When North Shore Hebrew Academy High School students hit the basketball court for a game on a Sunday in May, the focus wasn’t on which team scored the most points. Instead, it was on unity. This was no ordinary game. The school hosted a delegation of about 20 players from Israel, all of whom had been impacted in some way by the horrific attacks of October 7.
The exhibition game was one stop along a tour from Manhattan to Long Island set up by the Community Synagogue in Port Washington and Project 24, an organization that aims to connect Israeli communities affected by the terror attacks with North American Jews for mutual support and healing.
Teenagers on the visiting team were from communities in southern Israel that were most severely impacted by Hamas’ terrorism. Two of the players had been held as hostages and another player lost his mother, who was murdered in the attacks. The basketball tour was planned as an opportunity for the kids to find healing and solidarity through their love of sport after experiencing such unspeakable horrors.
The game was also an opportunity for the Great Neck community to show their support through an event that brought together families, coaches, and players in an unforgettable display of camaraderie. “The kids from Great Neck and the south of Israel are the same in so many ways: They want to play ball and have a good time,” said one NSHA parent. “After everything they’ve been through, to see them have that pure joy that they deserve as children just meant the world to us.”
A Game to Remember
To match the age range of the Israeli delegates, a mix of players from NSHA’s varsity and junior varsity basketball teams took part in the event. About 150 people attended to cheer the players on as spectators. Before the game began, attendees sang the HaTikvah and the Star-Spangled Banner, with many becoming emotional as they stood for the anthems, moved by the significance of the moment.
Indeed, there was no “home” and “away” team. Halfway through the game, the teams mixed together so that instead of Great Neck students playing against Israeli players, the athletes played together. At halftime, navy and white uniforms emblazoned with both teams’ logos were distributed as a generous donation from a Great Neck community member.
The week before the game, NSHAHS students had visited the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in New York City. The vivid details of the wreckage and trauma the terror attack left behind were fresh in their minds. NSHA students were grateful for the opportunity to show their support on the court, according to Eli Bokhour, a player on the junior high school basketball team.
“The kids that we played with are all normal kids,” he said. “We’re like a family, and I was really happy to put a smile on their faces, knowing what they’ve been through.”
The Great Neck Community Stands with Israel
Members of the community were eager to open their homes and hearts to the visiting delegation. In many ways, this event was a natural progression from the initiatives NSHA has spearheaded in the months following October 7.
The school has devoted itself to chesed, affirming their commitment to standing up for Israel, advocating for the hostages, and supporting the families of those who were murdered. NSHA students have undertaken various acts in support of Israel, from displaying lawn signs to sending letters of support to soldiers, collecting and delivering supplies for soldiers, as well as games and toys for the children of displaced families, and fundraising to buy 6,000 pairs of boots for Boots for Israel, a campaign to supply footwear for Israel Defense Forces soldiers. These acts of unity in reaction to the trauma of October 7 have been a wake-up call for the global community, says Jacob Mrejen, a NSHAHS sophomore.
“Every single Jew in the world realized that we all had to be as united as possible,” he said. “There should be nothing that separates us, no matter your background and hobbies; we are all Jews at the end of the day, and we all have to stick together.”
In that spirit, it was a busy day supporting Israel in Great Neck, which also hosted a walk for Friends of the IDF. Yet even those who were not able to attend the game sent support through donations to Project 24. People opened their hearts, homes, schedules, and wallets for the cause.
“It just shows where the priorities of the community are,” said a NSHA parent. “We stand with Israel.”
By Rachel Sales
