Voice of Jewish Sport

BY THE time most of you read this, the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi would have been officially open. Israel’s participation will be minimal, given that they only have five representatives, and even more damning for the country’s quintet of figure skaters and short-track speed skaters who will be competing in Russia, is that all are going in search of Israel’s first ever Winter Olympics medal. Having made just five appearances at the Games, their campaign four years ago in Vancouver did make the back page – well at least ours – when brother and sister figure skaters, Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky, performed their routines to music from Schindler’s List and Hava Negilla. Two rousing performances, but only enough to see them finish in tenth, here’s hoping for that elusive medal over the next couple of weeks.

BACK in November, Bayern Munich fans paid their tribute on the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht by releasing a banner which read “75 years after the November pogroms, nothing and no one is forgotten.” As they romped to their latest Bundesliga victory at the weekend, their ultra fans were at it again, this time honouring their former Jewish club president, Kurt Landauer, who was persecuted by the Nazis. Another nice touch from a truly great club.

ALL GOOD things must come to an end, and that was certainly the case for Alyth Belsize’s U11 Red team. Having won their opening 12 league games of the season, they were beaten 2-1 by Hendon United Blue on Sunday, which wasn’t only their first league loss of the season, but also the first time they tasted defeat in three years. Their disappointment should be though be softened by the fact that they still hold a three-point lead at the top of the table.