Israeli Ambassador: I Will Personally Deliver Falafel to Cincinnati Bengals If They Win Super Bowl

Shiryn Ghermezian

Yakov Hammer (top left, center) Israeli Ambassador Asaf Zamir and Bengals long snapper Clark Harris during a recent Zoom call. Photo: Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Israel’s consul general in New York pledged to personally deliver falafel to the Cincinnati Bengals if the NFL team wins Super Bowl LVI on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Asaf Zamir also invited the team’s long snapper, Clark Harris, to visit Israel after hearing of his act of kindness to 27-year-old Yakov Hammer, an Israeli fan who lives in Netanya.

“We saw this story and were so happy about the amazing gesture Clark and [his wife] Jessica extended to Yakov,” the ambassador said during a Zoom call with Harris and Hammer on Monday. “So I want to formally and cordially invite Clark and Jessica to Israel as guests of the State of Israel, to see our wonderful country and I hope you love it as much as Yakov loves the Bengals.”

Zamir — who is also the consul general of Israel in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware — added, “Since we represent Ohio as part of the consulate territory, we have a very strong vested interest for the Bengals to win. So if the Bengals end up winning the Super Bowl, I’m going to get in my car and drive over to Cincinnati with falafel for all the team. It’s gonna be the best falafel you’ve ever had.”

On Jan. 20, ABC 6 News in Columbus, Ohio, drew attention during their broadcast to three “die-heart” Bengals fans from around the world, including Hammer. He fell in love with the team after living in Ohio for a year and has not missed watching a single Bengals game live since 2015, even while serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

Hammer’s devotion to the team caught Harris’ attention and resulted in the 15-year NFL veteran giving the Israeli physics and engineering student two free tickets to the AFC Championship game on Jan. 30 in Kansas City, Ohio, as reported by the local station WLWT News 5. Hammer and his friend then flew from Tel Aviv to Kansas City and watched the Bengals make a 27-24 overtime victory, which qualified them for Super Bowl LVI.

During the Zoom call, Hammer thanked Harris for giving him tickets to the game.

“I can’t even express in words how grateful I am for what you guys did,” he said. “It’s always been my dream to go to a Bengals game … and to see [the Bengals] win at such an amazing moment. I had no doubt that you guys were going to win that game, and I knew it would be worth making that long trip. And it was a hell of a game.”

Harris, in turn, expressed gratitude at being invited to visit Israel, saying on the Zoom call, “This is awesome. I give out tickets every week and I never expect anything in return. But something like this — it’s incredible. I never knew my wife wanted to go to Israel, and once this happened I found out this is a lifelong dream of hers. So I started doing a little bit of research and getting excited myself.”

His wife added, “I’m just really grateful and excited, and it’s been really cool to see how this story has been unfolding.”