Pioneer Freddie Kirvine honoured on 25th anniversary of Jewish-Arab tennis programme

Freddie Krivine (Photo: FKI)[Missing Credit]

In 2000, Freddie Krivine launched the first Arab-Jewish tennis group for children aged up to 15 years old, which has now become the flagship work of the FKI. It has expanded into summer camps and homework clubs, and most recently celebrated a tournament named after the late Mackie Behrman.

FKI is based in the north of the country and began its work — according to Freddie Krivine’s nephew Yoram Krivine, who chairs FKI — by “bringing tennis to deprived areas in Israel. We had the concept of Arab and Jewish kids playing together, doing their homework together and having fun, teaching each other Hebrew, Arabic, and both learning English”.

The initiative has been highly successful, with one of the Arab children from the early cohorts now on staff as a tennis coach. It has attracted high-profile support, too: singer Cliff Richard is a keen follower of FKI work, and has visited the Israel courts, while the UK’s Clore Foundation gave a donation to rebuild the clubhouse.

The FKI executive director Lee Wilson and the Arab community coordinator, Rihan Namle, took part in a panel session where they discussed how even terrible events such as the October 7 terror attacks had not stopped the children from both communities keenly participating in tennis. “On the tennis courts, everyone is the same, with no borders”, said a member of the FKI, explaining the enthusiasm with which both Arab and Jewish children pursued the game.