Jews in Sports: A Fair Fine
First it was the Israeli Lacrosse women. Now it’s the Israeli Davis Cup men’s turn for the limelight.
Throughout the world of organized sports there has come and gone opportunities for organized religion and sports to collide and create a raucous, and rarely this crash doesn’t comply.
Last week, the Israel Davis Cup team learned that it’s now joined the ranks of fellow national team Women’s Lacrosse squad this year to not desecrate Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, to play a playoff game at an international tennis tournament.
For the Israeli Davis Cup team, however, refusing to play its September 14 world group playoff match against Belgium is for even a greater reason: it’s Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Unlike the Israeli women in Oshawa, Ontario before them who were met with applause from their opponents for not wavering in their religious belief, here, though, for the Blue-and-White face an uncertain aftermath for having its match against Belgium postponed until Sunday, September 15.
The Belgium Tennis Association originally refused Israel’s request for a game-day postponement, until the International Tennis Federation (ITF) – which sponsors the Davis Cup – stepped in and forced a change.
“For a long time the Belgian tennis union refused to recognize our basic need to avoid playing on Yom Kippur, “Israel Tennis Association Chairman Asi Touchmair notes in a letter quoted by Israel’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper. “It was only after the ITF intervened that it decided not to play on that day.”
However, in doing so, the ITF demanded Team Israel to pay a 10,000 Euro fine to the Belgians for the inconvenience of postponing the match for one day.
“The high penalty deals a detrimental blow to our budget and professional program,” Touchmair explains in a statement on the association’s website. “As an institution representing the State of Israel and its values, we’re proud to stand against all those who refuse to recognize the importance of traditions for the Jewish people.”
It’s surprising to see that in today’s day and age, after Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax sat out in the 1930’s and 1965 World Series respectively, that we still live in a society where religious belief isn’t considered without reprimand.
The Israelis, with any luck, will make the Belgians pay on the tennis court and push forward into the next round of the tournament, if for nothing more than to prove the fine levied against them worthwhile.
Yossi Goldstein is the host of “Sports Talk with the Sports Rabbi” every Thursday night from 8-9pm on All Noise Radio. You can tune in through www.allnoiseradio.com
