Boxing Unites the Holy Land

Our friends at DCentric point us to this great story from Joel Greenberg in Tuesday’s Washington Post:

In a converted bomb shelter in a low-income Jewish neighborhood, Ismail Jaafari, a Palestinian boxer from across town, bobbed and weaved in the ring, trading punches with an Israeli opponent.

They were sparring at a local boxing club that is something of an anomaly in this ethnically divided city: a place where both Jews and Arabs pursue a shared passion. Palestinians from East Jerusalem have earned their boxing credentials at the club, training with Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants, bearded yeshiva students and settlers from the West Bank.

The trainer in charge is Gershon Luxemburg, a Soviet immigrant “who learned boxing as a boy to repel anti-Semitic assaults and later became a champion boxer in Uzbekistan and several times Israel’s light heavyweight champion.”

Luxemberg’s story of going from spending 20 years for stockpiling arms, allegedly for attacks on Arabs, to preaching tolerance to anyone who wants to fight at his club is another example of how the Sweet Science can help bridge gaps between individuals, communities and even nations at war.

We highly recommend you read the entire article; so far the best piece on boxing we’ve seen since the New Year.