Jewish football team Leeds Uni raised funds for Ukraine

A defeat for Hapoel Hyde Park was still a big win in their appeal to provide aid to Ukraine

The Leeds Jewish Student Football Team, Hapoel Hyde Park, kicked off this Thursday at 4pm against Birmingham’s Maccabi Selly Oak at Weetwood Park. Marking one of the first varsity Jewish sporting events of this magnitude in several years, Hapoel Hyde Park aims to use football as a voice to benefit World Jewish Relief’s Ukraine appeal.

Initially aiming to raise £500, the team were happy to report that they had reached their goal ahead of schedule. So, three days before the match started, they decided to increase their target to £1,000 in total.

The event itself was free; however, donations were strongly encouraged, with each student attending the game also receiving a voucher for a free drink.

Before the match, organizers Aaron Black and Jack Isaac welcomed everyone to The View bar around 3 p.m. and announced keynote speaker Anatole Ferera.

Anatole, a second-year Chemistry and Maths student from the University of Leeds gave a moving and educational speech about the impact of the Holocaust on the Jewish community, emphasizing that the past must not be forgotten so that in the present, we are not remaining silent but acting. when you see people in need. Connecting the story to the here and now, Anatole raised awareness of the current situation in Ukraine and emphasized that when we as a community stand together we are strong and now is the time for us to stand together. alongside Ukraine.

After the speech everyone went out to see the game between Leeds and Birmingham. It began with the two teams standing together in a minute’s silence on Yom Hashoah, a day that marks the remembrance of the terrible atrocities of the Holocaust and given the specific date of the match (April 28), an even greater significance. big.

After a thrilling 90-minute game, the scoreline ended 2-1 against Maccabi Selly Oak, marking only a small loss for Leeds’ Hapoel Hyde Park compared to the huge amount of donations the team was able to collect for a good cause.

Thanks to its impressive project, Hapoel Hyde Park has raised more than double its initial target amount of £500, having so far reached a total of £1,208 and expecting to raise a total of £1,500 – the everything to be donated to Ukraine.

For all those who want to get involved and support such an exceptional project, donations are still being collected for another week. You can donate here.

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