Yeshiva Scrimmages Against Visiting Israeli Squad

The Yeshiva basketball team's November 10th scrimmage wasn't just another of its four pre-season warmups. The Macs played host to an overseas program called Israel at Heart, an independent touring entity whose primary concern is the image of Israel.

Israel at Heart isn't part of any Jewish organization, and hides no political agenda. The group intends to reverse what it labels Israel's unfair portrayal in international media. They aim to emphasize Israel's significance as the only true democracy in the Middle East and to highlight the daily struggles the country endures during these troubling times. By traveling to different universities across North America and Europe, the program hopes to show people a different side of Israel than what they may be accustomed to.

Israel at Heart brings in young students because they believe that demographic to be the leaders of tomorrow. These Israelis have all completed military service and are between the ages of 21 and 27. Heart believes that Israel's future ambassadors will emerge from campuses like Yeshiva and, therefore, puts great effort into these short visits. On this occasion they played a friendly game of basketball but at other stops they have been asked just to tell their life stories.

Having already traveled to university campuses in Miami, Oxford, Waterloo and many others, the Israel at Heart members have touched many lives. They often receive feedback from students who were previously uneducated or disinterested in the Middle East conflict, saying that, through the program, they gained an utmost respect for their visitors.

Dr. Jonathan Halpert, Athletic Director and basketball coach, helped organize the scrimmage. Halpert, who is friendly with Ilan Krakowsky, the co-coordinator of Israel at Heart, wanted to expose not only Yeshiva students to the visiting Israelis, but the Israelis to the Yeshiva University experience as well. Most Yeshiva students don't need the same awakening to the situation in Israel as other American university students, contends Coach Halpert. He deemed a visit to the Yeshiva campus as an important change for the visiting Israelis. "I thought it would be a nice idea for them to learn what Yeshiva University was about," said Halpert. "There's no Yeshiva University in Israel."

Wednesday night's game, however, was more than just a friendly match. Halpert, who helped Krakowsky schedule other games for Heart, thought it would be worthwhile for the Israelis on his team to scrimmage against other Israelis. It was also a chance to assess the progress of this year's squad against an older, talented team of all-stars.

Yeshiva handled their outmatched opponents easily, routing them by a final score of 66-45. The game was a friendly affair, with hugs and high fives being passed around at almost every stoppage in play.

Using a smothering 2-3 defense and a quick movement oriented offense, the Yeshiva team was too good and too fast for Heart that night. The Macs out-rebounded, out-hustled, and outworked their opponents. Spearheaded by a few boisterous, loyal fans, the Macs dominated the tempo.

Despite the lopsided score, the Yeshiva fans were more than welcoming to their overseas brethren. Just after eleven minutes into the game, an Israeli shooter swished a free throw giving the Israeli their first point, and leading the crowd to raucously applaud the away team. Only a minute later Heart put their first basket in, which again set off the fans. A handful of fans even cheered for the Israelis, screaming "haganah," Hebrew for defense, and "zrok, zrok," shoot shoot.

Although it was only a preseason contest, Yeshiva has to feel good about their performance. Playing without two probable starters, Yitzy Ribald and Abey Malkin, for most of the game, Halpert had a chance to roll his rotation, allowing other players some significant minutes. A couple of newcomers to the squad, Roy Goldstein and Mike Pollack, lead the team in scoring with 16 and 12 points respectively.

The Macs' open their season at home on Sunday November 21st at 2:00 PM against Gallaudet University.