There are many olim who have helped build the country of Israel and have worked in various areas to make the Holy Land into one of the leading nations in the world in all areas of life.
One of those areas is sports and there’s no question that Inter Aliyah has been one of Israel’s fastest growing sports clubs as both its soccer and basketball teams have taken huge steps over the past couple of seasons while also servicing the country’s community of olim from all across the globe.
Inter Pro, the club’s professional soccer team playing as a part of the Israel Football Association, earned promotion to Liga Bet for the first time in the franchise’s history, going from the fifth to fourth-tier leagues, while the basketball team made that jump after just one season.
Olim from South America, North America, Europe and other locales have joined together on the pitch to see Inter Aliyah succeed in its mission while off the field of play, the club is making more and more inroads in helping those who have made aliyah integrate into Israeli society as seamlessly as possible.
Sam Sank, who has been involved with Inter Aliyah in a myriad of roles including as a player and as a board member, discussed the organization’s uniqueness in Israel and how it has made an impact in the day-to-day life for many people through the realm of sports.
“We are a totally independent amuta, a non-profit organization, created by olim for olim and we have our own ideals and mission which is very different from the other teams which may be just another Maccabi and Elitzur. We are something very unique with clear guidelines as to what we want to achieve, which is to help people make aliyah and reduce the amount of olim leaving the country,” Sank began.
“Everyone who plays for our teams must hold an Israeli ID card, a Teudat Zehut, and must be citizens of the country. Our aim is promoting aliyah as that is part of our identity and encouraging people to be Israeli. Also, our number one mission is to reduce the number of olim who leave Israel, which stands right now as a staggering 40%, by creating a home through sports.”
Inter Aliyah is not just a sports club but a family for many of its participants
“What makes us special starts with the family aspect and when one comes to our team they realize that this is a very different club. The majority of people come from a foreign country and there is a clear sense of bonding which is what strengthens us and that is what pushes us to keep winning these games.”
Sank, who works in hi-tech, has been in Israel for more than 15 years, sees many similarities in many of the soccer team’s players who are primarily in their late 20’s and early 30’s and also work in the same industry that he does. However, there are also those who are just getting their feet wet in the country and are just making their first steps in the Holy Land.
“Our olim are in Israel from just a few months to close to 15-16 years, and while some are here with their families and others like myself came as Lone Soldiers. The group are in the midst of various levels of integration and some are fluent in Hebrew while others speak Spanish, English and Russian. However, the language that is used during play is English.”
As for on the field, Sank couldn’t be happier as to how the soccer team has improved and now moved up a league.“This was our seventh season in Liga Gimmel and now we moved up to Liga Bet. Every year we got a little better and before this season we didn’t think about winning the league, but as the campaign went on we began to look at that possibility. With an incredible coach, Borja Lema who is from Madrid and who is also the assistant coach with Hapoel Kfar Saba in the second division, we went on a great run where we won 20 games in a row.”
“With that we took the title while being level on points with Hapoel Tzafririm Holon but we had a better head-to-head record as we drew away and then won 1-0 at home. That game put us in first place for the balance of the season and saw us earn promotion.
One of the most interesting things about Inter Aliyah is that it does not pay its soccer players as many other teams do. That has not had any type of negative impact whatsoever but has actually helped the group grow even closer.
“Most of the guys live in Tel Aviv and not a single player is being paid, which is a rarity for a team that won its league as all the other clubs pay their five or six best players. Teams in Liga Bet pay their players but we will continue not paying anyone. Our guys are playing to be a part of the family and they feel loyalty as some have been a part of the team since its inception.”
As for the basketball team, which just began last year, head coach AJ Mitnick and General Manager Ronnie Levi exceeded all expectations and earned promotion after the first season of operations as they now look towards doing the same in year two.
“The basketball team has been a massive success,” Sank said. “Inter Aliyah was a one sport club for the first five years and we knew that basketball was the second sport that would come under our umbrella. Under the leadership of AJ Mitnick and Ronnie Levi, we have exceeded all of our expectations as through its promotion this has opened up a new market for us inside and outside of Israel.”
“The basketball has been far bigger a success than we could have ever imagined as many players could be playing for other teams but play for us on a team that may be below their level because they love the club.”
In addition to the soccer and basketball teams, Sank noted that there are even more plans to expand programs and activities in the club over the upcoming years.
“We have a number of pro and amateur teams and we have opened up other sports under the Inter Aliyah banner. We’re starting a field hockey team, chess, baseball and running club teams as well. All these activities are being opened because there is a demand from the olim community and those have a place to play it and have a home in Israel that we are providing.”
Inter Aliyah’s main base of operations is currently in and around the Tel Aviv area, but there are plans to expand the reach to other cities in the country.
“Currently, we are focused around Tel Aviv right now because that is where we started and 95% of our participants live in the area,” said Sank. “We are very interested in expanding Inter Aliyah into other cities like Jerusalem and Ra’anana which would be the first cities that we would like to focus on. We recently met with the Jewish Agency as to how they can help us get sports fields in both cities along with manpower and funding.”
Partnering with Nefesh B’Nefesh, the country’s largest organization working with olim has always been an important connection for Inter Aliyah, but they would also like to see that relationship grow.
Sank is very proud that when people who are involved with sports are looking to move to Israel, the name Inter Aliyah always pops up in the conversation.
“Inter Aliyah has a very good reputation outside of Israel among the Jewish communities around the world where our members are from. Everyone knows that this is where you play sports in Israel if you are an oleh.”