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The Patriots Are 'Israel's Team'
Steve Leibowitz
Jerusalem Post
M
y first childhood memory was from 1958.1 was 7 years old,
sitting with my father at our kitchen table in Laurelton,
N.Y., listening to the NFL championship between the New
York Giants and the Baltimore Colts on the radio. The
Giants lost in overtime, and it was painful. From that
moment, I became a lifetime Giants fan.
In recent years, the New England Patriots have also
come into my life. Thanks to the unending generosity
of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife, Myra,
American football has turned into one of the fastest
growing sports in Israel. Kraft Family Stadium in
Jerusalem is home to over 1,000 football players in
four leagues.
Youth programs are now operating all over the country and even a
new tackle football league has gotten off the ground.
Kraft Family Stadium was constructed in 1999. The Krafts gave
another donation in 2005 to renovate the facility with state-of-the-art
FieldTurf. Robert Kraft spoke at the re-dedication in Hebrew and told
the audience, "before building the field in Jerusalem, the Patriots had
never won a Super Bowl. Since building the field we have three cham-
pionships."
Too Big To Wave
Israel now has the larg-
est flag in the world,
according to the Guinness
Book of World Records.
Equal to the size of two
football stadiums when
laid out, the new flag was
presented to Israel, along
with another large flag of
the Philippines, by Sister
Grace Galindez-Gupana
as a commemoration of
50 years of diplomacy
between the two countries.
The Israel Ministry of Tourism and the Parks and Nature Authority
will integrate the new flag into events planned for the 60th year of
independence in 2008 as well as other major national events at some
of the country's most important sites, including Masada.
- Ken Guten Cohen, story development editor
Close Your Eyes ... You're Getting Sleepy
World Hypnotism Day will be marked with free hypnosis sessions at a
an event from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Jan. 4 at the Bloomfield Hills Open Hunt
Club, 405 E. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills.
At this annual event, professionals come together to promote the
benefits of hypnotherapy through free group sessions and lectures on
such topics as smoking cessation, stress management, self-hypnosis,
insomnia, sports enhancements, enhancing fertility, hynosis and chil-
dren.
The event is sponsored by the International Medical and Dental
Hypnotherapy Association and the International Association of
Counselors and Therapists. For more information, call (248) 433-3075.
- Ken Guten Cohen, story development editor
A8
January 3 2008
He then looked toward the heavens and said, "This could not have
been by chance."
Through the first 15 games this year, the Patriots were undefeated
and well on their way to the playoffs and, perhaps, another Super Bowl
appearance.
Later in the speech, Kraft spoke of his father and how he would be
proud of the football accomplishment, but would be most
proud that the Kraft family owns Carmel Containers in
Caesaria, employing some 600 Israeli workers.
A few years ago, Kraft brought the Super Bowl's
Lombardi Trophy to Israel and held it up to a large crowd,
the Israeli football community that was present at Kraft
Family Stadium. That was the first time the coveted tro-
phy had ever left North America. A year later, the Krafts
thrilled the local footballers by bringing the Super Bowl
MVP quarterback, former University of Michigan star Tom Brady, to
the country.
The Kraft family is deeply invested in developing football in Israel.
Thanks to their friendship and commitment, there are thousands of
Patriot fans in Israel. The Patriots have earned the right to be known
as Israel's team in the NFL.
Steve Leibowitz is president of American Football in Israel and director of
Kraft Family Stadium. He is also editor of Israel Broadcasting Authority News.
Seeking Solomon's Fortress
Dr. Craig Bowman, professor of Hebrew Bible and Archaeology at
Rochester College in Rochester Hills, is on an archaeological excava-
tion in southern Israel with four students and one alumnus.
The Tel Tamar Archaeological Study Tour is part of the Global
Explorational Opportunities program. Students can earn credit
for a biblical archaeology class during their 17 days in Israel and
Jordan.
The trip ends Jan. 17. There are 38 people involved from Michigan,
Texas and Oregon.
While in Israel, participants will visit several ancient cities of bibli-
cal importance, including Caesarea, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Megiddo
and Jordan's Petra.
Tamar (aka En Hazeva) is believed to be the site of a 10th-century
B.C.E. fortress built during the reign of King Solomon as described in
1 Kings 9:18.
The Tamar fortress is part of a network of contemporary military
establishments built to safeguard ancient copper mining and trade
that originated just to the east of Tamar in Jordan.
During previous trips, the excavation group was able to unearth
among thousands of artifacts several significant pieces of Edomite
and Midianite pottery in addition to a single rare fragment from a
Cypro-Phoenician juglet dated to the 10th century B.C.E.
Bowman recently presented this assemblage of potsherds from
the ruins at Tamar at an annual international meeting of scholars
in San Diego.
"Very little of Tamar has been published yet," says Bowman. "But
the response to our presentation was quite favorable, urging us to
secure funding to finish the dig and put the final excavation reports
into print."
- Robert A. Sklar, editor
To support the excavation work, call Craig Bowman at (248) 218-2143
or e-mail him at cbowman@rc.edu .
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