The most popular sport in the USA is scoring touchdowns worldwide.
With tens of millions of fans from outside of America and tens of thousands of people playing globally, it is clear that football is continuing its rise to challenge its homonymic sibling (what Americans call “soccer”).
In Israel, American football has existed for nearly four decades, starting with informal pick-up games in Jerusalem and today with a full complement of tackle and flag leagues, for both men and women.
Israel has rocketed to a world leader in American football, competing in tournaments worldwide, and now culminating by hosting the IFAF Flag Football World Championships this week, comprising 40 teams from 20 countries.
From its humble beginnings, when new immigrant Arnie Draiman organized the first regular touch football game in Jerusalem’s Gan Sacher (not related to soccer!) in 1984, interest rapidly grew so that in 1988 the American Touch Football in Israel organization was founded by Steve Leibowitz and Danny Gewirtz.
“We had about 20-30 players every Friday afternoon, most Americans living in Israel or here on a gap year program,” Draiman recalled. “Over time, we had more and more Israelis joining in.”
By 2002, Leibowitz altered the league format and made the switch to flag football, and with the connections he had made over the years as a journalist, he was able to get backing from various Israeli VIPs to help move the project along.
In 2004, the organization received recognition from the Ministry of Education’s Sports Authority, and today there are dozens of teams and more than 2,000 players in Israel.
In addition, there are Israel national teams, made up of the best players from the leagues, and representing Israel in international competitions throughout the year. The highlights of each season are the Israeli versions of the Super Bowl, appropriately named the Holyland Bowl and the Israel Bowl.
Thanks to the generosity of the Kraft family – owners of the National Football League’s New England Patriots – a field of dreams was created in Jerusalem, first in Gan Sacher and then an additional, more professional complex at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in the Emek Ha’arazim area, not far from Har Hotzvim. The array of fields includes a full-sized regulation football gridiron, with artificial turf, a scoreboard, full lights for nighttime play, and a smattering of bleachers.
One unique aspect of the leagues is that players come from all backgrounds, all parts of Israeli society, and from all over the country – religious and secular, rich and poor, natives and immigrants, etc. The international tournaments have been accommodating for the Israeli teams that won’t travel to games on Shabbat.
Leibowitz is still very passionate about the game, so much so that for his recent 70th birthday, he organized a co-ed old-timers’ game where dozens of players spanning the decades came to celebrate both his birthday and football in Israel.
“Maybe I will be remembered someday as the guy who brought organized football from the Diaspora to Israel,” noted Leibowitz.
Arnie Draiman contributed to this report.