Tel Us More

Just for you, the piece as it was originally intended...

What is the more unlikely scenario: Ireland beating Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup or the game itself being carried live on Israeli television? As unbelievable as both those events sound, we saw them take place with our own eyes last weekend in Tel Aviv. My reporter, Damian Johnson, and I have just spent three days in Israel filming a piece for Football Focus looking at preparations for arguably their most important home game in 50 years. And the sight of Israelis enthusiastically embracing St. Patrick’s Day with the help of their good friend Guinness was merely the first of many eye opening experiences.

Our three days started with “St. Patrik” (that’s how one newspaper put it, though you didn’t feel like correcting the typo but more applauding the effort) and ended by interviewing a Premiership star late at night in a car park. In between, we were warmly welcomed by everyone, be it locals, actors or politicians, treated to some stunning scenery and felt completely safe and at ease. Shortly after arriving, we filmed at a local game taking place in the Israeli Third Division between Nes Tziona and Bnei Tamra. You wouldn’t have believed it was a match of relatively little importance as both sets of fans sang their hearts out. The game pitted Israeli Jews against Israeli Arabs and if you’re looking for sport as a wider metaphor for life then this was ideal: the tackles flew in and both benches offered colourful opinions to the referee but there was no hint of unrest between the sides and handshakes and hugs were witnessed as the whistle blew for full time and signalled a 1-0 win to the home team (scarcely deserved, for the record).

From there it was straight to downtown Tel Aviv and a chance meeting with Zev Eizik, Israel’s leading concert promoter. He graciously allowed us to film inside his club where a monthly residency of some popular local musicians was taking place. Zev is originally from Melbourne but, “fell in love 19 years ago and never went back”. His 2,000 strong audience were a mixture of cultures but contained a crucial constant: the most beautiful women on the planet. They sauntered in, seemingly poured into their jeans and if God had a large say in the creation of the peoples of Israel then these were heavenly creatures indeed. The city itself is a blend between Los Angeles and Athens what with the heavy traffic, frequent honking of horns and tall buildings imperiously peering over its citizens. During the day, you’d be foolish not to take advantage of the beaches, only breaking for the ever popular ‘Business Lunch’ which is a sumptuous two course meal for just over 10 pounds. By night, the bars and clubs stay open until the last customer is ready to leave.

And that last customer probably left at around the same time on Sunday as we set off for Jerusalem to get some shots for the top of our piece (that’s what we usually mean by suffering for our art – an early wake up call). Despite the capital’s history and beauty, it was never going to play host to England as its location to the evident problems would have made it a logistical nightmare for the footballing and local authorities. We spent the majority of the afternoon and evening interviewing politicians and pundits back in Tel Aviv. They were all keen to stress that there would be no security issues and everyone could feel comfortable visiting the country. “We’re asking the English to leave their helmets at home” remarked Silvan Shalom, former Foreign Minister. On the flipside, the Israelis aren’t fearful that hooligans are going to trash Tel Aviv but have faith in the security that is in place day in day (upon entering a bar or hotel you’re asked if you’re carrying a weapon…it’s generally best to leave innuendo at home over here) and the English themselves. The irony at the time was that there was no hint that a general strike would begin, potentially leaving thousands of England fans unable to even visit the country for what is generally perceived to be Israel’s biggest home game since playing the old Soviet Union in 1956. As the strike has now been averted, this won’t be a problem for the likes of Ricky, the manager of Mike’s Place who has ordered considerably more beer than usual for this fixture, as you’ll see if you catch the piece on Focus.

Before leaving, we covered Israel’s training session and press conference at the national stadium, Ramat Gan, which is in a suburb of Tel Aviv. The general mood of the Israeli press was that England would have no difficulty in winning, which seems far removed from the opinions found in our back pages. Getting access to the players was as difficult as it ever was but in a plot twist more in keeping with a movie than, well, a training session the press officer made a phone call, asked me to turn around and speak to a gentleman sitting high up in the stands. This man was Tal Ben Haim’s father and he instructed us to follow him out to where he had parked. Sure enough, Ben Haim turned up and with the rest of the press grilling Israel’s coach Dror Kashtan about his squad selection, we had Bolton’s defender all to ourselves.

Back at the airport and one final surprise awaited us. It was the middle of the night and all was calm when suddenly hundreds of students started to sing. “Safe flight”, said one of the girls passing me by. Behind her, the others carried on, their voices lifting out into the air that the planes would soon travel through. Whilst Israel might be a long way from achieving it, the songs sounded like peace.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A21003698?s_fromedit=1