Hapoel Jerusalem held a special evening on Wednesday for the families of the hostages at the Pais Jerusalem Arena, which included a ceremony for those who have been killed and those being held by Hamas in Gazaas well as a screening of the Basketball Champions League game at the PAOK club in Greece.
More than 6,000 hostage posters were placed on lower-level seats in the largest gathering of a sporting event since the start of the war held in the nation’s capital.
There are many red fans who have lost their lives, either in the initial attack of Hamas on October 7 or since during the IDF operation in Gaza and on the northern border. Besides, Hamas holds two followers of Jerusalem hostage, About angel y Hersh Goldberg-Polinand its status is unknown.
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Mayor Moshe Leon participated in the ceremony together with the father of About angelwho was taken hostage when visiting his girlfriend in the Kibbutz Be’eras well as the team’s executive director, Alon Kremer.
“We didn’t think we would open the basketball season like this,” the mayor began León. “Many fans of the Hapoel Jerusalem They have been killed and taken hostage. Every seat in the arena has a photo of one of the hostages taped to it. Maybe when we wake up one morning we will hear about the release of hostages and wake up from this nightmare. However, we have not yet had such news. “We will be waiting for all the hostages to return, but this may take some time.”
Photographs of civilians taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza placed on chairs at the Pais Arena stadium in Jerusalem, November 15, 2023. (Credit: OREN BEN HAKOON / FLASH90)
Kremer He was wearing a special t-shirt with photographs of all the fans of the Hapoel Jerusalem who have died so far in the war, while in the back appeared the two who are hostages.
“I am here with a heavy heart,” began the executive director of the Reds. “I was hoping we would be well into the basketball season, but instead we have to deal with this brutal tragedy with over 1,200 dead and over 200 hostages. So much Hersh Goldberg-Polinwho has traveled with the team everywhere, even to Valencia, is always with us, while About angel He has attended many matches with the team, the last ones in Athens and the State Cup. We are supporting the families as they go through this terrible experience and their loved ones are being held hostage by Hamas”.
Finally, Yoav Engelfather of Ophir and resident of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, gave a heartfelt talk about her son, who has been held by Hamas for more than 40 days.
“Ophirwho is in grade 12, went to visit his girlfriend Yuval to Kibbutz Be’eri and was kidnapped with her and her father and taken by Hamas a Gaza. We don’t know if he’s been sleeping, we don’t know if he’s been eating, and we don’t know what condition he’s in. We hope she will return to us as soon as possible.
“We have been involved with Hapoel Jerusalem for many years, whether in tournaments at the kibbutz or in my work at the Shalva sports center. “But it is very sad that we are entering the stadium to watch a game on the big screen and instead of the fans being here, we see photos of the kidnapped people in the seats and that Jerusalem does not play here but abroad.”
Engel He stressed the need for everyone to do everything possible to help free the hostages.
“We need everyone to be with us, the families of the hostages. We were in the Knesset a few days ago and what we understood from those meetings is that we need to do more than we have been doing so far over the last 40 days since the war started. We need to do everything we can and we need your help to bring them home now!
After the ceremony, all attendees sang a moving rendition of Hatikvah as tears ran down the faces of the hostages’ friends and family.
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2023-11-17 10:24:04
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