There was quite a surreal scene at the Kotel before the 2018 Russia World Cup. “We went to the Western Wall, a group of die-hard England fans, to pray for our national team to succeed in Russia," recounts Ofer Kadosh, 59, one of the leaders of the unofficial Israeli Three Lions Supporters group.
“So we came to the holy site, some of us were wearing kippahs, and we started praying near the wall as well as sticking notes into the sacred stones wishing for England’s success.
“However, when we wanted to take some pictures we suddenly noticed that on our England flags there was the Saint George’s Cross emblem. How – for God’s sake – do we bring in a cross to the holiest Jewish site? But this is our flag.
“So we took the pictures fast and hoped that no one will notice and then we got out of there and went to eat some Middle Eastern food in the Old City’s market. We will never forget this amazing experience.”
Bringing the English flag into the Kotel compound didn’t do the trick and England ended up not winning the 2018 World Cup. Indeed the men’s team haven’t won any other major tournament since 1966. Yet England fans – including those who live in Israel – continue to dream.
Aviv Levy, 25, has just finished his law degree in Tel Aviv, and is off to to the US to see England compete. Before leaving Israel, he also paid a visit to the Western Wall.
“I didn’t bring the flag but I did bring my England shirt and also another shirt that says: ‘We Still Believe’. And the most important thing – I wrote my prayer on a note and stuck it between the holy rocks of the Kotel wall. We, as England fans, need all the prayers we can garner and of God’s help we can use. Hopefully, this time it will work”.
Laurie Spieler, a 52-year-old from Manchester who has been living in Israel for over three decades, said: “Being an England fan in Israel is a unique experience. Day to day, I probably feel more Israeli than English, but when a World Cup or European Championship comes around, something changes. The England shirt comes out of the wardrobe, the songs start, the beers begin to flow, and suddenly you are transported back to your childhood”.
Spieler, Levy and Kadosh are bonded by their love and loyalty to the Three Lions – as well as many other Israelis who grew up watching English football and adopted its national team as if it is their own.
“When we watch England games together we sometimes get hundreds of people to the pub and it’s just an unbelievable atmosphere”, says Kadosh, a self-styled anglophile. “For me when I wake up in the morning in Israel I expect to see a double-decker bus, to drink English tea and to listen to Oasis – as I am also a die-hard Manchester City fan. But the love for the Three Lions never fades, it doesn’t matter how many times they broke my heart. I still believe”.
Spieler concurs: “What makes our Israeli group special is the shared optimism. Every tournament starts with the belief that ‘this could finally be our year’, regardless of what happened in the previous one. We meet to watch games together, relive old memories, sing the same songs we’ve been singing for decades, and share the emotional rollercoaster that only England fans truly understand.”
Spieler says England fans in Israel are a diverse group: “Some moved here decades ago, some more recently, and many have built their entire adult lives in Israel. Yet when England play, everyone reconnects with that part of their identity”.
Their WhatsApp group is named “It’s Coming Home” and they all hope that maybe this time they’ll be able to celebrate England’s World Cup victory in the Holy Land.
Levy, who is heading to the US, is due back in Israel after the first stage of the competition. “I just wanted to see England play in person, and hopefully the team will still be alive in the tournament when I go back home. To see them winning the World Cup, when I’m in Israel with my supporter friends, would just be amazing. Hopefully, the pilgrimage to the Kotel will bear fruit.”
Kadosh tries to stay realistic. “Every World Cup, as well as every Euros, I think England will win it. This time I must say I think France and maybe Spain are stronger. But this it football, miracles happen. And no better place for it to happen right here, when we are watching the games together in our Holy Land.”
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