Translation (taken from Stu Schnee who translated it to a closed FB group):

I had a great time on Friday watching the Israel Football League Isra-Bowl - the Israeli Football version of the Superbowl, minus the food and minus the commercials. The league s fun and even intense, and I almost regret not following it more during the season.

I have a nephew on one team in the Isra-Bowl, the Petach Tikva Troopers, and I have a few friends on the other team, the Jerusalem Lions (aka Big Blue). I went to cheer for my nephews team, with the added benefit of seeing a few other friends, fro the other team and in the stands. It must have something to do with being from Chicago, but somehow I almost always end up cheering fore the losing team. But no matter, it was a lot of fun. And the kids who came with me all had a great time as well, even though they know little about football.

During the season, Petach Tikva's one loss (I was at that game as well) was to the Jerusalem team. And that game had come down to nearly the buzzer. The Jerusalem Lions, I am told, have gone undefeated over the past two full seasons. This game would definitely be intense.

Being that this game was to be played by the two best teams in the league, the scoring started off a bit lopsided, with Jerusalem rushing out to an early lead of a couple of touchdowns.We settled in thinking it would be fun but a sure loss, but Petach Tikva came roaring back making it a real intense competition.

They kept pulling closer, and eventually near the end of the game, with just a few minutes left, even took the lead. Jerusalem came roaring back with a late touchdown recovering their lead, and closed off the game shortly after, retaining their led and winning the Isra-Bowl.

It was a nice day, if a bit chilly, after some stormy weather, and the stands were packed with spectators and fans. I will definitely try following the league more next season!

Here are some pictures and video for you to get a taste..

Hatikva - nobody took a knee

Petach Tikva Troopers coming out to play

Jerusalem Lions storming the field

he was ok... I think

Taly Erel posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook...

from INN:

History will be made next Sunday, when the Israeli national American football team takes part in its first official international game against Spain.
If Israel wins, it will qualify to compete in the International Federation of American Football’s B-Group International Tournament in 2016.
The best players of the Israeli Football League (IFL) are represented in the national team, with players hailing from all nine local teams. Among those taking part will be 3-time reigning league MVP Dani Eastman from Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion, who plays for the Judean Rebels, along with Johnathon Curran of the Ramat Hasharon Hammers on the coast, and Assaf Katz of the Tel Aviv Pioneers.
A new addition to the national team is former University of Michigan quarterback Alex Swieca, who played with the Israeli league's Jerusalem Lions while taking part in a Young Judea year course in 2011-12, and went on to be the league's MVP that year.
Despite being entitled to play at Michigan for another year because he was in Israel for his freshman year, he decided instead to come back to Israel.
"I am so excited to have an opportunity to represent the State of Israel in Europe with my fellow teammates” Swieca said. “But I am also hoping to spend time this year promoting American Football throughout Israel and getting even more Israelis excited about the sport.”
Swieca made a comic video earlier this month about his decision to play football in Israel rather than stay in the US.

watch Spain vs Israel live:

you know I am not a fan of the Harlem Shake, but this one, at an Israeli [American] football game, the players performed a musicless Harlem Shake that made me laugh..

On January 23, 2013, Ambassador Dan Shapiro joined members of the Israeli Football League in a lively and competitive game between the Ramat HaSharon Hammers and the Judean Rebels. In a atmosphere of enthusiasm and competitiveness, Ambassador Shapiro, witnessed American football building bridges between Israelis of all different backgrounds, along with Americans, Palestinians, and expatriates who came together on the field, all for the love of the game. With the voices of cheering fans in the background, Ambassador Shapiro, a Chicago Bears fan, spoke of sports transcending social divides, building bridges, and promoting social understanding.

After the Mayor of Jeusalem and City Hall decided to move the Rapaport school to Ramot, against the wishes of the local residents, they are now making another similar decision.

The City of Jerusalem voted to build two football fields in Ramot - American Football fields, for the Israel Football League and the Jerusalem Lions.

NRG is reporting that the iryah voted in favor of constructing the two fields in Ramot. the local neighborhood residents oppose the decision, and have gotten 500 signatures on a petition against it. 500 signatures in a supposedly Haredi neighborhood doesn't seem like a significant number - it even seems like a very low number, considering the article says the rabbonim encouraged people to sign the petition.

Anyway, the locals oppose it saying this decision was not coordinated with the local community administration, and the UTJ faction in City Hall opposes the construction of any city sponsored sports facility and definitely any international level sports facility in Ramot.

Is this a directed effort targeting Ramot with an effort to change the style f the neighborhood? The City says no, but they support building sports facilities that many local residents can benefit from with various sports activities, and most of those who watch the football games are Anglo olim, with Ramot having a high number of Anglo olim, this is a sport they should enjoy.

After watching that video, you don't even need to read the article! But here it is anyway..

From The New York Times:

On a Thursday night early in December, Pinchas Zerbib took off his traditional cotton skullcap. In its place, he put on a polyester one.


The amateur Israel Football League has grown to 400 tackle football players in its fourth season from about 80 in its first.


The Jerusalem Lions’ Binyamin Schultz (41) was surrounded by the Judean Rebels in November. Binyamin Schultz had a catch against the Black Swarm in December. The more experienced Lions won.


“It’s my Under Armour yarmulke,” Zerbib said. “For practice, it’s better. Plus, it’s still kosher.”


As an orthodox Jew, Zerbib, a native of Israel, believes he must always wear a head covering. He spends his days studying in a yeshiva, or a Talmudic learning institution. But three nights a week, he suits up as a linebacker.


“I sit down and learn all day,” said Zerbib, a 27-year-old student. “I love to do this sport and stay healthy.”


Zerbib is not alone in his newfound appreciation of American football. In its fourth season, the full-pads, full-contact amateur Israel Football League, or I.F.L., is attracting a diverse crowd of players from all over the country. Players vary in age, and some are married with children. The league is 80 percent Israeli, with secular and orthodox Jews playing with and against Israeli Arab, Christian, Thai and even Palestinian players. The league has grown from roughly 80 tackle football players to more than 400.


As popular as the N.F.L. is in the United States, past attempts at spreading American football internationally have had limited success. Leagues like N.F.L. Europe, which shut down in 2007, have had problems drawing fans. But in a country so closely tied to American politics and culture, Israel is quickly gaining a football following. New players are joining each week, and crowds, though small, are steady.


“What we’re seeing is the beginnings,” said Uriel Sturm, the commissioner of the I.F.L. “In Israel, there are two major team sports: soccer and basketball. After that, it’s almost bare. We’re trying to take American football up to that next tier of sports.”


American football is no stranger to Israel. For the past 22 years the organization American Football in Israel, or A.F.I., has run a large flag football league, mainly in Jerusalem. It has offered an escape for American students and workers living in Israel, but only a small group of Israelis seemed interested in the rudimentary version of the game.


“It used to be that the guys were geeks,” said Assaf Graif, a former player and now an assistant for the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Sabres. “In the ’90s only the guys who were really into computers and on the Internet were exposed to the football culture.”


But with more access to the Internet, interest in the American sport gained ground — so much that the enthusiasm to start a tackle league came not from Americans in Israel but from native Israelis. In 2005, a group of them went to the head of American Football in Israel, Steve Leibowitz. “They said, ‘We’ve been playing tackle football on our own, but without equipment,’” Leibowitz said. “I said, basically, ‘You guys are a bunch of morons.’ ”


Leibowitz helped organize teams, gather regulation equipment and find volunteers to help run the I.F.L. In 2007, the league began with four teams. Since then, four more have been added. Israeli enthusiasm took the league only so far. Long before the I.F.L. started, Robert K. Kraft, the owner of the N.F.L.’s New England Patriots and a practicing Jew, donated money to build the first and only football stadium in Israel to house the flag football league. Kraft Stadium, situated in central Jerusalem, has lights, stands and artificial turf. In the center of the field is a Patriots logo.


“Building a stadium there was as hard as building a stadium here,” Kraft said in a telephone interview. After a year of political maneuvering and nearly $725,000 in donations from Kraft, Leibowitz and Kraft got the stadium built in 1999. But in 2007, when the idea of a tackle league playing in the stadium was brought up to Kraft, he was hesitant. He thought such a dangerous sport played by people with little to no experience would be a liability. Still, the Israelis were persistent, and he eventually supported the league, which is now named the Kraft Family I.F.L.


“It definitely helps that a lot of the guys here are 21-, 22-year-olds that just came out of the elite combat units,” said Yonah Mishaan, who coaches the Jerusalem Lions.


Mishaan was born in Los Angeles and moved with his family to Israel when he was 13. A brawny 38-year-old of Syrian descent, Mishaan owns one of the few American sports bars in Jerusalem, appropriately named the Lion’s Den. With a seven-hour time difference from New York, the bar regularly stays open past sunrise on Monday mornings so fans can watch Sunday night N.F.L. games.


“Football is such a cult here,” Mishaan said. “People just stay up all night, and then at 7:30, they’re out to work.”


While the league has found a niche audience, many Israelis are still surprised to hear of its existence. Crowds consist of family and friends of players, and they do not always understand the action on the field. At a recent Saturday afternoon game in Tel Aviv between the Pioneers and the visiting Herzliya Hammer, a first-year team in the league, fans of the new squad clapped and cheered after every play. Early in the game, the Hammer quarterback dramatically scrambled and threw an incomplete pass — and the crowd burst into applause. The Hammer lost, 56-18.


Equipment problems are a continual source of headaches. Because many football companies do not ship to the country, players are forced to fend for themselves to get proper equipment. For many, this means having an American friend buy the gear and ship it to Israel, nearly doubling the cost.


“Every time I go to America, I buy up all the cleats I can,” said Graif, the Tel Aviv assistant, who often travels for medical conferences. “I know I’ll be able to sell them easy.”


On a recent Thursday night, the Lions faced off against the Beer Sheva Black Swarm, a second-year team with little experience. As one of the original four teams and a three-time Israel Bowl contender, the Lions are one of the more seasoned and well-equipped teams in the league. Even so, one player on the Lions had not received his jersey through customs and threw on an extra-large white T-shirt over his shoulder pads. His coach used a marker to scribble No. 86 on his back.


The game was unmistakably that of an amateur league. Tackles were missed more often than they were successful, 11 fumbles were committed and referees had to stop the game for minutes at a time to argue a ruling among themselves more than once.


But some talent came through. The Lions won, 36-6, in a dominating fashion, proving themselves an experienced and organized team.


Could this one day be a breeding ground for future football stars?


“Now I see it as a great amateur sport,” Kraft said. “It’d be great to one day see players developed to a higher level.”

The Israel Football League season has begun. This is not the standard flag football league that has been here for a while. This is full blown tackle football. The league has four teams and they just played their first games...Here is a review of the first football games...

While rumors abound about whether or not the Israel Baseball League will be opening for a second season or shutting its doors, another American sport is trying to find its way in Israel.

American Football. That's right - tackle football.

The Israel Football League will be trying to draw the attention of fans and players who enjoy the hard hitting, bone snapping game and considered baseball too complicated and boring.

The Messiah did not come at the end of the Israeli baseball season, so he must have been waiting for an American football league to open up...