Soccer Soccer Soccer - Israel in the U20 FIFA World Cup

Dor Turgeman - Israel U20 Team

Thursday June 8, 2023 is a huge, historic day in Israel sports history.  As you may have heard, Israel will be playing Uruguay in the Under 20 FIFA World Cup - in the Semi-Finals at 1:30 p .m. EST (8:30 p.m. Israeli time)  The winner will play either Italy or South Korea in the championship game on Sunday at 5 p.m. EST. (Midnight Israel time).  Israel has never been this close to a world championship.  Israel's Under 19 team wound up in a runner up spot in the European tournament two years ago - but that was only Europe - this is the whole world.

Israeli national soccer teams face some exceptional hurdles in world tournaments.  The  Arab countries (and some  other Muslim countries) refuse to play against Israel and FIFA (the international governing body of "Futbal" (soccer) more or less goes along.  Since 1974, Israel has been forced to compete against European teams in a crowded, extremely competitive division instead of being able to qualify by playing against its neighbours.  In short, it is very difficult for Israel to even qualify for world cup soccer tournaments, let alone advance.  Israel has only been in the FIFA World Cup once - in 1970.  That year, Israel qualified as an Asian team.  They lost to Uruguay 2-0, tied Italy 0-0 and tied Sweden 1-1.  That record of one loss and two draws was not enough to enable Israel to advance to the knockout stage.  Since then, Israel has failed to qualify in 13 attempts - against European competitors.

This 2023 tournament is a bit different - it is only for players under 20 years old - the future stars of soccer, rather than the biggest stars.  Of course, Israel had to play hard - and really well -  to qualify.  In fact, the tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Indonesia.  The Indonesians assumed that Israel would not qualify.  Once it became clear that Israel would qualify, Indonesia announced that it would refuse to permit the Israeli team to play in Indonesia.  So FIFA moved the tournament to Argentina.

At the tournament, Israel's play has been stellar.  They beat Japan with moments to go in the round robin section of the tournament to secure a spot in the knockout round.  Then they beat Uzbekistan in the round of 16 (1-0) to advance to the quarter finals.  Their next opponent was Brazil - a world soccer titan.  In a miraculous win, this past Saturday afternoon, Israel outscored Brazil 3-2 in overtime and will now play Uruguay in the semi finals.

Two members of the Israel squad have each scored two goals - Dor Turgeman and Anan Khalaili.

Anan Khalaili

Turgeman is 19 years old and was born in Ashdod, Israel.  He is exciting to watch and happy to try all kinds of fancy footwork.  Anon Khalaili is an Israeli from Sakhnin, Israel.  He has also played extremely well and has scored two very exciting and timely goals.  Both players are hoping to come up with some even  bigger goals in an effort to propel the team to a win over Uruguay.

Personally, I am not normally a huge soccer fan, as you might know.  I enjoy watching the big tournaments - the World Cup, the European Championships - and maybe some of the Champions League games.  But regular season soccer games can often end in a 0-0 tie.  To quote my dad - that can sometimes be as exciting as watching "paint dry."

But my year as a sports fan and spectator has fizzled dramatically.  The Buffalo Bills went down with a thud, despite all of the high expectations.  The Maple Leafs managed to win a round but then exited in rather pedestrian fashion against the Florida Panthers in the second round of the NHL playoffs.  The Raptors were nowhere to be found in the playoffs.   The Blue Jays are doing reasonably well but it's early in the season and it seems like they still have 300 games left to play.  So not that much for me to cheer about, overall.

In fact, this U20 FIFA tournament was not even on my radar as an event to watch.

But when I saw that the Israeli squad had eked out a victory over Japan - I definitely became interested in watching the Israel-Uzbekistan match.  I have to say, I felt little doubt that they would beat the Uzbekkies but it turned out to be a much closer match than I expected.

Against Brazil - well - I was just hoping it wouldn't be ugly or embarrassing.  Sure, we were all dreaming of an Israeli win - but no one really predicted that Israel would be beat Brazil.

So here we are - all set for tomorrow and I will definitely be glued to the TV, watching with a VPN before heading back to Israel next week.  The Uruguay team looked very solid against a strong American side on Sunday and will present quite a challenge.  But given that Israel managed to beat Brazil, you have to think that anything can happen.

Stay tuned and if you have the chance - try to watch the big game.  Back to regular scheduled programming shortly - political commentary, winery reviews and other random ruminations - not necessarily flowing together smoothly.  Since I will be back in Israel, I am sure I will have a variety of topics to write about.  For today, on this historic semi-final eve, it had to be soccer, soccer and  soccer.  

Go  Israel!!!

Yom Hazikaron 2023

One  week  after Yom HaShoah v'Hagvurah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) is  commemorated, Israel marks Yom Hazikaron - national remembrance day for soldiers, victims of terrorism and other state service people.

Yom Hazikaron is commonly referred to by many people - as "K'dosh Kdoshim" - the  holiest of the holies.  For some Israelis, it is more meaningful then Yom Kippur.  It is a day marked or observed by Israelis across the political spectrum, religious and non-religious, of different ethnicities, and all different ages.

According to official Israeli sites, 24,068 soldiers  and security  personnel have died since Jews first began modern efforts to rebuild Israel in 1860.  In addition, approximately 4,216 Israelis have  been  killed  in terrorist attacks.   Following the founding  of the State of  Israel in 1948, Yom Hazikaron was established as a day to remember fallen soldiers, which would take place every year the day before Israel's national Independence Day.  Over the years, Yom Hazikaron was expanded to include those who were killed prior to the  establishment of the State and in 1997, the Knesset enacted a law to include remembrance of victims of terrorism on Yom Hazikaron.

Like with Yom Hashoah, which we observed last week,  we walked over to the Ra'anana ceremony last night at 8 p.m. All of Ra'anana's stores and restaurants closed early (around 6 p.m.) last night, as they did across the country.  We went early to be able to find seats.  There were thousands and thousands of people.  Large sections of seating were reserved for families of fallen soldiers.  

The ceremony started with a two minute long piercing siren.  Thousands stood silently thinking  about those who had died and. bracing themselves for a difficult ceremony.

The commemoration itself was about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  It included speeches from the  Mayor of Ra'anana, a representative of the bereaved families, the city Rabbi, and others.  There was a special emphasis  on the Yom Kippur War, which took place fifty years ago, in 1973.  Images flashed across screens of worshippers in synagogue the day the  war broke out - suddenly hearing  sirens and  alarms across the country as Israel was  attacked by Egypt and Syria on Yom Kippur.   There were several stories about the lives of different soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the  country and the names of every soldier,  originally from  Ra'anana, who had been killed, were read out.  There were also several musical performances which were emotional, moving and exceptionally well  presented.

We went back  home and watched the tail end of the national Israeli ceremony.  After that, TV stations broadcast musical performances for several hours by Israeli artists singing mournful loss-themed  songs, much of this from a live performance in Tel-Aviv.  This was all interspersed with interviews and  stories about fallen soldiers, their families and their fellow soldiers who  served with them.

Over the course of the day, Israeli TV programming is  non-stop Yom Hazikaron programming.  There was a second nationwide two minute siren at 11 a.m.  There was a national ceremony at Mount Herzl and there are stories throughout the day of fallen soldiers and their families.

Yom Hazikaron is such a powerful day in Israel because of the nature of Israel's army and the role it plays in society.  Since everyone is or can be  drafted in Israel, the army is still very much a  citizen's army.  Israelis, young men and women, from all  walks of  life serve and units can be made up of people from different places, different backgrounds,  different ethnic origins, economic circumstances and political views.  They come together in the belief that it is necessary to defend the  country. (I am not pretending there are no political issues here - including issues relating to who is required to serve - but I am deliberately avoiding those issues for now - that is for another post).

Israelis recognize  that the army is there to protect Israel against very real existential threats.  Two of Israel's wars, the 1948 War of  Independence and the 1973 Yom Kippur War were very much existential wars in the truest sense of the word.  In 1948, Israel was heavily outnumbered and had vastly inferior equipment to that of the array of surrounding countries that invaded, right after Israel declared its independence.  In 1973, Israel suffered crushing losses during the first few days of the war, with Syria threatening to march towards Tel Aviv and Egypt threatening to march northwards.   In both cases, heroic efforts by Israeli military forces led to eventual victory, at a heavy, heavy price.

In 1982, when Israel became involved in the first Lebanon War, Israel's north was under incessant attack from rocket fire from Lebanon.  In 1996, during the Second  Lebanon War, rockets from Lebanon hit Israeli targets (mostly civilian) across the country.  More recently, Israel has faced barrages of rocket fire, targeting civilian areas, from Gaza and has had to defend the country.

And today, although  things can seem relatively peaceful at times, there are serious threats to Israel from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Hamas and Palestinians.  The army  must maintain a constant state of readiness, relying heavily on a wide range of intelligence operations, as well as the readiness of its well trained forces, in preparation for any possible outbreak of hostilities.

A common  theme at Yom Hazikaron  is the gratitude that we owe these fallen soldiers.  It is because of them, their colleagues, their efforts and  their sacrifices, that Israel was established and has been able to make it to his year's 75th anniversary.

The founders of Israel recognized that Israel's establishment and independence came at a great price.  They determined that the  only logical day on the  calendar to mark Yom Hazikaron would have to be the day before Yom Haatzmaut - Israel's Independence Day.

They  understood that Israel's greatest day of celebration, which is marked by fireworks, street partying,  festivities  across the country - could only be celebrated properly if it was preceded by a day  honouring, thanking and commemorating those who made it all possible.

Yom Hazikaron will end tonight at sundown and Israel's 75th Independence Day - Yom Haatzmaut - will begin immediately after sundown.  The country will demonstrate its resilience by moving seamlessly from grief to joy, from remembrance to celebration and from the country's cemeteries to national parks, musical stages, outdoor festivals and fireworks.  It is a difficult transition.  The message is that Israelis have no choice but to remember and thank those who were lost - while at the same time doing everything possible to get the  most out of life and celebrate what we have.

To all those who we  remember on Yom Hazikaron - Y'hi Zichram Baruch - may their memories be  blessed.