TuS Makkabi Berlin ended a remarkable period with a 1-0 victory over 1. FC Novi Pazar. For the first time, Berlin’s only Jewish sports club has been elevated to the Oberliga, and will compete far beyond the city borders in the coming season, including in Rostock, Neustrelitz, and Torgelow, for example.
After the anti-Semitic occurrences at the conference game between 1. FC Union and Makkabi Haifa last October, Michael Koblenz, the sports director of Makkabi Berlin, said there were anti-Semitic incidents on soccer fields “nearly every weekend.” Unlike the European Cup, insults and assaults in the lower levels normally do not elicit the same level of sympathy or media attention.
As they go up to the fifth division, Makkabi Berlin will hopefully draw more notice. What may be a significant step toward increasing the visibility of Jewish life in Germany.
The Berliners hope to make a big contribution to understanding between Jews and non-Jews through sport as part of the Makkabi organization.
This has worked well in club life for a long time: the first men’s team represents a diverse range of countries and religious beliefs. The players have made an important sporting statement as a close-knit group.
They conveyed a vital message for cosmopolitanism by opposing the repeated hostilities and bullying.