Almost everyone knows the story of the Kfar Gaza foxes.
The soccer team in which the kibbutz members play was fairly unknown until October 7, but since that black Sabbath it has become a symbol of what happened that day.
Three of the team's players were murdered: goalkeeper Neta Epstein;
Tal Ayalon, commander of the standby squad and who was the living spirit of the "foxes";
And Yuval Salomon, who was on the coaching staff, and who for 10 years never missed a game.
Two more of the team's players, the twins Gali and Ziv Berman, whose brother Idan is the captain, were kidnapped and are still in Gaza.
Another player was seriously injured, Ariel Golan.
He, his wife and daughter were injured on October 7, but they are recovering.
"Half of the team's 30 players had a first-degree family member murdered. My father was one of the first murdered on that cursed Sabbath that changed and changed our lives. We are trying to be in their memory and for their sake," says Yanai Katzir, coach of the Kfar Gaza Foxes.
Shortly after the massacre, in which 72 members of Kibbutz Kfar Gaza were murdered and another 18 were kidnapped, the foxes returned to play.
Almost every week they hold a game - now in the team's new uniform, which is black in color.
"This is a set of iron swords, the black is to commemorate the event," says Yanai.
Yanai Katiz is entirely within the project.
"I'm an air conditioning engineer by profession, but I also have another full-time job - in Kafar Gaza Shuali. From the moment my daughters go to bed, I'm only in it. I have two daughters, one is 3 and 2 months old and the other was born on November 30, when we were refugees.
"We try to play every week. We played against the veterans of the Israel national team, against the artists' national team, against various different teams. On Thursday we are supposed to play against the Golstar stars. Over time we realized that this is anything but football," Katzir adds.
"People give up big things to get there. Four days after my daughter was born, I told my wife that I had no choice, I had to be with the team, because we had a game."
Yanai Katzir.
He made the group his life project, photo: Private
No friends are left in the territory
The story of the Kfar Gaza foxes crossed the borders of Israel a long time ago.
Last week, a delegation from Borussia Dortmund, the team supported by the late Neta Epstein, arrived at the abandoned kibbutz and donated a new set of shirts to the team. "Neta's shirt was set aside and now hangs in the pub in Kibbutz Shafiim, which is the new home of the evacuees of Kfar Gaza," says Yanai.
The direct connection to Germany will reach its climax in about a month, when 30 Kfar Gaza Foxes players will board a flight to Medina, where they will be the guests of honor of Bayer Leverkusen, currently the leader of the Bundesliga.
Beyond the sporting matter, the goal will of course be to continue to echo the events of October 7th in the world, so that no one will forget the horrible crime that was committed here.
"The relationship was created through the mediation of Bayer, the pharmaceutical company that owns the group," Katzir shares.
"We are coming up to four days in which we will be at the Leverkusen game, we will visit training, we will meet with the Jewish community, and I hope we will also be able to organize a game against any team that agrees to play against us. On a personal level, as a coach, I am excited to meet Xavi Alonso, Leverkusen's coach."
When the preparations for the trip began, one thing was clear to Linai Katiz - they were not traveling alone.
"We demanded that tickets be purchased for our two abductees as well, the twins Gali and Ziv Berman. This was a condition that could not be passed, because as far as he was concerned, they are coming back tomorrow," he says.
Bayer Leverkusen fans, photo: AFP
"I'm done holding back and being ashamed"
Yanai Katzir lost his father on October 7, but his mother survived.
After the initial shock, he decided that the Kfar Gaza fox group would become his biggest project.
"We are a cohesive group, even though we are all evacuees from Kfar Gaza and currently live in the center of the country.
"Today's Gaza City is more than a monument to what happened. It is Auschwitz. I have no problem saying that. Since October 7, I have stopped holding back, being ashamed. It may be difficult for people to deal with such a statement, but it is what it is. We went through a holocaust. Gaza City looks like concentration camp".
The Israel-Canada company contacted the group and is now its sponsor.
This is part of the move in which the company took the entire Kibbutz Kfar Gaza under its auspices, and since then the company has been donating, helping and volunteering.
"We are an amateur team, but treat football with super professionalism," concludes Yanai.
"We are part of a family that each lost someone. These guys are heroes and it is a great pride. We have a right in this crazy mourning to be part of the chain of commemoration. Through the group we try to be in memory and for the sake of the murdered. We are a bit like a monument, like the kibbutz itself." .
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Ziv and Gali Berman, praying for their return, photo: .
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