Hapoel Jerusalem and Beit HaLohem present: Guardians of the Walls
For the first time in Israeli sports: a community project that will unite fighters wounded in Operation Iron Swords with the team’s fans, accompanied by the professional framework of the club.
Hapoel Jerusalem Club has always taken pride in being a club that promotes values of family and community. Since the outbreak of Operation Iron Swords, the club’s goal has been to be there for the fans, for bereaved families, injured soldiers, and families of abductees in various ways.
At the beginning of the 24-25 season, Hapoel Jerusalem launched a new community project, the first of its kind in the club’s history, in partnership with Beit HaLohem Jerusalem. As part of the project, once a week, the team’s fans will train in wheelchair basketball together with wounded fighters who are members of Beit HaLohem Jerusalem, in a way that will contribute to the rehabilitation of the fighters and strengthen the local fan community.
The team’s training will be led by Ron Forman, a wheelchair basketball coach and former player of the Israeli wheelchair basketball national team. The project was born out of a need identified by the club to create for the fans an opportunity to make an impact, to give back to the fighters who sacrificed so much, and to be part of a community activity that uses basketball as a tool for social change.
The goals of the project are:
To take an active part in the physical and mental rehabilitation of wounded fighters from Operation Iron Swords through basketball
* Breaking stigmas regarding people with physical disabilities
* Strengthening the Jerusalem community and connecting members of Beit HaLohem with Hapoel Jerusalem fans.
The team held its first training at the beginning of November, with 20 players regularly and continuously participating, 10 Hapoel fans and 10 fighters from Beit HaLohem.
The activity takes place under the professional umbrella of Hapoel, and the team’s coaching staff is expected to provide participants with complementary content, workshops, and additional training.
Two ambassadors on behalf of the club accompany the team regularly: Gal Mekel, co-owner and former NBA player, and Nimrod Levi, senior squad player and member of the Israeli national basketball team.
Gal and Nimrod come to the trainings, share from their experience with the players, and contribute greatly to building the supportive community of the project.
Nimrod Levi at the combined team training
Beyond the weekly training, the mixed team will also hold friendly matches throughout the season against other wheelchair basketball teams in Israel, exhibition games during Hapoel Jerusalem games at Pais Arena, and community-building events in cooperation with the players, fan community, Beit HaLohem members, project participants, and their families.
Hapoel regularly hosts the mixed team players at home games.
Watch the project’s promotional video:
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