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ISRAEL SOFTBALL (continued from page 1)

against Italy,” says Jojo. “I very first time at this level.”
hope I’ve made my grandpar- Jojo tested positive for Covid
ents, and my great-grandpar- on the morning of the champi-
ents, proud.” onship, and her team had to play
The underdog Israeli team was without her, losing to Italy 17-2.
awarded the silver medal at the “However, she drew a lot of
Aug. 10-13 tournament in Italy positive attention, even having
after facing teams from Croa- the coach of Team Italy filming
tia, Czech Republic, Great Brit- her pitching during the Czech
ain, Italy and Spain. Republic game,” says Jojo’s
As an event of the World mom, Elle Zober, who accom-
Baseball Softball Confedera- panied her daughter to the tour-
tion Europe, this tournament is nament.
the European championship for The theme for the team and
softball players 13 and under. the experience was Softball and
It was Israel’s first time being Portland-area pitcher Josephine “Jojo” Zober Appling (Number 37 Sisterhood.
represented at the 12U level in center of back row) helped The 12U Israel National Softball Team “Jojo really bonded with the
at this prominent tournament. win a silver medal at the European championships. Israeli players – they were fast
The team played together for friends,” says Elle.
the first time the week of the tournament. Team Israel includes Jojo had noticed that the Israel players were using old bags that
players of Israeli citizenship and U.S.-born players with Jewish didn’t hold all their gear properly, so when she saw a baseball ven-
or Israeli heritage. (The Jewish Review chronicled Jojo’s selec- dor at the tournament, she asked her Grandpa if he could buy the
tion to the team at jewishportland.org/jewishreview/jr-stories/ girls each a brand new softball bag , customized with their initials
portlanders--israeli-soccersoftball.) and in Tram Israel colors.
“The 12U Israel National Softball Team had the experience “Something Tom Hope was exceptionally happy to do,” says Elle.
of a lifetime, creating unforgettable memories and making new “The players were very excited and said they can’t purchase bags
friends with each other and with athletes from across Europe,” like that in Israel, and they immediately filled them with their gear.”
says team manager Yarone Zober. “In addition to winning the The bags were customized with each player’s initials and in Team
silver medal, the team accomplished amazing wins and impres- Israel colors.
sive individual performances. We are all very proud of them for “I love the fact that sisterhood was really something the players
representing Israel so well in international competition for the embraced,” says Elle.
Numbers paint picture of Hand in Hand in Israel

Hand in Hand, a network of hours of intensive dialogue, “I love connecting people in our
integrated schools in Israel training and learning to a cadre
cofounded by Portlander Lee of 12 Jewish and Arab univer- local Portland Jewish community
Gordon, this year received sity students as part of our first
$5,800 from the Jewish Fed- ever Student University Com- and our Jewish Federation with
eration of Greater Portland munity. Hand in Hand..." ~ Lee Gordon
through generous contributions “I love connecting people
from several donors. in our local Portland Jewish
Hand in Hand: Center for community and our Jewish
Jewish-Arab Education in Is- Federation with Hand in Hand
rael recently shared some num- as well as numerous Jewish
bers from the past year to paint Federations around the coun-
a picture of their work: try,” says Gordon, who serves
• We brought bilingual, shared as executive director for Amer-
education to 2,066 Jewish and ican Friends of Hand in Hand.
Arab students across seven ele- “The importance of building
mentary schools, six preschools partnership between Jewish and
and one high school. Arab citizens of Israel cannot
• We nurtured a shared soci- be overstated, and having Hand
ety among 5,000+ community in Hand supporters and partners
members and 700+ alumni in Portland is tremendously Students connect at Gesher al haWadi (Bridge over the Wadi).
through 70+ community-build- encouraging for us and for the Hand in Hand founded the school in 2004, at the time its third joint
ing activities nationwide. Hand in Hand community in Arab-Jewish primary school in Israel.
• We provided multicultural Israel.”
training impacting 380+ Jewish Hand in Hand’s integrated abic languages have equal sta- resources to two communities
and Arab children through 15 multicultural schools equip a tus, as do both cultures and na- where Jewish preschools are
mixed preschools outside the new generation to live together tional narratives. Students also serving Arab students.
Hand in Hand network. in cooperation and respect. In learn English. Hand in Hand For more information, visit
• We provided hundreds of these schools, Hebrew and Ar- also offers teacher training and handinhandk12.org/.
10 Jewish Review Sept. 7, 2022