Ohad Edelstein started playing soccer at age 11, and since then has had to contend with reconciling his love for the sport with his religious beliefs.
“It’s not easy to integrate this sport with being observant,” Edelstein, now 26, said. “It requires making sacrifices and painstaking efforts that not everyone is prepared to make.”
Edelstein, however, was willing to work hard and make sacrifices, and he had some help along the way from his family and also from his alma mater, AMIT Ginsburg Bar Ilan Gush Dan, in Ramat Gan. With their support and encouragement, Edelstein was able to continue pursuing the sport and today he plays professionally in Israel’s soccer league.
Edelstein grew up as one of six children in a religiously observant family in Kiryat Ono (his two brothers currently attend AMIT Bar Ilan). When it came time to select a high school, he chose to attend the AMIT school. “I had a gut feeling about the school, and I’m glad I followed my instincts.”
Edelstein praises the school and his teachers for helping him get to where he is now, playing as a midfielder for the No. 1 team in his league, Kfar Qasim. In his time off the pitch, he also runs his own personal-training business.
“Ohad is smart, sweet, and talented,” said AMIT Bar Ilan Principal Tomer Schupper. “In addition to being a skilled soccer player, he keeps mitzvot and is a truly unique individual.”
Even in the youth leagues, most soccer games in Israel are held on Saturdays. For Edelstein that meant spending every other Shabbat outside of his home and often away from his family.
“I would have games on Shabbat, and I don’t travel on Shabbat, so the school would help me find a place to stay and sometimes teachers even let me stay at their homes – they went above and beyond,” he said. “The school really helped me integrate playing soccer and my training with my studies.”
The school and teachers were also flexible when it came to Edelstein’s practice sessions, allowing him to leave school early or skip a class and helping him make up what he missed. “They really helped me academically,” he said.
He began his professional career playing for his home team, Hapoel Kiryat Ono, then went on to play for Hapoel Petach Tikva before moving on to Kfar Qasim, his home for the last three seasons. (The team is part of liga alef, Israel’s third-tier league.)
Kfar Qasim is a largely Muslim Israeli-Arab city located about 12 miles east of Tel Aviv. Its soccer club has garnered attention not only for being the best in its league, but also for its Arab-Jewish team members who are a beacon for co-existence.
Edelstein said that, as an observant Jew, he feels completely at home on the team, whose players—50 percent of whom are Jewish and 50 percent of whom are Arab—respect one another on and off the field.
“Kfar Qasim takes into consideration everything I need, whether it’s getting kosher food or ending games before Shabbat,” he said. “I’ve played for other teams and in different leagues, and I’ve always found solutions [to religious quandaries], but I’m enjoying myself more now than before and am truly respected here.”
Edelstein adds that the mutual respect found in the locker room has helped propel Kfar Qasim to its No. 1 spot on the league’s charts. “We are where we are thanks to the connection between the players and the unity in the locker room.”
Now that the current season is about two-thirds finished, Edelstein and his teammates are hoping to advance to the national league. “My goal is to be the best both personally and as a team player, but most importantly I’d like to continue having fun doing this.”
That’s also what Edelstein would say to young observant Israelis who want to play soccer: Play for the fun.
“It’s a shame the games aren’t switched to a different day so that everyone who keeps Shabbat can play and enjoy the sport,” he said, reflecting on the challenges of becoming a professional player.
The loss isn’t just for the players, Edelstein said. “The teams are also missing out on young religious players who are talented and have a lot to contribute to the sport.” —AR
