David A. Goldstein - Alley-Oop to Aliyah: African American Hoopsters in the Holy Land

PREFACE

T HE CONCEPT FOR A LLEY -O OP TO Aliyah: African American Hoopsters in the Holy Land originated in the most unlikely of placesan assisted living residence for seniors in Jerusalem. It was May 2007, and my brother and I were visiting my maternal grandparents who had invited some of their friends over to drink coffee, eat dessert, and swap stories about their respective grandkids. The guestsall women well into their eightiesdisplayed a polite interest in my grandmothers proud description of our careers, but the conversation took a distinct and serendipitous turn when my grandmother mentioned that we were from Toronto.

Ohhh, TorontoAnthony Parker! the octogenarian ladies exclaimed. Parker, an African American basketball player from Illinois, had chosen to sign with the Toronto Raptors following five successful years playing in Israel and they were beyond excited that we were from his new adopted hometown. Eizeh motek! they exclaimed, Hebrew for What a sweetie! They also characterized him as beemet mentsch! Hebrew and Yiddish for truly an honorable man!

I was stunned by the reaction. It was not news to me that Maccabi Tel Aviv, Parkers former team, was a European powerhouse and Israel had its own domestic professional league. I also knew that, similar to other international basketball leagues, some of the players in Israel were African American expats. But I had no sense that the current city of residence of a prior Israeli league basketball player would be common knowledge among a group of elderly ladies in a religious neighborhood of Jerusalem. That Anthony Parker, beyond being familiar to these woman, was beloved by them, was equally unexpected. If such is the knowledge of, and passion for, an African American basketball player who once lived in Israel in this group, what might that reflect for the rest of the country? My curiosityabout basketball in Israel, generally, and the experience and impact of African American players there specificallywas piqued.

By the time I boarded my flight home, I had printouts of enough Israeli basketball articles to keep me busy for the entirety of the twelve-hour trip. And so began what would ultimately become a decade-long process of research and writing, culminating in this book. Intrigued by what Id discovered and hungry to learn more, I connected with basketball contacts Id developed in the United States and Canada, and cold-called numerous others. In all, I conducted interviewsdetailed, deeply personal, often funny, and always interestingwith more than forty people. I spoke with some individuals repeatedly over the years. At face value, the request was simple: open up to a random outsider you knew nothing about for a project whose outcome was uncertain. The players, and at times their wives and children, allowed me into their lives and entrusted me with their personal narrativesa responsibility and privilege that I have endeavored to treat with the utmost respect and gratitude. My role in all of this was to research, read, and write. The essence of this book, however, is based entirely on a phenomenon that captured my imagination and warmed my heart. I have done my utmost to do justice to that remarkable phenomenon.

Alley-Oop to Aliyah