Zvi Orloff (later Nishri) was born to a Jewish family in Russia, where he served as a soldier.[1][6] His sister was the sculptor, Chana Orloff. Raful Eitan was a nephew.[7]
In 1906 he became involved in physical education.[1][8] In 1908, he started to teach physical education, and by 1912, he was involved in training teachers on the subject.[1][9] In 1911, he introduced Scandinavian gymnastics to Palestine.[8] He taught at the Herzliya High School for 40 years.[8]
Nishri authored the first physical education publications in Hebrew, and established the first physical education and sports terminology in Hebrew.[1][8] In 1913, he began a prolific career as an author, writing publications on gymnastics, football, and other physical education topics.[1][5][8][10]
Nishri Zvi, (Heb.) A Summary of the Physical Education History, Tel Aviv: The Ministry for Education and Culture, The Department for Physical Training, 1953