PHOTO ESSAY
Israel on ice Lacing up with the players who fought an international ban PHOTO ESSAY BY SHLOMI AMIGA EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS TEXT BY JONATHAN ROTHMAN
I sraeli hockey games, like everything else related to the Jewish state, were thrust into the limelight in the months leading up to the white-and- blue Magen David team lacing up in Toronto. The promotional series on March 2 and 4 followed a major off-ice victory, in which the International Ice Hockey Federation overturned its deci- sion to bar Israel’s national teams from its 2024 tournaments. Generations of Israeli hockey families were among the former and poten- tial upcoming national team players cheering at the games organized by the private Israel Elite Hockey League, where a team of mostly Jewish play- ers from across North America faced the Redeemer University Royals from a Christian college in Hamilton, Ont. Along with these “touring” contests, the league aims to grow Israeli hockey through its 10-game summer season, offering players a way to keep active in the off-season. Brothers Isaac and Shlomi Levy, two former national players who run a hockey school in Montreal, are among those helping Israeli hockey develop with local assists. The new Blue Ice Arena in Ashdod, a rink built with pri- vate Canadian financing, is set to finish construction later in 2024.
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