Although an end to the Israel/Palestine conflict seems out of sight, its civilians have found a new way to restablish relationships with each other: through AFL. And as Hayley Reichman reports, this August, Australia will be that very platform to play out Israel/Palestine unity.

Where diplomacy fails, sport triumphs.

As conflict rages in the Middle East, come August, it is Australia that will play host to peace.

The Australian Football League International Cup starts in Melbourne on 27 August. Israel will be sending a mixed Palestinian-Israeli team to compete against countries from all over the globe. The aim is to show the world and each other that harmony between enemies can exist. They are the Peace Team.

Tanya Oziel, Executive Director of the Peres Centre for Peace – Australian Chapter, initiated the idea desiring to bring the two nations together “at a grassroots level.” The AFL also strongly supported her project and their support came, “all the way from the executive level [who] unanimously agreed to it.”

Ms Oziel says sport binds people together. “AFL speaks to everyone,” she adds. “AFL [management] sees it as a peace breaker – a wonderful opportunity to use sport to encourage solidarity and respect.”

The Palestinian-Israeli AFL team that will represent both countries at the Australia Football League International Cup in Melbourne in August. Image: T Oziel

Nick Hatzoglou, the Multicultural Project Coordinator of the AFL, wholeheartedly throws his weight behind the initiative. “For us [the AFL] is about spreading the game more broadly and it’s also about using AFL to more than just promote sport, but to use our sport to bring people together,” he says.

But the AFL management want to continue promoting unity through sport in Israel. They are currently in talks with the Peres centre to run an ongoing AFL game there. Mr Hatzoglou recently returned from a four-day trip to Israel. “[The project] is very much about leaving a legacy, and having an ongoing presence,” he says. “To come together not only on Australian football, but as people was amazing.”

He adds that the Peace Team is about sending out a local message. The AFL wants to create a platform upon which people from all races and religions can unite. “If you can create opportunities for people to engage, a lot of good comes of it,” says Mr Hatzoglou. “[The Peace Team] sets a good example for other people to follow.”

The team of 14 Palestinians and 14 Israelis will arrive in Sydney on 21 August. The Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, who is of Lebanese descent, is expected to host the team in Sydney. They will then travel to Melbourne for the competition.

It has been no easy feat. While Kevin Sheehan, the AFL Talent and International Manager took the teams through its initial paces, the players only started learning the game in January this year. Their coach, Simon Jacobs has never played himself. He learnt through tactic manuals and film footage.

They train once a week but as the games draw closer, training will be twice a week. The Palestinians have full permits to cross border security. That itself can take up to four hours. Then there are the multi-lingual training sessions, which are held in a mixture of broken English, Hebrew and Arabic.

Sport transcends all nations: Training sessions are held in broken Hebrew, Arabic and English. Image: K Nafte

Ariel Goldsmith, an Australian ex-pat living in Israel for the past 20 years says his Palestinian teammates are far from the stereotyped norm. “They hardly seem like the same people who are shooting rockets up our arses, these kids are goody goodies…viva la peace,” he says.

Shai Braitner is an Israeli member of the team. As tensions in the Middle East rise, he says that more than ever, now is the right time to maintain peace. “It becomes even more important to keep the communication open and sport is the best international language,” he says.

But the journey has not been without complications and players have endured emotional and cultural hurdles. Kevin Nafte, a team member and recent immigrant to Israel explained that a sore point for the team was wearing both nations’ flags on their uniforms. He says: “It’s a shame…. but what are you to do when politics gets involved?” They will still have both flags present at the game. Ultimately Mr Nafte says playing in a Palestinian-Israeli football team is far beyond his wildest expectations. “I love footy and its always been a dream of mine,” he says. “To play in an Israeli / Palestinian footy team is a dream come true.”

Mr Hatzoglou is committed to the game and to the cause. He says to see the two sides come together was nothing short of “inspirational and motivational.” “We want to spread the game more broadly,” he says. “It’s about how to use our sport to bring people together and it doesn’t happen as often as it should.”

For Ms Oziel, the game transcends the conflict and the politics. “There’s another narrative, people exist through the complexity,” she says. “[The Peace Team are a symbol] of this belief in peace, dialogue and tolerance.”