Ian Kinsler arrives just in time to try and help Israel's national team win a baseball Olympic medal.
By DANNY GROSSMANBASEBALL STAR poses with wife Tess in front of the Kotel after making aliyah earlier this month(photo credit: DANNY GROSSMAN)
The drama behind Ian Kinsler’s aliyah earlier this month – just in the nick of time – goes back to when Corona was still a beer and Kinsler was just a name on Israel Baseball General Manager Peter Kurz’s bucket list of players he’d love to have.But as the Talmud teaches, one mitzvah brings about the next and Team Israel’s fantastic qualification last September got Kinsler thinking about making a comeback after recovering from an injury which had cut his MLB career short last season.“Get us Kinsler!” barked Kurz.Without knowing the exact deadline, we were sure we needed to complete the process by early April for Kinsler to represent Israel at the 2020 Olympics. Thus, despite being among the most readily identifiable Jewish big-leaguers (with fans delighting in stories of Kinsler wishing Kevin Youklis “Happy Passover” as he rounded first base), Kinsler’s file was prepared meticulously, with the dedicated help of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s highly professional staff, and handled with the same scrutiny afforded any other applicant for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.Kinsler received approval for his citizenship on late Thursday evening, March 6. With the coronavirus scare spinning out of control, he and wife Tess arranged for their parents to watch the kids (in true Israeli fashion) and caught the next El Al flight to Tel Aviv. They arrived Monday afternoon March 9, barely four hours before the deadline, that was announced at 8 p.m., that would have required them to be quarantined for two weeks. A true commendation goes to the Population Bureau officials who, despite being justifiably nervous by the rapidly changing guidelines, performed their duties with the highest regard for everyone’s safety.After nearly a week of holding his breath, Kurz smoothly moved on to the next challenge. He sees Kinsler as a shining example for others to follow, of a man truly committed to helping put Israel on the map in baseball.
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