Getting the ball rolling: FC Barcelona in Israel to boost peace

There are not too many artists or world leaders who can create the kind of excitement stirred up by the stars of one of the world's most popular soccer teams, FC Barcelona.

The team's presence in Israel may not have the same diplomatic significance as a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, but in terms of international media coverage, the arrival of Brazil's best player, Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, Spain's best players Xavier "Xavi" Hernandez and Andres Iniesta Lujan, and of course the world's greatest player, Argentine Lionel Messi, far exceeds any visit by any diplomatic official. Ask any one of the 14,000 children planning to watch their heroes in action at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv on Sunday when the team stages an open practice and scrimmages.

The players, who arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday for a two-day "peace tour," brought a message of peace for Israel and the Palestinians. They are not scheduled to play a game in Israel, as many fans had wanted, but they will hold practices with children from both sides and try to spread a lot of love.

The peace tour included a soccer clinic for young Palestinians in Hebron, a visit to Bethlehem to visit the traditional site of Christ's nativity and a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub described Barcelona's arrival as "the most important event in the history of Palestinian sport."

"This is a historical visit, and this visit is the most important one in the history of Palestinian national sport. For those who are on top of the world sports movement to come to Palestine is a message for the world to understand, that it is time to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," Rajoub said.

According to the club's official website, all profits from the tour will be donated to promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

On Sunday afternoon, the team was scheduled to meet President Shimon Peres, who was involved in organizing the trip, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They visited Jerusalem's Western Wall in the morning.

In February, Barcelona said the team wanted to play a friendly match against a side made up equally of Palestinian and Israeli players in Tel Aviv, but the sides could not agree on arrangements and the idea was ultimately dropped.

Victor Patsi, a reporter with Catalan television network TV3, told Israel Hayom that "the players are accustomed to adoration everywhere they go in the world, but for them, and for us, the visit to Israel and Palestine is special. From a sports perspective it would have been better to hold a game rather than just practices, but everyone knows that this visit is more institutional and touristy and less about preparing for the season."

Before boarding his flight to Israel, FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell said, "If there is one thing that Israelis and Palestinians have in common, it is that they are Barcelona fans." Rosell may have been even more right than he knows: In recent years, Barcelona has become the most popular soccer team in Israel, possibly even more than the local teams.

The non-profit organization Barcelona Israeli Fans, which organizes weekly trips to Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium, is realizing a dream.

"It is extremely exciting to see the stars whom we usually have to travel 500 kilometers to see, up close and personal," said Shai Pal, one of the heads of the organization. "Even though it is very nice that our team is coming to Israel, I am a little disappointed that many Barca fans can't be at Bloomfield because most of the tickets were handed out to all kinds of groups."

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