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Ice hockey is also played in Israel. However, the team captain caused a scandal when he moved to Poland
Source: pa / dpa / Alex Cruz
Eliezer Sherbatov will play for the Polish ice hockey club Unia Oswiecim. The city of Oswiecim was the site of the German concentration camp Auschwitz during World War II. In his home country, the professional is therefore sharply criticized.
Dhe allegations were harsh. There was talk of treason. With his move to the Polish club Unia Oswiecim, Eliezer Sherbatov, the captain of the Israeli national ice hockey team, caused a sensation.
The reason for this is that the city of Oswiecim in Poland was the location for the German concentration camp Auschwitz during the Second World War. His new employer stood behind his access, wrote on his website: “We are deeply sad and touched by the media allegations against the Israeli professional Eliezer Sherbatov, who recently joined our team.”
After his change became known, Sherbatov was attacked by Jews on Twitter for his club choice. “For a Jew it is treason to play for a team in Auschwitz, a (…) shameful blow in the back of millions” wrote the New York rabbi Elchanan Poupko. Everyone in Oswiecim is guilty.
“I’m not coming as a tourist”
“I did not sign to go there as a tourist, but to show that the Jews have come back, stronger than ever,” wrote Sherbatov himself on Twitter.
Both Sherbatov’s association and the memorial in Auschwitz-Birkenau supported Sherbatov. “We are deeply sad and touched by the media allegations against the Israeli professional Eliezer Sherbatov, who recently joined our team,” said the club.
Before the Second World War and the Holocaust, there was a Jewish community in Oswiecim for over 400 years, and there was also a Jewish football club. The memorial wrote that the history of Auschwitz showed the dangers of stereotypes in the perception of others. The rabbi shows his knowledge gaps or ignores historical facts.
Sherbatov vor Debüt
The 29-year-old striker was born in Israel and has played for clubs in Canada, France, Kazakhstan and Slovakia. According to a spokesman for the club, Sherbatov will make his debut for Unia Oswiecim on Thursday in the friendly against Czech club AZ Havirov.
The National Socialist concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Germany-occupied Poland is a symbol of the Holocaust around the world. During the Second World War (1939–1945), the National Socialists wanted to systematically murder European Jews.
According to researchers, around six million Jews fell victim to their racial madness. In Auschwitz-Birkenau alone, it is estimated that there were more than a million victims, most of them Jews.
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