Circa fifty guests attended a fundraising evening hosted by the Atlas Foundation on behalf of Rugby-Israel. The event was part of one of Israeli sports’ most ambitious projects – a ten-year plan to compete for a place in the Rugby World Cup and the Olympic Rugby 7s tournament. Guest of honor was Neil Blair, trustee of the Atlas Foundation and a great friend of Israeli rugby. Blair, incidentally, is known as publisher of the legendary Harry Potter series.
Rugby Israel chairman, Offer Fabian, delivered the opening message: “When the war broke out 300,000 Israelis boarded air planes and came home to fight for our country. For these young people, we need to fight. Fight for their present and their future. Our part in this is rugby. Our goal is to compete for a place in the 2031 World Cup and the at the Olympic Games, while promoting Israeli rugby to higher levels,” he said.
Fabian went on to to describe the projects’ achievements so far: “Four years ago, something happened in rugby. Israel had the CHUTZPA to join a new tournament alongside established rugby powers such as Georgia, Portugal and Spain through the establishment of the Tel Aviv Heat. A project designed to attract quality players and elevate the level of Israeli rugby,” he said.
National team coach and union director of Rugby, Kevin Musikanth, presented the high-performance aspect of the proJect. He emphasized the use of naturalized players as a tool to upgrade the national team and the Israeli player in general. At the core of the program is the need to create a high-quality playing schedule throughout the year – through the Tel Aviv Heat and the regional league. He cited the example of Thomas Berman, a Tel Aviv Heat player who has made Aliyah, plays for the Heat, coaches and trains at the Hadarim club, and will soon be playing for the national team. “Since I came to the country, I have learned that our top players have similar potential to tier one countries in players in the world. They only need a platform and opportunities as well as an increase in rugby culture . The model is simple and proven over the last 3 seasons, we need to keep our program, we need to keep our professional league alive and we need to keep our professional franchise to create opportunity for our local players”, said Musikanth.
Union CEO, Bonnie Manor-Gotfrid, presented the union’s grassroots development plans. These include touch rugby programs in schools, youth national teams, marketing projects, and rugby promotion through lectures in schools. She discussed the activities of Israel’s age group national teams and the increase in the number of elite players. Manor-Gotfrid also emphasized the coexistence program for Jewish and Arab schools supported by the Atlas Foundation – a project with paramount importance in these troubled times. “It was a very moving evening. We spoke with many potential donors. The Atlas Foundation is critical for the sustainability of the project. The needs grow over the years as we develop and absorb professional players into the system and country,” said Manor-Gotfrid.
Last speaker was Gal Aviram, Israel’s Rugby 7s captain. He shared his experience as an elite unit officer and national tam player. Gal concluded with this moving message: “When I told my mates I’m flying to London for a fundraiser, they asked ‘for the troops?’ I said, ‘No. Actually, It’s for Israeli Rugby’. They said ‘Mate, Rugby? Now??’. I said, ‘especially now. When the dust settles, what do you want to see?’.”
