{"id":83252,"date":"2021-01-22T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=83252"},"modified":"2021-01-16T13:13:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-16T11:13:06","slug":"16-00-53","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=83252","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I Still Owe Israel My Entire Existence:\u2019 Jewish Olympian AJ Edelman on Representing Country, Arab Teammates, Giving Back"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>\u2018I Still Owe Israel My Entire Existence:\u2019 Jewish Olympian AJ Edelman on Representing Country, Arab Teammates, Giving Back<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Shiryn Ghermezian<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Amir Fawarsy (in purple) and a volunteer help Ward Fawarsy with a bobsled at the Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Photo: Provided.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The Israeli bobsled team led by Jewish Olympian A.J. Edelman and his Israeli Arab teammates are vying for a chance to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics, a lofty ambition for a sun-drenched country that has never medaled in those games.<\/span><\/p>\n

But for Edelman and his fellow athletes, the quest is about much more than a prize podium: it\u2019s a chance to represent the nation they share together, and to give back to the next generation of Israeli hopefuls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Olympics are not the goal,\u201d Edelman, 29, told The Algemeiner<\/em> on Wednesday from South Korea, where the team is training at the Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang. \u201cWe have no relevance other than the fact that we wear the Israeli flag\u2026and so because of that, it\u2019s an honor unparalleled that you can never repay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Edelman\u2019s squad is one of Israel\u2019s two bobsled teams hoping for a spot in next year\u2019s Olympic Games, which will take place in Beijing, China. The athlete, who is originally from Boston but made aliyah<\/em> in 2016, retired from competitive sporting after racing in the 2018 Olympic contest in skeleton, which features a smaller sled. A former ice hockey goalie and speed skater, he was Israel\u2019s first ever Olympic athlete in that sport, but retired from athletics after experiencing what he called a \u201cdisturbing\u201d episode related to a helmet disqualification at the 2018 Games, and receiving emotional abuse from other athletes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turning to business, Edelman was accepted into the Yale School of Management, hoping to pursue an MBA. But he was soon back on the ice, this time as a bobsledder \u2014 because, as he put it, \u201cI still owe Israel my entire existence and identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He had his first exposure to bobsledding in 2014 as a breakman, responsible for stopping the sled, and was a bobsled driver in 2019. Edelman recruited his Druze teammates Moran Nijem and cousins Amir Fawarsy and Ward Fawarsy, who all play for Israel\u2019s national rugby team. As bobsledders, they must run alongside the four-person carriage, pushing it to achieve maximum speed. When it builds momentum down a narrow, iced track, the riders jump in \u2014 Edelman the driver in front, followed by the brakeman in back.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a diverse team representing the same flag, they have become an example of Arabs and Jews working closely to make their country and communities proud.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that I\u2019ve always been very, very insistent on is that no one gets in my sled if the Games are the goal,\u201d he said. \u201cThe number one thing that I ask any person who has expressed any interest in getting in a sled is \u2018Would you do this for any other country and what\u2019s your motivation?\u2019 And anyone who says, \u2018if presented the opportunity, I would sled for [any country other than Israel],\u2019 then they\u2019re not for this team. It\u2019s not the right mindset. Israel has to be the first and only choice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

AJ Edelman and Amir Fawarsy on the slide in South Korea. Photo: Provided<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Nijem and the Fawarsy cousins told The Algemeiner<\/em> Thursday that they want to establish a school for potential Druze athletes of all sports, and hope their run in the Olympics will make it possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSport builds character, can be a career, can make you travel the world, and that\u2019s more important than making money,\u201d said Amir, 24. \u201cWe want people to do sports especially in our village and community, where things are now heading to a bad place. A lot of problems are happening in our community, and to me sports was always the solution. It kept us out of the problems. We need sports in our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Edelman said his teammates\u2019 vision resonated with his own. \u201cMy entire 2018 Olympic run was essentially that for Israel and Jews abroad,\u201d he said. \u201cThey believe and I believe firmly that when they made the Games, it will provide them an opportunity to establish that kind of institution; to get that change done in their community. That for me has always been my driving force representing Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I\u2019m back is because I think if not for me, then who else?\u201d he said about his return to representing Israel in the sport. \u201cIf you believe that you\u2019re the only person who is able to do what you want to do, to be a force for good, then you\u2019re obligated to do so. It\u2019s certainly an Israeli concept that if you have the power to overcome and do something positive, then you have to absolutely do that. For them, they\u2019re doing it for their community and being a driving force for good. I\u2019m just trying to do the same, to give back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The team met only recently, but said they already trust each other immensely \u2014 crucial in a high-speed sport with little room for error, and which can result in severe brain injury. \u201cWe really trust AJ. We believe in him and he also believes in us,\u201d said Amir. \u201cWe believe we can make it and we\u2019ll do our best every single day and train hard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nijem and the Fawarsys knew nothing about bobsledding prior to meeting Edelman, and deferred their education to fly out of Israel during the coronavirus pandemic and train with Edelman in South Korea. Though races last a matter of minutes, Amir told The Algemeiner<\/em> that the full-day of training is extremely \u201cchallenging,\u201d leaving them completely \u201cexhausted\u201d even after a short run on the slide.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Druze athletes haven\u2019t seen snow in some 13 years, and adapting to the weather of 22-degrees below freezing in South Korea has been a challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an athlete, you always think about the country you\u2019re representing,\u201d Amir said. \u201cYou are not thinking about yourself. Every action you do, you have to think that you are here representing your country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Edelman has already spent about $70,000 of his own money to support his bobsled team \u2014 including paying for a coach, equipment and food costs \u2014 after an investor has failed to pay a promised $5 million. The team is crowdfunding money from supporters on GoFundMe<\/a>, and Edelman is even trying to auction off his own Olympic ring on Ebay for additional funds. He said the team is practically living off of barley and eggs: \u201cnot the best diet for an athlete,\u201d he admitted.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Greaves, the president and co-founder of Bobsleigh Skeleton Israel, which is affiliated with the National Olympic Committee of Israel, said about Edelman, \u201cHe is an incredibly driven, exceptional person. If I was to bet on his success, I would have to bet in favor of him\u2026it\u2019s going to be a pretty exciting ride.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Edelman explained, \u201cI believe that everyone has a few reasons for being put here [on Earth] and my tavkid <\/em>[duty] for now is helping Israel as much as I can through sport. We have an obligation not to walk away from Israel after getting to a supposed goal. I think a lot of Olympic athletes do that and it\u2019s such a shame, because it\u2019s a misuse of the honor and privilege that the country gave you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The team will find out if they qualifies for next year\u2019s Olympic Winter Games in January 2022, based on a number of races beginning in October.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018I Still Owe Israel My Entire Existence:\u2019 Jewish Olympian AJ Edelman on Representing Country, Arab Teammates, Giving Back Shiryn Ghermezian Amir Fawarsy (in purple) and a volunteer help Ward Fawarsy with a bobsled at the Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Photo: Provided. The Israeli bobsled team led by Jewish Olympian A.J. Edelman and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83252"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83385,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83252\/revisions\/83385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}