Soccer / Peace through soccer? Hapoel Tel Aviv kicks in with project aimed at Nablus-area villages - Haaretz

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Wed., September 05, 2007 Elul 22, 5767

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Soccer / Peace through soccer? Hapoel Tel Aviv kicks in with project aimed at Nablus-area villages

By Eli Ashkenazi

In hopes of giving Palestinian children a better future, Hapoel Tel Aviv will begin operating soccer schools next month in villages outside Nablus.

"The goal is for 2,500 children in five villages to be participating within a year-and-a-half," says Meir Orenstein, the Education and Social Project manager of Hapoel Tel Aviv.

His partner in the project is the United Kibbutz Movement's Yoel Marshak. "We'll try to give the children hope of a better future," said Marshak. "Who knows, maybe this activity will sow seeds of peace where now there's only enmity."

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Several weeks ago, Orenstein asked Marshak, who heads the UKM's Special Assignments Division, to set up contacts with Palestinian village leaders in the Nablus area. Marshak already has ties with these leaders in agricultural assistance projects. The two visited Kafr Salem last week, and met with the local council heads of both Salem and Dir Hateb.

"We intentionally went to remote villages, where conditions are hard - there's no running water there, and the pitches where they'll be playing are just gravel surfaces," said Marshak, who considers himself a Beitar Jerusalem fan.

Education, Culture and Sport Minister Raleb Majadele met with Marshak on Monday, expressing his support for the project. Majadele also called up Palestinian Authority contacts asking for their support as well.

Orenstein said Palestinian coordinators would run the schools in the villages, employing local coaches to be trained by Hapoel Tel Aviv.

"Each child will receive four weekly hours of sports, tutoring and social activities," he said. "I saw a great thirst for activity during our visited to Salem."

Some 23,000 youth take part in Hapoel Tel Aviv's educational programs across the country, most of them from outlying areas.

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