ISRAEL CRICKET ASSOCIATION

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1 ISRAEL CRICKET ASSOCIATION CROSS BORDER CRICKET Introduction There is probably no region in the world that receives as much publicity as the Middle East. Hardly a day goes by without headlines in the newspapers, breaking news items on the television news channels. And 99 times out of 100 those reports are negative more conflict, more hatred, peace in the region seeming an even more distant dream. Yet despite what is beamed around the world, there really is a different side to life in Israel. Numerous projects have been running for many years to increase cooperation and co existence between the different peoples of this land cultural, environmental, economic, healthcare and sporting ventures. The Israel Cricket Association is proud that over the last 12 months cricket has begun to play its part as one of these projects. Cross Border Cricket is about introducing kids to the game, it's about using the game to give kids from disadvantaged backgrounds new opportunities and above all it's about bringing Jewish and Arab children together, to promote co existence, which can only have a positive benefit for the future of all. Cross Border Cricket is the Spirit of Cricket. For over a decade the ICA, and in particular those directly involved with its development programme, have been committed to making a difference, trying to use the game of cricket to contribute to a better society. The initial years were focused on including as many children from economically underprivileged backgrounds in cricket activities where being part of a soccer or basketball club cost hundreds of dollars a year and beyond the reach of so many, cricket was offered for free to those who couldn't afford it. Opportunities to be a part of a team and excel in a sport, and in some cases to travel abroad, were given to children who could only have dreamed of such things had it not been for cricket. An emphasis was placed on creating friendships between youngsters from different parts of the country, perhaps geographically a short drive apart but worlds apart in terms of the homes they grow up in and opportunities they have. Over recent months a new angle has been added to cricket development, in an effort to in some small way enhance cooperation and mutual understanding between the different ethnic and national groups living in Israel. And so Cross Border Cricket was born. Mission Statement: break down barriers through the game of cricket by facilitating interaction and communication. Attention has been focused on the Bedouin towns of the Negev area and efforts have also been put in to taking cricket to Palestinian youth in the West Bank, ultimately getting them to play together with Israeli youth, as the next stage of the project. Background The Negev is a 13,000 square kilometer desert covering over half the land mass of Israel, running from the center of the country southwards, in an inverted triangular shape bordered on the west by the Sinai Peninsula and Jordan to the east. Nomadic life in the Negev dates back 4,000 years and according to some researchers as far back as 7,000 years. The biblical city of Be'er Sheva, the capital of the Negev, is home to 185,000 people today. Amongst the total population of 550,000 people living in the Negev, a tiny percentage are Jews of Indian origin who have had cricket established in cities such as Be'er Sheva and Dimona for many decades.

2 The Bedouin, a nomadic, Arab, Muslim tribe of herders who have lived in the Negev for as long as civilization in the area dates back, have had their way of life changed dramatically in recent years. Modern day civilization and political events of the last century have resulted in large numbers of Bedouin throughout the Middle East starting to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities; most of the 160,000 population in the Negev now live in towns, based on tribal demographics, specially set up for them in the 1970's. The transition has been bumpy. The towns, poorly planned, quickly became among the most deprived towns in Israel. It would not be an understatement that Jews and Bedouins have struggled to co exist since the founding of the State in 1948; they are two totally different peoples living their lives seemingly in parallel worlds on the same land with virtually no social contact. It must however be noted that the Bedouin have traditionally served in the Israel military, excelling as trackers in units patrolling the desert borders. Bedouin boy enjoying taking strike Although improving, problems within the Bedouin community remain numerous poor infrastructure, high school drop out rates, extreme rates of joblessness and poverty, and high crime rates. It is in to these areas that cricket has been introduced, and its kids from these towns, and the town of Hura in particular, who are now building friendships with Jewish kids, whilst batting and bowling. It's against this background that the ICA decided to step in and let cricket make a difference. Cross Border Cricket the initial steps After initial contacts made between the ICA and Cricket4Change, officials from the UK based charity, who specialize in setting up projects around the world to encourage cooperation and understanding between different racial or ethnic groups through cricket, visited Israel in late 2008, during which the ICA decided to launch the pioneer project to bring Jewish and Bedouin children in the Negev desert together through cricket, in conjunction with Cricket4Change and Kaye College in Be'er Sheva. In April 2009 a return visit by Tom Rodwell and Andy Sellins from Cricket4Change, together with two of their coaches, Mikey and Danny, coincided with the public launch of the initiative. Together with ICA staff Naor Gudker, George Sheader and Herschel Gutman, and the headmaster of a Hura school Hamed Elkiyan, a formidable team was ready to tackle the sweltering desert temperatures and get as many kids involved as possible. Afik school in Be'er Sheva and the Bedouin town of Hura were the initial destinations. Sessions were held with trainee sports teachers at Kaye College and potential coaches amongst members of the Israel U19 squad. A visit was made, with the BBC and Reuters who were covering the trip in convoy, to El Awashla, a Bedouin village with no roads, no electricity, no water supplies. Ushered into a tent, welcomed in true Bedouin tradition by the Sheikh, Council Head and other elders, the contingent were treated to bitter coffee, sweet tea, and a meal of chicken and rice served on a large communal plate, and because they Cricket in the village of El Awashla were obviously from a far more advanced civilization, they were given spoons. After an hour of discussing, and translating everything from Duckworth/Lewis to the falling price of goats hide, the school headmaster rounded up 10 kids, all bare foot, and within 20 minutes another impromptu game was on. They took to the game like a camel to sand

3 The final day of the week was when everything that had been planned over many months was supposed to come together. Everything was in place for a perfect day even the weather, 25 degrees as opposed to 38 degrees the day before. 30 Bedouin kids from Hura, for many making their first ever visit to Be'er Sheva, 30 Jewish kids, four coaches from England, two coaches from the ICA, one senior diplomat from the British Embassy, Kaye College officials and the world press. At one stage there were more cameramen on the court than kids. The tournament started at 10:00, with six mixed teams, Bedouin and Jewish kids playing together on the same team. Three hours later it was all over but so successful was the event, the morning could have changed the face of Israel cricket, and perhaps in some small way even the entire Middle East. Medals and certificates were handed out, emotional speeches were made, and goodbyes were said with promises the steps taken over the week were simply the beginning. A follow up event was held a few weeks later on the holiday of Lag B'Omer, with a bus full of Bedouin boys and girls brought to Tel Aviv to participate in a tournament with Jewish kids from all over the country. Sustainability The ICA believes sustainability is the key word for a project of this nature. Launching the project was easy. It would also have been easy to sit back and enjoy the massive global exposure the launch brought to Israel cricket. But the hard work lay ahead. For the programme to be sustainable, the right places had to be targeted with the right people in place and the funding to support it. A good working relationship with the Kaye Teachers College has seen the ICC Introduction to Cricket Course being taught to student PE teachers, half of which are Jewish and half Bedouin. Six teachers from the Bedouin community were selected to take a refresher course and they are now teaching cricket on a regular basis in their schools. Introductory days have been held at Bedouin schools with over 300 children being exposed to the game at a time, and many continuing with regular afternoon practice sessions thereafter. Cricket has been entrenched in schools in the Jewish schools of Be'er Sheva for many years, and there activities are held on an almost daily basis. The Bedouin Authorities have been very helpful, agreeing to supplement the teachers' salaries from monies targeted towards sports development (up to this point merely a euphemism for football). The Hura Cricket Club now boasts a membership of 60 boys and girls, take part in ICA tournaments and the most talented players practice twice monthly with their Jewish peers in Be'er Sheva; the beginnings of a mixed U13 Negev X1 are beginning to Bedouin girls team with ICA coach Herschel Gutman emerge. A surprise visit was made by the ICA's George Sheader, founder and coordinator of the project, to Hura, in November. He was warned by one of the teachers', who is running two weekly practice sessions for boys of different ages, that some older boys had joined the original group but that they had violent tendencies. He reported as follows: "60 kids all arrived bang on 8:00 and all quietly sat down in two groups without even being told to. I took the 'violent' group. The session lasted 90 minutes there were a few players disappointed at dropped catches and such but nothing out of the ordinary. At 9:30 I took the four best players for another 90 minute session with pads and hard indoor balls. They have very sound bowling actions, and two of them batted very straight and looked like cricketers. When I initiated Cross Border Cricket I must admit it was a bit of a political gesture and promotional stunt, but having seen these kids today, and knowing they have Hamed and Omar two of the Bedouin coaches backing them, there will be Bedouin kids in junior national sides in the near future."

4 Sponsorship With all the publicity generated by the launch of Cross Border Cricket, the ICA has been approached by people willing to lend their support to the project. A meeting was held with a British philanthropist, Jack Jacobs, who had been involved in a joint project with the FA and the Israel Football Association called Kicking Racism out of Football, and had brought John Barnes and Bobby Charlton over to Israel to launch that project. He admitted to being more of a cricket lover than a football fan and was very impressed and excited with this initiative. On his return to England he immediately sent over 10 Kwik Cricket sets which were distributed to the local coaches for use in the project. He has provided important contacts both in the UK and Israel, and is now organizing a fund raising dinner for which an ICA Prize Winners Jewish and Bedouin at an ICA youth festival representative will be invited to give a presentation. Publicity The initial launch of the project received widespread publicity across the world, with stories being covered by Reuters, the British press and others. The following headlines are just some of the results of a search 'Bedouin cricket' on Google reveals: "Bedouin kids bat for peace with Jewish neighbors" "Boundaries broken as Bedouin and Jewish kids meet for cricket tournament" europe.org "Cricket tournament breaks boundaries" "British charity helps cricket bloom in hearts of Bedouin desert boys and girls" "Sport blooms in the Bedouin desert" "Cricket breaks down Israel boundaries" "Cricket revolution a big hit with Israel kids" The project even got a mention by Mike Atherton in his column written for The Times: "And what would Orwell have made of Cricket for Change, an organization set up after the Brixton riots in 1981 and dedicated to using the sport as an instrument of change? Within the past year it has embarked upon its most ambitious project yet, one that has stumped generations of politicians: that of bringing Jews and Arabs together. After an initial toe dipping expedition late last year it returned as guests of the Israeli Cricket Association last month to a village called Be'er Sheva, 25 miles from the Gaza border. On a ground that had recently been hit by a rocket mortar and boasts surely the only nuclear bomb shelter as a pavilion, tape ball was introduced to young children from all backgrounds. George Sheader, the cricket development officer in Israel, was quoted as saying: The great advantage of the game in bringing people together is that it is completely new, it comes without any baggage. The next step is to try to bring Israelis and Palestinians together on the cricket field. In April, Sheader uttered possibly one of the greatest understatements of all time when he announced that things are a bit tense at the moment, but the enthusiasm for the project remains. Has there been any progress? According to one of its officials, the initial trips were well received and they are planning to return towards the end of the year." Expansion As mentioned, plans are in place to expand the project to include Palestinian youth from the West Bank. Contacts have been made with the Sports Department at the Peres Peace Centre ( center.org), perhaps the leading non profit organization committed to promoting peace and reconciliation amongst the people of the Middle East, and with backing by the Australian Embassy, the ICA is now in the process of attempting to twin the city of Jericho, on the West Bank, with Yeruham, an Israeli town in the Negev desert the idea being that the ICA will train

5 local teachers/coaches the rudiments of cricket, and that boys and girls from both communities will meet on a regular basis to interact through the game. Targets for 2010 and onward Consolidating what has already been created, widening the areas being reached and increasing the frequency of events Increase sponsorship to enable expansion of activities Setting up an active website in English, Hebrew and Arabic Organize a mixed U13 team to play matches in Israel and travel abroad Expand the project to include the immigrant Ethiopian Jewish community, who have particular difficulties adapting to life in Israel Launch, in conjunction with the Peres Peace Centre, Australian Embassy and Cricket4Change, the Jericho/Yeruham project Conclusion An excerpt from a report by Tom Franks, BBC correspondent to the Middle East, probably best sums up what Cross Border Cricket is all about: Osher and Ilana, both 11, are Jewish girls from Be'er Sheva. They have been playing cricket for a year. "First we played girls against boys, and then mixed teams. We play every Tuesday. Then last Sunday they told us that we'd been chosen to play against Bedouin kids," says Ilana. "It's been a lot of fun," adds Osher. Abdullah is also 11. For him, too, it is the first time he has played with someone from outside his community the first time he has played with Jewish children. But, remarkably, it is also the first time that he has travelled the few kilometers to Be'er Sheva. "And, you know", he says, "I felt really good, because I felt I was playing with good people." Cross Border Cricket is all about cricket but its main goal is for more ambitious than probably any cricket project ever undertaken. The Israel Arab conflict is centuries old but what the odds on two Arab and Jewish batsmen teaming up for a century partnership as part of a Middle East Peace X1 in the not too distant future... A collage of cricket in Israel