Amira's Posts

Original Article Published at The Jerusalem Post

By the time Yshai Oliel clawed his way back to 2-2 in the third set of the first-round match in the Junior Boys’ singles tournament at the US Open versus Juan Carlos Manuel Aguilar of Bolivia, court 14 felt and sounded like countryman Dudi Sela’s first-round US Open thriller.

Oliel lost the first set 6-4 in 41 minutes and battled back to quickly take the second set in 19 minutes. Chants of “Yallah, Yshai,” “Kadima” and “let’s go, Yshai” from the packed stands turned to “mazal tovs” and requests for autographs when Oliel, down 2-0 in the third, closed out Aguilar 6-2 in the 29 minute third and final set.

Oliel certainly noticed the fans cheering for him. “I am proud of all the Israeli people and Jews who come to see us and cheer today.”

Oliel spoke with The Jerusalem Post in the US Open media center minutes after his match. “I feel very good and happy. I am excited.” Oliel reflected on the match and on his very successful year which includes winning the junior doubles title at the French Open. “I fought during the long match today. I still need to improve. To play more aggressive.”

Oliel feels he need to work on his volleys and to be more aggressive to achieve his goal of rising in the rankings.

Coach Jan Pochter, who has worked with Oliel since age 4, is similarly proud, though he acknowledges that Oliel got off to a slow start.

“He started nervous and tight and wasn’t his best. The other guy was aggressive and went for shots. Mentally, he was very tight. Then Yshai began to play much more aggressive and his opponent couldn’t match his rhythm.

He asked for a medical time out (perhaps a tactic to stop Yshai, who was in the zone), then Yshai came back. He lost two games, but still felt it was his match. I told him to concentrate and do your best and he did it.”

Pochter feels Oliel has tremendous potential. “He is one of the best players in the tournament, though mentally he has ups and towns. If he plays smooth, he will win.”

Oliel next faces No. 2 seed Alex De Minaur of Australia.

“If he plays his best, he has a good chance to win,” said Pochter.

Pochter is accompanying and coaching Israeli juniors Oliel and Shelly Krolitzky at the US Open. Both are members of the David Squad, an elite training organization which seeks to develop and train Israeli tennis players to be successful at the highest levels of international competition.

“I am proud to be a part of David Squad, I am proud of the team, and I appreciate David Coffer, who sponsors us,” said Oliel. “I hope I will be able to give him back all that he expects.”

“Without the David Squad, we would not get to the tournaments and get to the next level,” notes Pochter.

“This is a present for Israeli tennis that we have special people like David and Adam Coffer [David’s son]. It is like winning the lottery for these kids.”

Adam Coffer is proud of Oliel and the David Squad team.

“Yshai is an exceptional talent with a fantastic attitude. We are always so proud of him and the team. This is the natural progression reflecting the years of hard work he and all our team have put in. His and Shelly’s progress also sets the right example for the extremely talented younger kids we have coming through the DS family. But it is not our or their end goal – there are many more, higher, targets ahead for him.”

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Original Article Published at The Jerusalem Post

Shelly Krolitzky, 17, is the first Israeli female in the main draw of the US Open junior tournament since Julia Glushko in 2007.

As the massive US Open crowds shuffled in at on Friday morning for a coveted spot in Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Grandstand, a few dozen spectators gathered outside the 20 little known practice courts in Flushing Meadows.

The first round of boys and girls qualifiers got under way, with 32 boys and 32 girls battling for eight spots in each main draw of the US Open Junior Championships.

Israeli Shelly Krolitzky got off to a slow start, then easily defeated Rafaella Baquerizo of Ecuador, 6-4, 6-0.

In a match interview outside the practice court, the 17-year-old from Azur, told The Jerusalem Post: “I had a little pressure on myself in the first set. I felt a little heavy on the court and it was hard to move. When I was down 4-1, I tried to loosen my hand and make it stronger. Then, I got in to the match.”

Krolitzky built on the victory by beating American Vanessa Ong 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the qualifiers on Saturday, advancing to the main draw of a Grand Slam junior event for the first time. She will face American Abigail Desiatnikov next.

Krolitzky comes to New York from Canada, where she reached the second round in a juniors tournament.

She is accompanied at the US Open by Jan Pochter, who primarily serves as coach for Israeli junior, Yshai Oliel, who is in the main boys draw.

Oliel and Krolitzky are both members of the David Squad, an elite training organization of young Israeli tennis players. Krolitzky’s coach is not with her at the US Open. Her family is not able to accompany her either.

This has been a very busy tennis year for Krolitzky.

“I played most of year in junior’s tournaments on clay. I am now starting to play Futures ($10,000) tournaments, mostly in Israel but may start in a few weeks to play abroad.”

Krolitzky is also a member of Israel’s Fed Cup Team.

“The Fed Cup experience was amazing. I played doubles against Ukraine. It was a tough match. Even though I didn’t play singles, it was amazing how much I learned from watching all the players, like how Julia [Glushko] and Shahar [Peer] worked before, during and after each match.”

While Krolitzky has accomplished a great deal, she is still very much a teenager. She keeps in touch with friends and family members through WhatsApp and reads romance novels and plays card games with fellow players while on the road.

Krolitzky is entering the 12th grade and plans to serve in the army after graduation. Her busy tennis life makes schooling difficult at times.

“I try to go as much as I can,” notes Krolitzky playfully. “I go to a democratic school, so it is easier – I come, get what I miss, do a lot at home.”

Krolitzky plans to turn pro after her army service. Her tennis heroes include Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“I really love Serena Williams. She is a great model. Nadal as well. I really love him. I love many players. Each player has stuff I can learn from.

With Djokovic, everything he does is fixed. Serena, her mentality is amazing. It is amazing to be here and see them.”

This is Krolitzky’s first trip to New York and she has thus far enjoyed exploring Times Square and Fifth Avenue.

If Krolitzky beats Desiatnikov in the first round of the main draw she will get to stay in New York even longer.

Yshai Oliel extended his stay at Flushing Meadows on Sunday with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Juan Carlos Manuel Aguilar of Bolivia. Oliel next faces boys’ No. 2 seed Alex De Minaur of Australia.



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Original Article Published at The Jerusalem Post

With the location of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, it is only natural that there are also many Jewish stories at the tournament.

The final Grand Slam of 2016 is filled with all kinds of big and small stories – from Serena Williams’s quest for her 23rd title, and Djokovic’s for his 13th, to John Isner’s long, heartfelt embrace of 18-year-old Frances Tiafoe following their tough five setter on opening day. A personal favorite moment was watching Gael Monfils chase down a lob – and crashing into and breaking the on court scoreboard on court 17.

With the location of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, it is only natural that there are also many Jewish stories at the tournament, from players to food to minyan requests.

Israeli Players

Admittedly, there were not many Israelis in the main draw of the US Open singles tournament. One to be exact. And No. 80 in the world, Dudi Sela lost a tough five setter in the first round. But Julia Glushko and Amir Weintraub battled hard through the qualifiers, each winning first-round matches.

Sela, who doesn’t play doubles very often, won a doubles tournament earlier this year and is entered in the doubles draw with Frenchman Stephane Robert. And, as expected, beloved Yoni Erlich is playing doubles – this time teaming up with Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico. Yshai Oliel, a top Israeli junior, will enter the qualifying tournament as he battles for a spot in the main draw of the junior event.

Jewish Players

We have come to expect a large number of Jewish Nobel Prize winners, far out of proportion to our numbers. But what about in the tennis world? There are a surprising number of Jewish players in the draw.

Many – like Americans Noah Rubin and Jamie Loeb (who happened to be mixed doubles partners) and Diego Schwartzman – are vocally proud of their Judaism. A few days ago, Rubin tweeted, “Later in the week, a spectacle will take place as the fighting Maccabees @jloeb308 and I play mixed double @usopen.

Who’s ready?” Schwartzman lost his first round match to fellow countryman and Rio Olympics sensation, Juan Martin del Potro.

There have been unconfirmed reports that a number of other players have Jewish roots, including Camila Giorgi, Elina Svitolina and Timea Bacsinszky. Even it has been reported on several occasions that Rafael Nadal of Mallorca descends from Conversos.

Israeli Matches

A US Open match featuring an Israeli player can best be described as an El Al flight-like experience.

People wander, talk loud, socialize, look for friend, make connections and use Protexia (connections).

During the Sela first-round match, I learned that the woman next to me was a party planner in the US and Israel. And by the start of the second set, I knew which Jewish day school her kids attend.

Half the fans seemed to sport credentials indicating they are a “player guest” of one of the Israeli players.

And people felt comfortable shouting unsolicited advice to Sela, referred to as “Dudi, Melech Yisrael!” (Dudi, King of Israel!).

When my seatmate spotted a man covered with an Israeli flag, she commented that her flag had been confiscated last year. And she asked the guard, “if the player was from Italy, would you have taken his flag?!” There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie and I suspect pro-Israel fans outnumbered pro-Uruguay fans (for player Pablo Cuevas) 10-to-1!

Kosher – and Kosher Style, Too

What is any sporting event without food – and without extraordinarily long lines? New York Brat Factory (certified Glatt Kosher) serves up wraps (tuna, turkey and chicken Caesar) as well as two types of Italian sausages with peppers and onions, overstuffed pastrami sandwiches, knishes, hot pretzels and of course, hot dogs (and pastrami dogs). The stand is closed on Shabbat, and the lines can be long.

This year, SoomSoom, a kosher store in various parts of New York City, has a kosher style booth at the US Open. The booth, outside of Court 17 (and next to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream) serves up humus, falafel and more. The sign notes “Kosher Style” and workers explain that some food comes from their kosher stores and others are made on site, and that the stand is open on Shabbat.

Ballboys With Yarmulkes

At least one ballboy was spotted on the grandstand court of an important first-round match wearing a yarmulkes.

And the mother of an Orthodox Jewish day school student reports that her son, also a ballboy at the tournament, wears the Polo Ralph Lauren-issued hat to cover his head.

Minyan Requests and More

Friends, colleagues and others who know I am covering the tournament turned to me on Twitter and Facebook and more with their Jewish questions. “What are the chances of “chapping” (catching) a minyan at the US Open; I am a mourner and need one?” I directed him to the Sela match and the kosher food line.

VERY likely!

The New Retractable Dome

Spoiler alert, this is not really a Jewish story at the US Open, but long days and nights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, under the bright sun and inevitable rain, got me thinking – if the US Open can find a way to keep players in action and fans dry during the rain, why can’t our rabbis help us find a way to better enjoy the often rainy Sukkot holiday.

In much of the US, cold, rainy weather often makes for a somewhat unpleasant sukkot. Get to work, rabbis – and speak with the brains behind the amazing retractable dome.

And while you are at it, see if you can find Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur cantors with voices as great as the ones we heard on opening night at the US Open – Phil Collins and Leslie Odom of Hamilton fame.




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Original Article in The New York Jewish Week

At Camp Ramah, Israel is central. Dozens of Israeli shlichim (emissaries) “bring” Israel to our nine overnight camps and four day camps in North America each summer. And, for decades, campers have been participating in a variety of programs through Ramah Israel including Ramah Israel Seminar, Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY), Ramah Israel Institute, and Ramah Jerusalem Day Camp.

Campers with disabilities in our inclusive camping programs have many opportunities to form meaningful relationships each summer with the shlichim, who serve as bunk counselors and teach swimming, sports, arts and crafts, dance, and more.

Through the generosity of the UJA-Federation of New York and an incubator project of The Jewish Education Project, and with the expertise of an inclusion specialist and specially trained counselors, Ramah Seminar, a six-week Israel travel and study program, has successfully included and accommodated several participants in recent years with physical and developmental disabilities. (Read “LOTEM – Making Nature Accessible.”)

Every two years during December break, Ramah Israel Institute runs the Tikvah Ramah Israel Trip, a ten-day multi-sensory Israel experience, for participants in our various Tikvah programs across North America. Participants with developmental and intellectual disabilities travel to Israel with specially trained staff and visit sites such as Masada, the Dead Sea, and the Kotel, while also planting trees, participating in an archaeological dig, and picking fruits and vegetables for Israel’s needy. Participants also visit the homes of their Israeli mishlachat friends. (Read more: “North Americans with Disabilities Meet Israelis ‘Just Like Them,’ and It’s Profound” and “The Typical Israel Experience And A Whole Lot More.”)

This year, Ramah is offering its first-ever Tikvah Family Israel Trip.From December 20-29, 2016, parents and children will enjoy hands-on activities as we explore Israel. The trip will provide families with a child with a disability to explore Israel as a family unit. A carefully prepared itinerary and expert guide will assure that all family members experience Israel in a unique way. Highlights include playing with guide dogs for the blind, touring the Kotel Tunnels and visiting animals at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem, floating in the Dead Sea, experiencing Tel Aviv’s vibrant day and night life, and taking in breathtaking views of the Ramon Crater in the Negev desert. If the experiences of families participating in Ramah’s family camps and retreats for families with children with disabilities are a predictor, the Israel trip will afford families the opportunity to form deep and lasting friendships.

Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, National Ramah Director, writes, “Ramah Israel has been running family trips for many years and the participants are overwhelmingly appreciative. Running similar trips for families with children with disabilities is exactly what Ramah stands for—excellence in Jewish education and inspiration, and totally inclusive.”

Families interested learning more about the Tikvah Family Israel Trip may contact Howard Blas, Director of the National Ramah Tikvah Network, at howard@campramah.org.

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