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The New Jersey Jewish Post
Young Israelis play stress-free basketball in Jersey City
Jacob Kamaras
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH STATE
April 10, 2009
For Nevo Brand, facing an elite New Jersey youth basketball team with
superior size and athleticism paled in comparison to the challenge of
merely practicing back in Israel.
From time to time, Brand's drills are interrupted by the sounds of Qassam
rockets and missiles launched by Hamas terrorists. Therefore, besides for
honing his on-court skills, Brand must master the art of running to a
shelter in 15 seconds or less.
"It changes the whole mode, from fun to preparedness," Brand, a Be'er
Sheva native, said of the Qassam attacks. "You've got to be ready, even
though your mind is somewhere else."
But as part of the Southern Israel Basketball All Stars, a team of Israeli
youths ages 16 to 18 from towns such as Sderot that have been continually
shelled from Gaza, Brand got to play stress-free hoops from March 31 to
April 7 on a tour of the New York City area sponsored by the
America-Israel Friendship League. The team visited Jersey City April 5 to
face the Sports University AAU All Stars at the Golden Door Charter
School, home of the 25-time state high school champion St. Anthony Friars.
The Fairfield-based Amateur Athletic Union team came in with far more
knowledge about the travails of black teenagers who play basketball as a
distraction from rough inner-city streets, but was exposed to an entirely
different set of youths who also use the sport as a diversion from harsh
circumstances.
"I think it's great to bring Israeli basketball players and American
basketball players together. We have a lot in common and it's great to
build on that friendship," AIFL President Harley Lippman said. "Just think
if they were playing a game like this in Israel and a Qassam rocket
crashes through the gym. That's what you have to think of. That's what
these kids are going through."
The Israeli team couldn't match up with the Sports University squad's
depth in a 70-47 loss, but just being there was a moral victory. It was
the first trip to the United States for eight of the 10 players.
"It's very nice to see that (the American players) want to play with us,"
said Yoel Cohen, an Ashkelon native who aspires to play college basketball
in America. "Basketball has helped me because I can relax when I play. I
can go far away from the missiles and the alarms." "It's relaxing, because
they are just taking us on a vacation here. Over in Israel, there is
stress," said Noam Rodman, a native of Moshav Talmee Yosef.
The trip was part of the AIFL's U.S.-Israel "Citizenship Through Sports"
Exchange, an initiative aimed at generating cross-cultural dialogue and
democratic engagement among American and Israeli student-athletes. The
Southern Israel All Stars, supervised by former University of Illinois and
Maccabi Tel-Aviv basketball star Tal Brody, made it a point to schedule
games against schools with players who were from Christian, Muslim, and
various other religious backgrounds for a full cultural experience on the
eight-day New York area tour.
"Sports is always good therapy for anything related to open communication
and community relations," said Brody, who was born in Trenton but became
an Israeli citizen in 1970. "When you do sports internationally, you add
on to that the understanding of other cultures and religions."
Brody made opening remarks before the game along with New Jersey Governor
Jon Corzine, who also attended the University of Illinois and called Brody
one of his youth heroes.
"Anything that brings societies together and allows our youths to
understand the diversity of the world is a great thing," Corzine told The
Jewish State. "This lets New Jersey kids understand that not everything is
easy for young men in Southern Israel. These kids have to put up with a
lot."
The Sports University team was coached by former New Jersey Nets player
Darryl Dawkins, who was known for his powerful dunking ability. Brody
recalled that Dawkins broke every basket in his path during his visit to
the courts of Israel, which included an exhibition game between the Nets
and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in 1983.
"It's a pleasure to have these kids from Israel play us," Dawkins said in
an interview. "When it comes to my team, I just try to let people know
that it takes a whole community to raise a kid, not just two parents. Most
people think that music and sports are the only ways out of the (inner
city) ghetto, but we really need more doctors, lawyers, and nurses. As
well as being basketball players, we teach them how to be good young men."
Despite the challenges he faces while coaching American youth basketball,
Dawkins acknowledged that the obstacles in front of Israeli teenagers from
Southern Israel can be that much more daunting.
"I don't think people would be ready to deal with a situation like that in
America," Dawkins said.
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