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"We were 30 children in the class, 8 of them did not reach the age of 25" - voila! sport

2023-02-02T16:29:55.969Z


Jimmy Turk about the difficult childhood in Jaffa ("on the way to school I saw people drugged up"), swearing on the pitches ("I cried the whole game"), the move to Ipswich that was avoided and more


Rifat Turk was born in Jaffa on 16/9/1959, the second child out of eight brothers and sisters.

"The family has lived in the Ajami neighborhood for three generations, since the time of the Turkish Ottomans. My father Hichmat Turk was a well-known suit tailor before the establishment of the state. He made suits for people who came to Jaffa from all over the world. Jaffa was known as the 'Bride of the Sea' and also the 'Mother of Foreigners' ', the commerce and education of most of the Arab world passed through her. My mother Iftikhar, Gawa, came from a very wealthy family, they had shops, restaurants and cafes near the Jaffa municipality. I have a picture of the family purchasing a Mercedes car in the 1940s, which is taken from the ship to the boat And to the beach. I really like nostalgic stories, from the age of 5 I listened curiously to my mother's past stories, about her trip as a Hajj to Saudi Arabia, to Mecca and Medina. About two years ago I did an exhibition of past photos of Jaffa from 1880 to 1948, 150 moving and historical photos."



We all know Turk from the world of football, and we will get to that later, but his family tree, as you could understand, is rich and complex.

"During the 1948 war, Israel left the Arabs of Jaffa with a decision, to stay or leave. The Turk family decided to stay in Jaffa, because that's where we were born. The 'cowardly rich' left by ship in cars and carts, they were sure that they would return to their homes in Jaffa and didn't even lock the doors. They were thinking of returning, no Returned until today."

Not an easy childhood.

Turk and his mother (photo: courtesy of the photographer)

His mother, he says, had a good Jewish friend in the 1940s.

"The war separated them, but they reunited with the establishment of the state, became friends again, she married an Arab who had converted. They were regular guests with us in Jaffa, we visited them at the Yemenite vineyard. Father died in 1977 at the age of 55 due to medical reasons, mother 3 years ago, She was 85 years old."



He began attending the elementary school named after Hassan Arfa ("I was a good student, but a big troublemaker, one day I broke a window, my parents were invited, we had to pay for the damage and I left").

From there he moved to the infamous "Trasantana" school on 60th Street.

"60th Street, which became Kedem Street, was the smelliest in Jaffa, a street of drugs, prostitution and disgust. As a child on the way to school, I passed by cafes, where from the morning I saw people stoned, high on drugs. There were no Jewish students at this school, but the teaching staff and management were They were composed of teachers such as Shulamit, Aviva, David, Aliza and Shoshana.



"The classroom I studied in was on the second floor, with large windows overlooking the sea. I saw the blue sea, the waves, the fishing boats. We were a group of five children who, at my signal, left the classroom and went down to the sea. We returned after several hours, without the teachers asking where we had gone. There were 30 children in the class, eight of whom did not reach the age of 25. With the exception of two or three, the others spent many years in prison. This is the university of my life, look where I came from."

hours on the beach.

Turk (photo: courtesy of the photographer)

As a child, he says, he sympathized with Maccabi Jaffa.

"We made our way to the old bin yard through the orchards, put a bin on the small wall and jump in. I loved Mozzi Leon, Aron Levy, Ashkenazi, Buchs, Kalmi and Chuchko. In Hapoel Tel Aviv I grew up on Gideon Tish and David Primo. They were my inspiration for wisdom and to the intensity of the game".



At 7:00 in the morning he used to go to the sea.

"I fished and ran for hours in the water. On the beach I played with friends for hours on the hot sand, while at the same time I signed up for the Jaffa Youth team that played in League C."



Then an unknown person comes to the beach and offers you to come train with Hapoel Tel Aviv's youth team.



"In the summer we would have five-on-five games on the beach until dark, then we would grill the fish I caught in my little net. One day someone came up to me and told me it was a shame I was wasting away. I chased the man away, but he came again and again. He begged ,



He arrived at the old field in Givat Aliya with old torn All Star shoes: "I saw the Hapoel players in Adidas and Puma outfits, I was ashamed and wanted to run away from there quickly. I entered the field, there was not a single Arab player there. The guys received me well."



Coach Zev 'Baba' Segal entered the field.



"Baba was a former player of Hapoel Tel Aviv, the father of the stopper Kobi Segal. He watched the warm-up training from his Volkswagen Beetle, gathered the players and asked them to sit outside the square. Segal asked Roni Demati, Gidi's cousin, to pick up balls for me. I was afraid of being tested This surprise, I told myself that if there were any shame, I would just run away from the home court. Every ball to my foot or head was boomed into the net. The goalkeeper got angry, but in another ball in which he tried to push me, I put him with the ball into the net. Segal said, 'Have you seen how the ball is hit? That's how My first training has started."

Never dreamed of such a career.

Turk with Aryeh Bejarno (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)

At this point Masgal heard a speech that he will never forget.

"He called me, put his mouth close to my ear and in thunderous silence said to me "We live in a racist country, you must be smart and not be dragged.

You are Arab, you are black, they will curse your mother, your family and send you to Gaza.

If you are not smart, everything will go wrong, but if you are a human being, and if you work hard and listen to the coach, you will be a Hapoel Tel Aviv player, they will write about you in the newspapers, they will see you on TV.

You will be an important player in the Israeli national team.



"I ran from the mountain home, the things echoed in my head like hammers. I, Rifat from the Ajami neighborhood who do not have a passport, will fly all over the world? I, who still help my father sew suits, will become a well-known soccer player. I did not fall asleep until morning, I decided to hear and fulfill the prophecy this".



The racism and curses came quickly, already in the first game in youth.

"On Friday, on the eve of the away game against Hapoel Herzliya, an article with my photo was published in the newspaper Ha'Saport, in which it was written that an Arab player would play for the Hapoel Tel Aviv team. About three thousand spectators came to this game, in Herzliya there were two players who, from the first moment, started cursing and using their mouths Stinky black, maniac, go to Gaza and more. The referee of the game was Jacob Sheiner who sent one of them away, the other got up to hit the ball with me, from my hit his nose moved back, and he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I scored two beautiful goals, in the newspapers the day after, there was enthusiasm. When I returned home, the whole street was waiting for me outside. I asked them not to make a mess, to continue cheering, because otherwise they would kick me out of the group."



Where does the name Jimmy come from?



"The English coach Harry Game, who coached Segal, came to Hapoel Tel Aviv for a second term. Ze'ev recommended me to the graduates, at first I refused, I was afraid, but I went to the graduates, where Game told me that Ripaat was not suitable for a footballer, the nickname Jimmy Yahlum, and indeed that's how I learned to live With the new nickname. In the game against the powerhouse Ramat Gan in Gali Gil, one of their well-known strikers told me that he shot in the Arabs like me in the Six Day War. In this game I scored my first goal with a volley kick into the nets of goalkeeper Danny Mano."

Three balls into the Taiwan net.

Turk (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)

The most fair team with him, he testifies, was Hapoel Kfar Saba, "especially their giant goalkeeper Yair Nosovsky, who always hugged me. His friends played fairly against me and I never heard a single word of racism from them."



From Hapoel Petah Tikva, he remembers a human story from the late Magbi Rosendoorn. "We played against them in the stable, one of their midfielders kept calling me 'Arab, you traitor, go to Lebanon.'

The late Rosendoorn heard, hugged me, turned to his player and told him, 'You disgusting piece of shit, shame on you, I'll make sure during the break that you don't come up to play.' Hope. Promised and fulfilled."



How were the derby games against Maccabi Tel Aviv?



"The Maccabi Tel Aviv players did not engage in the nonsense of cursing and racism. There were strong games, dirty football at times, but no cursing."



March 6, 1975. Eight civilians and three IDF soldiers were murdered in an attack at the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv. Nine days later, Hapoel Tel Aviv hosted Maccabi Netanya. "It was very difficult for me to hear accusations from players from Maccabi Netanya who accused me of what happened there.

"You killed Jews and you came here to play football. I cried during the game like a little child. All our players had their backs. I didn't understand why they were doing this to me, I came to play football."



And there was, how could it not be, a story with Beitar Jerusalem. "We played in Bloomfield, Beitar brought thousands of fans to the field. The fans from Jerusalem threw fruit and oranges at me and chanted, 'May you be like the mayor of Nablus (who was seriously injured by an explosive device of the Jewish underground - Beitar led 0:1 and I raised my hands to the sky and asked God to let me show them.

In the 90th minute, Eil Eckstein was fouled 25 meters from Yossi Mizrahi.

Shia Figenboys approached the ball and claimed that he had a disability to kick and score.

I moved him, kicked a bomb to the connections, 1:1 when Mizrahi only moved his head.

I ran with all my might to the Beitar stands, from where more oranges were thrown. Faced with their curses, I peeled the orange and slowly drank the juice that oozed out."

The beginning was difficult, then they respected him.

Turk with Eli Ohana (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)

His affair with the Israeli national team began before the 1976 Montreal Olympics. "One morning I received a call from the journalist Saul Eisenberg who asked me to come quickly to the Exodus Cafe in Tel Aviv. He did not want to say why, I arrived there in shorts and flip flops. Eisenberg was sitting next to David Schweitzer who said In a bass voice, I sat next to them at the table. David said that he was inviting me from now on to the squad, for the Olympic Games. I sat paralyzed, I couldn't move, I changed colors. He gave an order that I should now go with Eisenberg to Avonir Fashion on Dizengoff Street to try on a suit. When I got there, Tselem and the photos were already in the luxurious store My measurements of a suit appeared in the newspapers the next day."



How were you received in the team?



"I was the only player from Hapoel Tel Aviv. I was in the same room with the late Maccabi Tel Aviv defender Avi Cohen for over a month.

Two other Maccabi players, Yaron Oz and Vicky Peretz, Maccabi players at heart and soul, took care of me like their little brother.

Every day from waking up to lights out, they made me one of the guys.

I played against France in a 1:1 draw and saved Michel Platini who scored from a penalty.

I also played against Brazil in a 4:1 loss in the quarter-finals, an unforgettable experience."

It was the Maccabiist at heart who took care of Turk like a brother.

Vicky Peretz (Photo: Flash 90, Moshe Shai)

At the beginning of 1980, Turk received an offer to sign with the French Saint Etienne.

In May of that year, Ipswich landed with manager Bobby Robson for a celebratory friendly match against the League Stars team in Bloomfield.

"They were at the top of the English league. Ipswich beat us 1:2, I gave a great game. In the evening Robson was with Yosla Mirmovich at his home in Herzliya. He asked to buy me quickly. I flew secretly, without Hapoel Tel Aviv's permission, and joined the training camp of Ipswich. Here Hapoel Tel Aviv searched and did not find, as if the earth swallowed me."



In the training camp he had a hard time.

"It is impossible to describe how the Ipswich players trained. All my muscles hurt, my ears also hurt from the effort, but in every training I saw Zeev Segal in front of me, telling me that if I like to work hard, I will succeed. I remembered the hard runs on the Jaffa beach, the runs in the water, and every In the evening at the hotel I felt that I was up to the task. The Hapoel people called Bobby Robson at the office and asked him if he had Turk at his place,



Robson, he says, offered Hapoel Tel Aviv $200,000 for the ticket.

"My offer for a long-term contract was stunning, dreamlike."

Hapoel refused and Turk went into quarantine.

"I don't understand why they didn't want to hear and sign, it was a lot of money at the time. I returned to Israel, submitted a quarantine form. I lasted a month without training, at home. I broke down without football and returned to Hapoel."



This story hurts you to this day.



"The laborers were scoundrels then, I will not forgive those people. I could have been settled for life in Ipswich, I am angry with them, they treated me like someone from a refugee camp."

Financially, did you manage relatively well in Hapoel Tel Aviv?



"In exchange for a long-term contract, I received a building in Jaffa that belongs to the Histadrut. There was no taboo on the building, and after 10 years it turned out that the house belongs to the Amidar company, where I live today."



Tell us about your legendary goal, the Raphatil at the YMCA.



"We played against Hapoel Jerusalem, on the way to the championship under David.

I already scored from a free kick from 25 meters into the goalkeeper Zuchovitsky's net.

Then another ball was called from a distance of 35 meters, referee Shiner asked to move the ball back a little, I moved it almost to the center line.

Before the kick, Schweitzer shouted at me to lift the ball into the area, to the head of Shabtai Levy.

I confidently decided to kick.

The boom was tremendous, I believed the ball would enter the net.

We won 2:3, we won my first championship in Hapoel Tel Aviv."



He had to leave harsh tones.

"I was injured in the 1983/4 season in the meniscus, I came back but there were things within the team. I left for one season for Hapoel Ramat Gan nationally, the team was not built properly professionally. I returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv, but I continued to Hapoel Jerusalem, which I helped qualify for the top league. In the second season, injuries started Hapoel Yerushalayim has gone back to the national level."

September 1985, World Cup qualifier against Taiwan.

There is a big story in both home games.



"The RG Stadium was full of 50,000 fans, Arab spectators came to the game from all over the country - from Nazareth, Taiba and Sakhnin.

I scored the first two goals in four minutes, I added a third goal in the 80th minute. Armeli and a pair of Malmilian closed a 6:0 victory.

I came home happy after midnight, my brothers who were at the game received me with sad faces, head down.

They explained that they had come to cheer on the Israeli team, but there were fans next to them who were not happy after my goals, those baboons were sad, cursing because an Arab striker scored the goals."



And there was also the story with Shlomo Kirt.

"In that qualifying tournament at the Ocean House, we did not qualify due to the losses in Ramat Gan to Australia 2:1 and in Auckland to New Zealand 3:1. At the end of the campaign, Kirt was interviewed in the press and claimed that we lost and failed because of the Arab players in the team, Zahi Armali and I. I saw and read the article, I did not comment in the media. I went to Herzliya to the home of national coach Yosef Mirmovich. He must have already read Kirt's racist statements. I showed him the newspaper, and made it clear to Mirmovich that he must decide between me and Kirt, either he or I, we will no longer be together. Yosle listened, called To the national team manager Avraham Bandori and informed him that Kirt would no longer be invited to the Israeli national team. He asked him to call all the journalists and inform them, and that was indeed the case."

He has not played in the national team since the statement.

Kurt with Australian John Cosmina in 1985 (Photo: GettyImages, Tony Feder)

In the Turkish national team, he played in 1986 in friendly matches against Scotland and against England and injured his kneeling leg.

His knee was in bad shape.

"I tried to pull more, but a problem with the cruciate ligament led to my official retirement from football."



But that was not the end of his story with Hapoel Tel Aviv.

"At the end of the 1988/89 season, the team was relegated to the national league. The financial debts to the players were enormous, tens of thousands of dollars, and more than a hundred thousand dollars to the seniors. Moshe Sinai moved to play for Bnei Yehuda, the team did not function when Hapoel Center chairman Yoram Overkovich was called to the rescue operation.

He decided to end Eliyahu Ofer's career as a coach and bring in David.

I went to Tomi LeBloomfield for Hapoel Tel Aviv training in the presence of a fan demonstration that was there.

Outside the stadium, I happened to meet Oberkovich.

He asked how I was and suggested that I immediately enter the position of team manager.

He promised that he is on his way to the Israeli government to ask for financial help to pay the players their debt.

At the end of the training I talked with the players, some of whom I served as captain.

I promised that I am with them, no one will harm their debts, not a dollar will be deducted.

At the end of the season, we returned to the first league, I finished the job, I didn't receive a single shekel."



Sinai returned in the 1990/1 season to the position of player manager.

The coaches were Shimon Shanhar and Aryeh Bejarno, they finished their journey and Turk was called to the flag again.

"Midfielder Eli Cohen came to my home and asked me to return to the club to the position of coach. I made it clear that I would only agree if Sinai met with me. We met, I only asked that during the game I would not receive instructions from him from the field about player exchanges. The season ended in the middle of the table, I finished my way with the team" .

With Ali Othman, the first Arab in the Israeli national team (photo: Aryeh Kenfer, from the book "First half" edited by Uri Sheretzky and Barney Ardov)

Are you coming to the Hapoel Tel Aviv games today?



"I was previously selected as one of Hapoel Tel Aviv's 20 greatest players of all time and received a free entry ticket for life. A few months ago I requested an invitation ticket to one of the games at Bloomfield. They asked me if I was coming, if the ticket would be transferred to another person and other questions. I said I was coming personally , and I was sent an entry card to the application on the phone. I arrived at the game, at the inspection station the card that was sent to me did not pass. I asked the girls at the station to check, they came back with the answer 'Sorry, this subscription has already been used'."

  • sport

  • Israeli soccer

  • Super League

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  • Ripaat Turk

Source: walla

All sports articles on 2023-02-02

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