Alley-Oop to Aliyah: African American Hoopsters in the Holy Land

by David A. Goldstein

Discover why Israel has become a popular destination for African American basketball players.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2017

Reviews

[Petra X]

"Discover why Israel has become a popular destination for African American basketball players", says the blurb.

The best bit so far is the shenaningans of getting the African-Americans onto the teams which are only allowed a certain number of foreign players each. American basketball-mad rabbis backdate certificates of conversion. They marry and divorce Israeli women for citizenship and everything they do is opposed by the religious right (of course) unless they happen to be sponsoring a basketball team themselves.

The answer to the blurb is because Israel is essentially the 51st state. 85% of the people speak English, KFC and MacDonalds are ubiquitous, the nightclubs in Tel Aviv play US music, the people are major basketball fans, and not only is there no racism of the kind that African-Americans are used to, they are absolutely worshipped! They don't like the language much though. There's always a fly in the ointment.

Reading the book, it swerves between the reality of living in a place which is an exotic, historic home-from-home to blatant propaganda. If it stays on the side of reality, I'm interested to read more, but more propaganda is going to get it a DNF status.

[Sid Groeneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should appeal to niche audiences, namely, Jews who enjoy sports (especially basketball). Perhaps also to fans of international basketball and to African-Americans who follow the professional game closely. Based on 30 interviews chosen from the hundreds of blacks who have played in Israel, Canadian writer David Goldstein illustrates the experiences and challenges of playing for Israeli teams and, in some cases, representing Israel in international competition. Beyond the game itself, the most fascinating parts focus on players who have taken Israeli citizenship, married Israeli women, and/or have even converted to Judaism. Overall, "Alley-Oop to Aliya" describes Israel as an attractive destination for former NBA players wanting to extend their careers, those aspiring to get there, and others of lesser caliber. In the process, it paints a mostly positive picture of Israeli life and culture.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A significant number of African-Americans have played on Israeli professional basketball teams in the past thirty plus years. Some used it as a stepping-stone to the NBA. They have also played on teams in Europe and other placed in the Mediterranean, but have found for the most part that if successful are considered family by team members and fans.

The book gave interesting insights of about a dozen players, about how they have changed basketball in Israel, about how they are received (and adored) by Israelis, their adaption to Israeli society, why some have stayed and settled in the country and many other fascinating points. The book is a bit choppy but definitely worth the read, especially for those interested in Israeli culture, for Jewish sports fans, and for others with a fascination in this topic.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good. Some minor things I wanted to nit-pick regarding Judaism and some of the presentations of the figures but really good. The author did not get into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at all which seemed like a conscious omission. Despite all this, really good overall.