Until they all return: Hapoel for the hostage
Before the screening of the game against PAOK Thessaloniki in the Arena and in front of about 1,000 red fans, Hapoel's special ceremony for the return of the abductees from the Gaza Strip (Photo: Oren Ben Hakun)
Five months have passed since the Hapoel fans came to the Arena in Jerusalem to cheer on their favorite team, and this is not how they wanted it to happen. As they are 1,500 km away from the team's players who will play in Thessaloniki, about 1,000 Hapoel fans gathered tonight to watch them through the jumbo screens in the Arena, with great sadness in their hearts.
The seats in the entire lower ring were filled with pictures of the hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza, including two of the team's fans, Ofir Angel and Hersh Goldberg-Pollin, whose picture was hung on the fence in Stand 1, the cheering stand where they used to jump and cheer. The fans arrived wrapped in Israeli flags, the loud cheering songs were replaced by quiet songs, and the "Yalla Hapoel" chant before the start of the game was replaced by a jarring and painful minute of silence.
The first to speak was the mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Moshe Leon: "This is not how we expected to open the basketball season, with such amounts of sadness. We all wish for one thing: that this horrible dream will stop and that we will become more optimistic again." After him, the CEO of Hapoel "Bank Yahav" Jerusalem, Alon Kramer, came up to speak, wearing a special shirt that Hapoel made for the match against Galatasaray in Belgrade. On the shirt are pictures of the dead and kidnapped Hapoel fans. "Today, we gathered to watch a basketball game. But since October 7th, the reality around us is much more important", Kramer said. Alon went on to mention the two hostages, Hapoel fans, Ofir and Hersh: "Hersh was with Hapoel at every game. He returned early in the morning from the fields in Nahariya and Haifa and flew with Hapoel to Valencia. Ofir was the living soul in Stand 3. He was always with Hapoel, and today we are here for him". Alon referred to the task that rests on the shoulders of the Hapoel community: "We, the Hapoel Jerusalem family, play tonight and every game, for the 1,400 murdered, the 240 kidnapped, for Hersh, for Ophir, and for the murdered and fallen Hapoel fans. Let's play for a cause greater than the game itself. Yalla Hapoel, Yalla Israel".
Last, Yoav Angel, the father of Ofir Angel, a Hapoel fan who is now being held captive by Hamas in Gaza, spoke. Ofir simply wanted to spend time with his girlfriend in Be'eri and was kidnapped on the morning of October 7th by brutal terrorists from the terrorist organization Hamas. His father, Yoav, shared his feelings during this difficult time: "Hapoel is part of us. It's sad that instead of going into a game in the Arena and seeing fans jumping and shouting, you see silent placards. We owe it to you, all of you, to act for the families. Speak, shout, hang signs—everything—so that they can bring all the abductees home now. Yalla Hapoel".
From the despair and great pain that accompanied the evening, one message emerges. A message that has accompanied the club since forever and these days and feels like our duty as a people—we have love in us, and it will win. And until it wins, Hapoel will not be quiet and will not rest. Until the last of the hostages comes home.
"We will not rest until everyone returns" (Photo: Oren Ben Hakun)
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