Stuart Lustigman Column
While most of the UK was being deluged with lashing rain the only danger of my getting wet was someone splashing me as I lay prostrate by the pool at Kfar Maccabiah following the Maccabi Masters (0ver 45s) footballers' 5th Israel Tour which concluded last weekend. The tour included three matches the first two of which resulted in heavy defeats for the Maccabi team (scores on request) but culminated in a hard fought 6-3 victory over Robert Black's Anglo Israel Masters played at Betar Jerusalem's training ground on a very warm Friday morning. Of the 5 tours since 2002, Maccabi Masters have won 8, drawn 2 and lost 6 of the 16 matches played.
As in previous years the 19 strong group, that included a number of WAGS, were exposed to many emotions as we visited sites and establishments that would not be on the itinerary of a normal trip to Israel. Among places visited were the Kotel; Migdal Ohr a massive national educational network with a student body numbering 6,500 boys and girls from dysfunctional homes, orphans and new immigrants many of whom live in the foster village based on campus; Kibbutz Giv'at Hayim with a unique display exhibiting football matches played at Getto Terezin (Theresienstadt) during the Second World War; Sderot on the Gaza border where we had a private meeting with Mayor David Bouskila; Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum (a must for every Jew); One Family Centre, a charity that assists victims of terrorism; addresses by Eli Izakson (a nice Jewish boy from Manchester) an IDF spokesman and StandWithUs International on Israel advocacy.
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We ate well, laughed a lot, even found time to watch football on TV and, yes, sit by the pool but most important of all, support Israel while doing what, despite our years, we still love to do - play the beautiful game.
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