They were accepted by European sport federations a long time ago, usually because Middle-Eastern federations refused to accept them either on ideological or security reasons. It's usually not a big deal, they're crap at everything except basketball, as far as I know.
Except for Hapoel Tel Aviv, which is my team! So treat with respect! :)
Seriously though, of the "Major Sports", Israel is only good at basketball with Macabi Tel Aviv. But there are other niche sports we're ok at, like Judo or others.
