Ahead of their EuroBasket debut, Israel’s national basketball team visited Auschwitz and Birkenau, reflecting on history and finding unity as they prepare to face Iceland. The Israel National Team remembered the past as the players and staff visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination camps, where over a million Jews perished during the Holocaust, ahead of their opening EuroBasket game on Thursday against Iceland.
Ahead of their EuroBasket debut, Israel’s national basketball team visited Auschwitz and Birkenau, reflecting on history and finding unity as they prepare to face Iceland.
The Israel National Team remembered the past as the players and staff visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination camps, where over a million Jews perished during the Holocaust, ahead of their opening EuroBasket game on Thursday against Iceland.
The blue-and-white took a timeout from on-court preparations in Katowice, Poland, to take part in a tour where the players heard about the atrocities that occurred in the camp.
In addition, the Chabad emissary to Poland blew the shofar and the players recited a chapter of Psalms for the swift return of the hostages. At the end of the visit, all the players and staff sang Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem.
Head coach Ariel Beit Halachmi spoke about the visit.
“This is the first time in my life that I am here, and seeing everything we saw is something I will never forget. Every time we go and play for the national team representing our country, we need to remember this visit and everything that happened here. We’ll be at the European championship with great pride, representing the country with the respect it deserves.”
Veteran guard Bar Timor also spoke about the tour.
“A difficult and emotional visit on one hand, but being here with the Israel national team is something unifying and moving. I was here as a high school student, and coming back here is very difficult. It’s an important visit and it’s good that we’re doing it – being here with the national team makes it even more special.
“We knew about the visit in advance, but still, being here and seeing and hearing everything is something else. As Jews and Israelis, we must not forget what happened here. I don’t think we need extra motivation, but the tour gives us time to be together – it’s beyond basketball.”
Part of an Israeli's identity
Moti Daniel, the Israel national team manager, added: “This visit is part of our identity as Israelis as we are always trying to understand what happened in our history. It’s incredibly powerful. I think you could see that the players understood where they were, and despite the difficulty of the experience, it will do them good and they’ll feel what it really means to be Israeli.”
Over on the court, the national team is busy getting ready for the first game of the tournament against Iceland. While on paper the matchup seems to be a slam dunk for Beit Halachmi’s squad, in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as the coach explained.
“I think every game is very important and we shouldn’t look too far ahead. We need to focus on the first game. There are no weak teams in our group and every match is very significant. We need to arrive as healthy as possible, make sure the players are in their best shape, and come to play the kind of basketball we’ve been working on throughout this past month and a half. If we do that, everything will be fine.”
“We’ve completed a really long preparation period,” the bench boss continued. “We’ve been through a lot over the past month and a half. Overall, we’re arriving as ready as we could possibly be as we truly want to come into the competition and play good basketball, represent our country in the best possible way, and have a great tournament.”
Guy Palatin, who will be playing in his first EuroBasket, also gave his thoughts about the opening game.
“We will have to really concentrate on their guards, who are creative and produce most of the offense there. Plus, we will need to be the ones who will dictate the pace of the game. The first game is always very important, because when you win that one, you feel good about your chances, so that’s the focus.”
This EuroBasket will mark the debut for a number of players, and Beit Halachmi understands the challenges that this presents.
“I think everyone who went through the preparation period with us deserved to be here, and the selection was very tough – it wasn’t easy. This is also a good opportunity to thank those who didn’t make the final squad.
“I think the combination of experienced players and young players is a good one. Obviously, for any player making their first appearance in a major tournament, it’s very exciting. I’m happy for them, but everyone here earned it from the start.”
The blue-and-white will be accompanied by over 1,000 fans who have made their way to Poland, and that’s going to be a big help for the squad.
“It’s very exciting, and even when there are just five people watching us and we hear ‘El El Israel,’ it’s exciting,” said Palatin. “So with 1,000 fans here it will be absolutely amazing. We hope that we can get the entire country behind us and be excited about how we are doing, even though most will not be here with us, but we will do the best we can for everyone.”
As for expectations, Palatin didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself, but as always the goal is to win as many games as possible.
“To get as far as possible. To get through the group stage first and finish in a place that will allow us to continue on in the next stage of the tournament. Most important is that we stay together all of the time.”
For Beit Halachmi, the key to success will be fairly simple.
“I’ve told the players that first and foremost, we need to come and play as well as we can, play together in our style, and if that happens, we’ll succeed.”
Category: General Sports
