'I knew I needed someone with ties to Judaism'

In December 2004, Uzi Gafni, the director of the Tourism Ministry's department that deals with hosting visiting dignitaries, accompanied representatives of Italian club Juventus on a tour of Jerusalem.

The visitors from Turin, Juventus director general Luciano Moggi in particular, were very moved by the visit to the Holy City.

"What can Juventus do for Israel?" Moggi asked of Gafni, who suggested that the Italian club adopt the Tourism Ministry as one of its sponsors.

"There was an agreement," Gafni reveals, "but Tamoil, [Libyan leader Muammar] Gadhafi's oil company, objected to the cooperation, and it fell through."

Tamoil has a five-season sponsorship agreement with Juventus, with the Tamoil trademark appearing on the club's shirts for all its matches.

After a failed attempt to interest Italian club Milan, Gafni decided to approach clubs in England.

"We didn't go near Chelsea because of its anti-Semitic image prior to the [Roman] Abramovich era," Gafni says. "Manchester United arouses antagonism, and Tottenham, despite its Jewish connection, isn't big enough. Luckily, Arsenal got back to me, just two days after I made the initial contact."

The fact that Keith Edelman, Arsenal's managing director, is a Jew certainly helped when it came to finalizing yesterday's deal. "I knew I needed someone with ties to Judaism," Gafni says. "Edelman may not go to synagogue every Friday, but there are warm Jews at Arsenal who wanted to give something to Israel."

Arsenal is having another successful year from a financial point of view, but hasn't been performing on the field. "This has been a difficult year in that we have lost many away games," Edelman, general manager at the club since May 2000, said yesterday in an interview with Haaretz.

Commenting on the speculation surrounding French striker Thierry Henri's future with the club, Edelman said, "We will try to keep our stars and assets, and we will be able to do so from an economic point of view even if we fail to qualify for the Champions League. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the club is bigger than any player.

"We are the biggest club in London," Edelman continued. "Our fan base is the biggest in the city. Tottenham has yet to play in the Champions League, and Chelsea has only recently become a massive force." (Ouriel Daskal)