Uruguayan Israelis (Shlomo Weiss)
Among the thousands of Israeli fans who sat in the stands of the Diego Maradona Stadium in La Plata on Thursday, there were also a few dozen who felt a little divided. Uruguayan Jewish fans decided to support Israel even though many of them were born in Uruguay, some serving as emissaries in Montevideo. Some simply live in the South American country and some have moved from Israel over the years to Uruguay.
Watch the game summary courtesy of Kan Broadcasting Corporation
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Watch Uruguayan Israelis in La Plata
Uruguayan Israelis (Shlomo Weiss)
These "Uruguayans" received quite a few ricochets from friends in Montevideo and the rest of the country for needing to be neutral in such a game, but despite the criticism at home they decided to go with their hearts and came to the game as supporters of Israel. One of them was Rabbi Yitzhak Purcell, who is the rabbi of the Uruguayan Jewish community.
Purcell, who even managed to drag the Israeli fans with him to Mincha prayers at halftime, arrived with quite a few emissaries of youth movements living in Uruguay and explained why it was important for him to come and support Israel against the country to which he belongs. "We are a Zionist Jewish community," he told Walla! Sport, "I hope they don't get too angry with me in Uruguay, I was born in Uruguay, immigrated to Israel at the age of 11 and then returned to the country where I was born. Why did I decide to come? Because when Israel is happy, the whole country is happy and the entire Jewish people is happy, and there is nothing we want more than to make Jews happy. I came with my wife and five children to the game and we left at 12 o'clock at night and only came in the morning to cheer on the team, we will be on Sunday anyway."
A divided heart. Uruguayan Israelis in the stands of La Plata (Photo: Walla!, Shlomo Weiss)
The person who still sat in the heart of Israel's Ultras gallery was the wife of the Israeli ambassador. Adi Magen decided that she was sitting with the Israeli Ultras and not with her husband, Yoad Magen, who sat in the gallery of honor. "I love Uruguay, but of course I love Israel more," the ambassador's wife told Walla! "The feeling in the stands was amazing, there are chillers here from all over South America and there are Argentinian and Uruguayan Jews here and there are even friends of ours who are non-Jewish Uruguayans who decided to support Israel in this game. This game really swept me up and it was a great experience."
- sport
- Israeli football
- Israeli national teams
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- Mondialito
- Uruguay
- Uruguay national team