A Bethesda college fencer’s face may soon be plastered across boxes of Manischewitz matzo, the Jewish equivalent of Wheaties’ Breakfast of Champions.
Lev BenAvram, a 2028 United States Olympic hopeful in the sport of fencing, is among four male finalists for the kosher brand’s Best Jewish College Athlete in America award.
The winners — one man and one woman — will receive $10,000, their likeness on a matzo box and recognition by the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. “The contest itself represents being a proud and visibly Jewish athlete,” BenAvram said.
This prize would mark a full-circle moment for BenAvram.
“I grew up eating Manischewitz matzo on Passover and Tam Tam crackers from Manischewitz all the time,” the college senior and world champion said.
BenAvram, 22, was raised in a “very Jewish household” in Bethesda. He attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County.
“From a young age, my parents instilled in me a very big love of Judaism,” BenAvram said, adding that he has fond memories of blowing the shofar with his family on the High Holidays.
He was also passionate about “The Pirates of Penzance,” a two-act comic opera.
“I was very into pirates, and my parents thought it would be fun for me to try fencing,” BenAvram said.
His parents enrolled him in sabre fencing lessons at the age of 8. He’s worked with Fikrat Valiyev, a coach at Nazlymov Fencing in Bethesda and a nine-time national champion, since he was an early teen.
“I was never excelling nationally, but [on] the regional, local level, I was always doing pretty well,” BenAvram said, describing his fencing skills as consistently “decent.” “Around the end of my junior year [in high school], my results started to get better and better.”
BenAvram began his first year at Brandeis University ranked tenth in the 19-and-under age group for fencing, but a “really bad start to the year” saw his ranking decline. A month before the qualification for the Junior World Championships, he improved, qualified for the team and won Junior World Championships.
“That was something I had never even dreamed of doing,” BenAvram said. “I basically said, ‘This is my last tournament.’ I wasn’t really sure where I was gonna go from there. But after qualifying for Junior World Championships and winning, it really pushed me forward toward the goal of trying to qualify for the [2028 U.S.] Olympics, and my results have been getting better.”
The Team USA and NCAA All-American athlete is now ranked top six in U.S. fencing. He currently practices at least two to three hours daily, between tournaments and the collegiate team.
BenAvram noted that while the U.S. is home to a decent number of Jewish fencers, there aren’t many in the international sphere, especially Jewish sabre fencers. “Israel doesn’t really have a sabre team,” he said.
He saw that firsthand during a trip there during the latter half of his senior year of high school.
“While I was there, I spent a week training with the Israeli team [in Ashkelon], and that was a great experience,” BenAvram said. “Overall, that trip really shaped my appreciation and love for Israel.”
He earned a silver medal in the 2022 Passover Cup tournament in Tel Aviv.
Back in the States, studying business and Hebrew at Brandeis University, BenAvram makes it a priority to showcase his Jewish faith.
“It definitely means a lot to me to be able to represent the Jewish community as an athlete in fencing,” he said, adding that he proudly sports a Magen David necklace.
BenAvram also keeps kosher, even on the road between national and international tournaments, despite some challenges. “There’s lots of places where it’s really hard to keep kosher,” he said, referencing a tournament earlier this year in Algeria where he ate cheese pizza three times a day for five days.
“Fencing takes me around the world every single year, but no matter where I go, I keep kosher, and I represent my Jewish identity and the Jewish people,” BenAvram said.
On social media, he posts Jewish recipes and “day in the life of a Jewish athlete” video blogs: “It’s part of my life.”
“I’m not just trying to be a high-level athlete and qualify for the Olympics,” BenAvram said. “I’m really trying to do it in a way that shows me as a Jewish athlete and shows other Jewish athletes that they can accomplish anything they want.”
Manischewitz accepted nominations for Jewish collegiate athletes in January and recently announced the eight finalists.
“When my mom nominated me, I didn’t have any expectations that I would be a finalist or even considered,” BenAvram said. “Fencing is a small sport. And as far as college athletes, Brandeis is a Division III school, so I was actually the only Division III athlete selected as a finalist.”
Voting is open through Feb. 3, and BenAvram expects to find out the results soon.
