Mamu Noam of Israel, Jakub Dudycha of the Czech Republic and Davide De Rosa of Italy celebrate after the men’s 800 meter event during the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships at Givat-Ram Stadium in Jerusalem, July 7, 2022. (Jurij Kodrun\/Getty Images for European Athletics)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The biannual track and field competition, which features 44 different events, will be hosted at Jerusalem\u2019s Givat Ram Stadium. Putting on such a tournament is no small feat, but Israel \u2014 and, increasingly, its capital city \u2014 has become a go-to host for a number of international competitions.<\/p>\n
In 2019, the Women\u2019s European Lacrosse Championship took place in Netanya. In 2021, Jerusalem hosted the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Flag Football World Championships. The European Athletics competition begins Monday, and later this month, Israel will also co-host the Men\u2019s European Volleyball Championship in Tel Aviv. Next year it\u2019s water polo, and in 2025, baseball.<\/p>\n
Ami Baran, the president of the Israeli Athletics Association, said Israel hosting so many tournaments has broken a sort of glass ceiling in terms of Israel\u2019s standing in the world, both politically and in sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very, very important,\u201d Baran told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. \u201cI think us hosting these kinds of tournaments sends a message throughout Europe that Israel is on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baran said the trend is even more pronounced when it comes to Jerusalem, which is a flashpoint in Israeli-Palestinian politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are not politically worried anymore about having it [here], especially if we\u2019re doing it in Jerusalem,\u201d he continued. \u201cJerusalem is a place where things are happening. It\u2019s a controversial area, where a lot of Europeans in the European Union have always sort of been hesitant. But here you get full support \u2014 total support of Israel, and Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel hosted the European Athletics Under-18 Championship last year, which Baran said was a success. The Jerusalem government supported the effort, pouring 50 million shekels (about $13.5 million) into renovations for the Givat Ram Stadium.<\/p>\n
Then for the U20 tournament this year, Romania was set to host until concerns emerged about its stadium size. One night, Baran got a late-night phone call from the head of European Athletics.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me, Ami, can you save Europe and do the tournament again in Israel for the under 20s?\u201d Baran recounted.<\/p>\n
Baran quickly got in touch with Jerusalem\u2019s deputy mayor who oversees sports, who called up the mayor. The answer was yes. Baran said the city and Israel\u2019s ministry of sport and culture helped finance the undertaking \u2014 which included arranging hotel rooms for the visitors, plus bringing in media production teams and Olympic-quality announcers.<\/p>\n
David Wiseman, who tracks Israeli sports for his popular Facebook page Follow Team Israel, said he\u2019s observed a considerable uptick in Israel\u2019s participation and hosting of European and international tournaments. For one thing, Israel\u2019s own sense of its place in global politics and sports has changed, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, there may have been a cringe factor previously, where to prevent making waves, Israel didn\u2019t even nominate to host events,\u201d Wiseman told JTA. \u201cNow that\u2019s not the case. They\u2019re putting their hand up. And not only putting their hand up, they\u2019re winning the bids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wiseman added that Israel\u2019s success in international competitions has also likely increased its status as a host, and has generated more buzz among Israeli sports fans. In the past couple months alone, Israel finished third in the FIFA U20 World Cup and seventh in the World Lacrosse Championships.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019re more successful, and because they\u2019re more successful, there\u2019s a greater hometown sort of vibe and interest,\u201d Wiseman said. \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t want to host an event here if no one turned up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baran said 3,500 tickets have already been sold for next week\u2019s track and field competition.<\/p>\n
Israel has also recently played host to global sports stars Novak Djokovic and Lionel Messi, as the Tel Aviv Open returned last year for the first time since 1996 and the powerhouse French soccer team Paris Saint-Germain played a Champions League match against Maccabi Haifa.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s involvement in global sporting events can sometimes be rocky. The U20 World Cup this year was originally set to be hosted by Indonesia, before being moved to Argentina because of the former\u2019s objection to Israel\u2019s participation. And this spring, an Israeli rugby team was removed from a tournament in South Africa. This year\u2019s democracy protests in Israel \u2014 some of which took place at the Knesset, just blocks from Givat Ram \u2014 have landed on front pages around the world, potentially undercutting the appetite to plan events in the country.<\/p>\n
But by and large, insiders say, Israel\u2019s status as a member and host of international tournaments remains on the rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important that we realize that everything is moving forward,\u201d Baran said. \u201cMore tournaments will bring more recognition to Israel, and I think bring more recognition to our people in Israel who can see more sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
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