The Footballer Who Returned to Religion — and Brought Tennis to the Haredi Sector

In the midst of the riots over the draft law and the wall standing between the secular and Haredi public, there are also places where harmony prevails. It will not fix the country, but it gives a small spark of hope for connections that can, through sports, sow a little sanity in the fratricidal war that is unfortunately emerging here.

Our story begins with 36-year-old Ziv Oson, who was a talented football player as a center-back in all the youth department teams of Maccabi Haifa, alongside names like Shlomi Azulay, Eyal Golasa, Taleb Tawatha, and Mohammed Ghadir. "The period in Haifa," he says, "taught me that no matter how different the backgrounds are between you and the rest of the players on the team, you can be friends and family, with great love and mutual respect." Shortly before breaking into the senior team, Oson decided to start a process of returning to religion, which caused him to abandon the dream of wearing green and go down to Liga Aleph, where they do not play on Saturdays.

After completing a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in public policy, Oson founded the "Goal for God" (Gol LaShem) association, whose goal is to combine sports with Jewish values. "I took a different verse from the weekly Torah portion each time and turned it into a slogan for the children who train with me, with an explanation of how that verse relates to their world on the field," he says. "In one case, we took the verse 'And Aaron was silent' and did an entire training session in silence. Just without uttering a sound. The teachers asked me where I got this brilliant idea from."

The barrier is broken. The "Goal for God" association, with the support of the Azrieli-S.S.I Foundation, began operating in 2024, with 40 sports teams and about 800 children participating. One of the ideas was to make tennis accessible to the Haredi sector — a high mountain to climb, considering that the director of the tennis center, Danny Mizrahi, admits: "Tennis is perceived as an elitist game. But we have projects with at-risk youth, and we managed to make the game accessible to almost everyone. As far as the Haredi sector is concerned, we simply didn't find the formula."

The formula was brought by Oson: "We arrived very attentive and inclusive, with a real desire to provide the Talmud Torah with all the envelope and conditions that Haredi children need to start training." Oson faced a demanding list of requirements from the "LeMa'an Achai - T.T. Sha'arei Torah" Talmud Torah in Jerusalem:

1. Children arrive in their own clothes — a buttoned white shirt and black pants — and forgo wearing tennis uniforms.

2. The court is covered and isolated from any other court to avoid exposure to girls or inappropriate language.

3. Emphasis is placed on values, respect, and politeness, making the students feel as if they were in their own Talmud Torah.

"There was a fear that tennis would spoil the children and expose them to things that are, for them, the ultimate prohibition," emphasizes Oson. "We clarified in advance that we just want to prove that it is possible to do sports and continue to be Torah observant. We proved that it is possible otherwise."

At the last training session of the season, 27 toddlers were enjoying every moment with the racket. The children, with black kippahs and long sidelocks, manage a tennis game as if they were already professionals. Recently, the project received the Azrieli Prize. Rabbi Ephraim Reznik, who served in the IDF, is very satisfied: "We are open to any cooperation, as long as all our conditions are met. We are happy that the children are enjoying themselves and experiencing something new. I hope there are those who understand that these connections can be maintained in all areas of life. Everything depends on will, acceptance, and flexibility."