Meet AJ Edelman. Raised in Boston, Massachusetts in an Orthodox Jewish household, the athlete is currently qualifying to represent Israel in the next winter Olympics. He attended Jewish day school in the US, turned down acceptances and scholarships to schools with top-level athletic programs to stay in Jewish school, and spent a year in an Orthodox yeshiva (seminary) in Beit Shemesh, Israel, before getting a degree in technical engineering at MIT.

Today, Edelman is recognized worldwide as an athlete representing Israel in the sport of skeleton, a winter sport in which one rides a small sled down a frozen track. He has competed in international competitions around the world. Currently, Edelman has set his sights on the Winter Olympic games in 2018 and 2022. And, in the face of extreme adversity, he has a legitimate chance to not only contend, but to succeed.

In a recent interview with Breaking Israel News, Edelman, who wears the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag proudly, said that his primary goal isn’t to compete, but rather to inspire other Jewish would-be athletes, and to give them a role model to look up to. He wants to “inspire other Jews to take up sports, fulfill their passions, give their all, and to represent their homeland by doing so.”

Edelman said that he is dedicating the next seven years of his life to this sport in order to encourage others. “My point is to inspire. That is what I am doing all this for,” he said. But there have been Jewish sports stars before. Why is special inspiration needed to encourage Jews to join the field?

Edelman believes that there is a stigma that works against Jews who participate in sports.

“Jews are very highly represented in almost every field of excellence in the public eye. Doctors, lawyers, businessmen, actors, scientists, engineers,” he explained. “The only place that Jews are not highly represented by excellence of former role models is in sports. It’s almost as if it is the butt of a joke for Jews to succeed in sports.”

Edelman is setting out not just to succeed at his sport, but to change the message and send out a new one: that Jews can achieve excellence in sports.

“Athletes like Aly Raisman, who is proudly Jewish and won a gold medal with the US gymnastic team, are sadly the exception, and not the rule,” said Edelman. And this, according to Edelman, is due to the fact that there is no prime role model for Jewish children who want to participate in sports – no one who is proudly Jewish, successful and visible.

“I realized that I can inspire and can be that individual,” said Edelman. “Growing up, I was keenly aware of the way that I acted, and that I came off to my teammates as a reflection of my community, and of Israel, as well as myself. That was quite a burden. I want to make it easier for the next generation of Jewish athletes.”

The would-be Olympic athlete has faced no shortage of obstacles in getting to where he is today, and still has many more hurdles to clear before he can attain his goal of competing in the Olympics. “My secondary objective is to get the government of Israel to recognize that it should be a priority to have Jews represent Israel by competing in sports around the world. It is simply good for the country,” said Edelman.

Athletes are known for spreading good PR. The recent work of Omri Caspi, who brought other NBA stars to Israel to fight the BDS movement, is a perfect example of an athlete who, by competing on the international level, has succeeded in rehabilitating Israel’s image around the world.

Israel, which has never won an Olympic medal in a winter sport, does not put a strong emphasis on winter sports. As a result, Edelman does not receive support from the state. For Edelman to compete, he has to fund himself, footing the bill for training, competitions, gear, and travel, as well as finding coaches, and living expenses. He also co-trains with teams from other small nations.

“There is a reason a sport like this costs $40,000 a season,” said Edelman, “and I am on the hook for the entire thing.” Edelman also has a lack of organizational support which athletes from other countries take for granted. “I have to travel 65 miles to a lifting coach I found who would train with me. I just don’t have the help to find coaches closer to where I live.”

Edelman recently launched a fundraising campaign that will allow him to participate in this year’s competitions. The campaign has raised almost $3,000 in under three days. However, Edelman says that collecting money is not the real purpose of the campaign. Rather, it is the exposure that makes a difference. “The fact that 25,000 people have already watched the video gives me a tremendous sense of support. The more the word gets out, the better,” said the former hockey star-turned-skeleton slider.

“I’d rather have 50,000 views than $50,000. The whole reason I’m doing this is to get the word out, so that some future Jewish kids can go out and feel emboldened to follow their dreams. It’s why I only set a goal of $5,000 for the campaign. The money isn’t going to be what keeps me going. Knowing that people care, that there is support behind this, that is what will keep me going,” said Edelman.

Edelman strongly believes that if there were more Jews who were active in sports and in living a Jewish lifestyle, this would in turn encourage other Jews to get involved.

He added that competing for the benefit of Israel gives the sport more meaning. “I felt that I could make a much bigger difference to inspire Jews if I represent the country that I love, my homeland, Israel. I thought that if I am committing all the years of my life to this, that I want to do it to represent Israel.”

“I wouldn’t do this sport if I did it for any other country,” he continued. “Every time I hear them announce instructions to clear the track for the Israeli athlete, every time I put on the white and blue, it gives me a tremendous amount of encouragement and a push to succeed and keep going.”