Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Mondiale & Pride in Unexpected Places

Watching the world cup in Israel isn’t easy. For someone used to Hansen’s tactical astuteness, Lineker’s witticisms and the general professionalism of the advert free BBC, it takes some time to acclimatize to the 4 Israelis sitting in comfortable chairs watching the game on a big screen and commentating.

They have interviewed Septuagint ex politician Tommy Lapid (he was born in the former Yugoslavia – a clear expert on the Serbian team apparently) an Israeli grandmother whose claim to fame was that her husband had got her tickets to the Holland – Serbia game (she wanted Serbia to win cos the players were in the hotel with her and they seemed nice) and the only phrase that Avi Nimni the former footballer and Israeli commentator says in ‘Yotze min HaClal’ out of the ordinary (over and over and over again…) Their piece de resistance was the inability of one of the commentators to pronounce the name Milosevic correctly.


So when people say Aliya means making sacrifices, they perhaps should be clearer about what it means…

But every now and then, something happens that reminds you why you are proud to be an Israeli. And during Ghana’s celebrations after their second goal against the Czech Republic yesterday, I’m not sure I would have wanted to be watching anywhere else.

3 Ghanians play in the Israeli league

5 comments:

Dot Co Dot Il said...

Great minds think alike ;)

Anonymous said...

what exactly made you proud?

Calev said...

to Mr Anonymous

it made me proud that most of the 3bn people in the World that watch the World Cup saw an Israeli flag in positive circumstances on prime time TV on the middle Saturday of the World Cup during what has so far been the biggest upset of the competition.

And for a country that is used to being linked to apartheid and racism, it was nice to see a black Ghanian clearly so in love with his 'adopted' country of residence to share one of the happiest moments in his life with our blue and white magen david.

and its always nice to know with whom i am conversing... :)

David said...

I too greatly enjoyed seeing Mr. Painstil wave the Israeli flag and hope it will translated into increased respect among Israeli for West African workers.

As a former American, I can't help but take this rare oppurtunity to correct a Englishman's grammar.

Tommy Lapid is 75, this makes him a septugenerian, not the Septuagint (Latin for 70-the original translation of the Bible).

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