around the globe -- amateurs and pros -- hoist barbells in staggering shows of strength

Born in 1936 in British Mandatory Palestine, Berger was raised by a Hasidic family in Jerusalem before moving to the US in 1949 where his athletic career took off

Weightlifter David Litvinov finishes 5th in his group; sailors Noya Bar-Am and Shahar Tibi end up in eighth place overall