A member of the Israeli team goes for the flag. Photo by Shannon Nuszen.
Over the course of three days, it was a flag-football fan’s dream as 21 teams and more than 400 players, dressed in their country’s colors, took over a Jerusalem field from morning till evening.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the 1929 riots and Jewish massacre in the city of Hebron, outside of the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, Sept. 4, 2019. Photo by Gershon Elinson/Flash90.
Their presence at ceremonies marking the 90th anniversary of the riots and Jewish massacre sent a signal that the Jewish community in the ancient city is there to stay.
This past weekend 21 teams from all over Europe arrived in Jerusalem to compete for the 2019 Flag Football European Championship. Denmark took the gold for the men while Spain won the women’s crown. On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, American Football in Israel (AFI) president Steve Leibowitz says that the biggest winner in the competition is the city of Jerusalem, hosting the largest ever delegation (over 400 players) for a specific sport in an internationally recognized tournament. While the Israeli men’s team finished fourth and the women finished sixth, Israel already has its sights on the 2020 world championship in Copenhagen.
In yet another Friday terror attack in Israel, 17-year-old Lod resident Rina Shnerb HY”D was murdered this past week, when Arab terrorists remotely detonated a bomb near a Binyamin-area spring. Her father and brother were also wounded in the attack. On this week’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh discusses this horrific incident, and other acts of terror which seem to be taking place in Israel nearly every Friday this summer. Also on the show, an update from a tense situation on both Israel’s northern and southwestern borders.
Photo Credit: English Wikipedia / Tewfik
On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, an interview with Ben Goldstein who is on the first response anti-terror team in the community of Elazar, Gush Etzion. On Friday morning a terrorist using his car as a weapon rammed into two Israeli teenage siblings making their way to a bus stop outside of Elazar. One of the teens was seriously wounded while the other suffered light to moderate injuries. Goldstein discusses the attacks and says that Israel must restore deterrence as the threat of terror heats up throughout the country.
Josh on I24 news, defending Israel’s decision to deny entry to two US Congresswomen for their support for BDS
While many waited for hours in the blistering sun, 1,729 Jews ascended the ramp for a visit to Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount on Tisha B’av, which is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. The Israeli police on instructions from the government flipped-flopped throughout the day, opening and closing Judaism’s holiest site to Jewish visitors. Muslim rioters had positioned themselves at the site, hanging a Hamas banner, and were vocal in opposing the area being opened for Jews. Yet while certainly not a smooth experience, Jews did in fact make it to the Temple Mount to mourn the loss of both Jewish Temples, and yearn for the rebuilding of the third – speedily in our days.
Photo Credit: Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 4.0
On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, an interview with JJ Sussman International Director of the Gesher Organization. Gesher, Hebrew for “bridge,” tries to close the gaps between Jews from different religious and political backgrounds. This goal is especially relevant as we are in the midst of the nine day mourning period leading up to Tisha B’av which commemorates the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, with our sages teaching that the 2nd Temple was destroyed as a result of baseless hatred and slander between Jews. Sussman says that his organization encourages Jews who might have disagreements to find common ground and should meet each other face to face, as opposed to behind the keyboard, in order to build those bridges.
Opening ceremonies of the European Lacrosse Federation (ELF) Women’s European Lacrosse Championship in Jerusalem, July 15, 2019. Photo by Josh Hasten.
As evening approached, and the heat of another scorching summer day in Jerusalem broke, more than 300 young women from 16 different countries across Europe proudly marched into the fan-filled stadium at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in a sea of their country’s colors on Monday, getting ready for opening ceremonies.
The Israel national U18 team celebrates following their surprise win at the European Championship qualifiers in Stockholm, July 2019. Photo by Margo Sugarman.
Playing in their first major international tournament, Israel’s U18 (“18 and under”) youth baseball team shocked the competition last week, returning home from the European Championship qualifiers in Stockholm with a first-place finish. The win qualifies team Israel for a place in next summer’s prestigious U18 European Championships, with that venue yet to be determined.