Goal hungry: striker brought on just after fast
ISRAELI FOOTBALLER Tomer Hemed came off the bench to help Queens Park Rangers to a 2-0 win over Millwall just after Yom Kippur went out — despite the fact he was still fasting when the game kicked off.
Mr Hemed, who joined the West London club on loan in August, started the match on the bench. The holy day had not yet finished by the time the game began at 7.45pm.
His manager, Steve McClaren, told Sky Sports before the match that the striker would eat during the first half, and come on as a substitute if needed.
Mr McClaren, a former England manager who has previously worked as a coaching consultant for Maccabi Tel Aviv, said ahead of the match: “He follows the Jewish religion meticulously. And today is Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Atonement, and he’s been fasting from eight o’clock last night until it finishes at eight o’clock tonight.
“We had a chat — he said it’s very difficult to start [the match]. It’s very unusual because Yom Kippur hardly ever falls on a game day, but it has this time. Hemed came on in the 74th minute
“We’ll hopefully get some food into him in the first half, keep him on the bench, and if we need him in the second half he can play some minutes.”
After goals from Massimo Luongo and Eberechi Eze put QPR 2-0 up, Mr Hemed came on after 73 minutes to help his side see out the win.
QPR now sit 16th in the Championship, the second tier of English football.
THE JEWISH author of a new play about rising antisemitism in Britain has spoken out after it prompted a deluge of antisemitic comments, saying they “play exactly into the fear I’m writing about”.
Stephen Laughton’s One Jewish Boy explores key moments during a four-year relationship between a Jewish man and non-Jewish woman in the UK.
But when its premiere was announced last week, it was greeted with hate speech on social media.
“I must say I do not give a f***. Perhaps you could write a play about Palestinian kids getting blown to pieces by Jews,” one person wrote.
“For me to being [sic] respecting ‘the Jew’ as you would refer to them I would need all of the British Jews to come out in force and condemn Israel,” said another.
Pictures of Palestinian flags were also posted in response to the announcement.
Mr Laughton is a member of St John’s Wood Liberal Synagogue and used to work in a communications role for Liberal Judaism.
He said: “Although I’m saddened by these responses, I can’t say I’m surprised — this is not my first time at the rodeo.
“The irony is that the play focuses on the conflating of diaspora Jews with Israeli foreign policy.
“Not once in the title, summary or description is Israel mentioned, yet still the responsibility of actions and policies made by the Knesset falls upon Jews outside of Israel. In this case, British citizens who have nothing to do with these decisions, many of whom may have never stepped foot in Israel.”
The playwright also said that his latest work had been written “from a place of tangible fear — you see it in our politics, on our social media, with our kids getting beaten up in the streets. I wrote the play to highlight the problem, to open the debate — I absolutely want to engage, but I’m saddened that on initial announcement, without looking further or checking me or my politics, these responses play exactly into the fear I’m writing about.”
Sarah Meadows, the play’s director, said she hoped the play would help “find a way to communicate.
“It’s such a divisive area and, although I’m shocked by how aggressive the reactions are, there’s a realistic message of hope at the end of this play. We can overcome these differences,” she said.
One Jewish Boy will run at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, from December 11 until January 5.