By Daniel Livingston
We had the opportunity to attend arguably the game of the year in Israeli basketball, Hapoel Jerusalem vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli basketball games are an interesting experience for an American sports fan: after all, the arena is half the size, and to be honest, well, the players half as good. Yet our status as residents of our respective hometowns in the US makes us loyal fans of said towns' teams, I'm always amazed at how one's Judaism can have the same affect on shaping their loyalty to an Israeli team with which they otherwise have no connection to. It's almost as if the singing of Yerushalayim Shel Zahav by Hapoel fans after a victory can connect me even as a Diaspora Jew to Jerusalem's basketball team in the same way being from Philadelphia connects me to my favorite hockey team, the Flyers. The way that our Judaism can have a grounding affect on us while were in Israel - connecting us to local entities such as sports teams which we otherwise have no connection to - is something we'll surely continue to explore and hopefully take advantage of to feel even more connected to this city and country over the course of our time here this semester.
