Ligat Ha'Al (handball)

The league was established in 1954–55 with 10 teams competing in a double round-robin tournament, and with Maccabi Rehovot winning the first three championships. At first, all matches were played as Field handball, with 11 players on the field, before reverting to 7-players handball, with the last matches being held on football fields were held in 1963.[1] Until the 1980s, the handball in Israel was centered in places such as Rehovot, Ramat Gan and Petah Tikva, as 7 clubs played in these cities. But starting in the 1980s, the hegemony moved to Rishon Lezion, as local Maccabi won three titles in a row between 1984 and 1986. Important clubs like Hapoel Rehovot were dissolved because of financial issues. The three cities which were very successful in the Israeli handball, Rehovot, Ramat Gan and Petah Tikva, deteriorated.

Through all the 1990s, Hapoel Rishon indisputably dominated the league and won 9 championship in a row. They enjoyed from the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and signed a lot of players who were famous in Europe such as Igor Bialik, Leonid Bernstein, Evgeni Oleinik and more. In 2002 Hapoel lost the championship to ASA Tel Aviv. One year later Hapoel won it again but the hegemony and the full domination in the handball ended when Maccabi Rishon with the notable head coach Gilad Maor grew stronger. Maccabi Rishon won their first championship in the new age in 2004, after they won ASA Tel Aviv in the final. Since then, for ten years, the championship stayed in Rishon Lezion and moved between Maccabi and Hapoel.

A lot of famous Israeli players played in the league, while the most famous is Idan Maimon, the all-time best Israeli player, with more than 3,500 goals. Other famous players: Doron Dayan, Amir Popko, Danny Turkenitz, Shlomo Hofman, Dudi Balsar, Harel Moritz, Akiva Lefler, Eyal Shur, Shachar Haber, Eitan Madmoni, Oleg Butenko, Benny Ne'eman Yoav Ne'eman, Chen Pomeranz and Avishay Smoler.

In 2013–14, Maccabi Tel Aviv won its first ever championship and it was the first time in 12 years that the championship moved away from Rishon Lezion. In 2014–15, Hapoel Rishon won an historic double after defeating Maccabi Rishon in the finals of Ligat Winner and State Cup. One year later, it was Maccabi Tel Aviv who won the national championship.

The complete list of the Israeli handball champions since 1955.

• Israeli Women's Handball League

• Israel Handball Association