Published: 16 April 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
More than a decade after its formation, Jerusalem’s Hapoel Katamon football club is making a name for itself on the field but also for its approach and youth programs to bring together Israelis and Palestinians.
It is a fan-owned league club and has pursued programs such as tournaments for Jewish and Arab youth with the help of philanthropic organisations.
Arab athletes also play for the team — unlike Jerusalem’s premier league club, Beitar Jerusalem, often in the news for the behavior of violent anti-Arab supporters.
The Katamon club was set up in 2007 by football fans who wanted to enjoy the game in a different atmosphere, said co-founder and sporting director Shai Aharon.
FULL STORY Soccer club shoots for tolerance in fractious Jerusalem (AFP/Times of Israel)
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Photo: Players of the Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem team take part in a training session in Jerusalem on March 18 (AFP/Menahem Kahana)
