When Israeli eyes are smiling

I love the Irish.

The Irish in Tel Aviv were enjoying Purim yesterday. Purim is a Jewish holiday which celebrates the foiling of a plot against the Jews by the wicked Haman.

It has been said that most Jewish holidays have the same basis. They tried to kill us all, let’s eat. The Irish are equally consistent. It’s a holiday, let’s drink.

Full story from The Irish Times.

The Israel-Ireland World Cup qualifying match (that’s soccer for you Americans) was held last night in Tel Aviv. Roughly 3000 Irishmen and women came upon Tel Aviv in one big swoop. The Irish football fans are known for their undying dedication to their team and will follow them anywhere to support them. Tel Aviv, to their credit, welcomed the Irish with open arms. Some say that they overcompensated a bit, but after spending yesterday in Tel Aviv, I quickly realized nothing could be further from the truth. It was nice to see Irish flags waving over hayarkon street . The weather was beautiful and the beach and promenade was packed with Israelis and Irishmen alike. The cultural differences were apparent though. The Israelis were enjoying coffee in the cafes that line the beach while the pubs across the treat were filled to the brim with the Irish with glasses…well..for a lack of better expression…filled to the brim. But it wasn’t a completely segregated scene. I saw many Israelis reveling and shmoozing with the Irish folk in the bars and one too many pasty Irishman soaking in the sun’s rays on the beach. I also witnessed random Israelis approaching green-clad Irishmen and striking up conversations. The vibes were great, and for a moment, I felt transported back in time several years ago when the streets were packed with tourists and there was a constant feeling of positivity in the air.

Simply put, it was just a damn great day.

The game ended in a draw last night, with Ireland scoring in the first couple of minutes and Israeli player, Abbas Suwan scoring in the last thirty seconds to tie it up.

UPDATE: Check out the blogs of Shai, Lisa and Imshin for their impressions of the day.