Published: 23 September 2022
Last updated: 5 March 2024
JONO BARUCH: There’s another big match at the G this weekend: the Jolson-Houli Unity Cup to promote interfaith understanding via the footy field.
The biggest week on the AFL calendar will climax on Saturday afternoon with the grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans will battle it out for the premiership flag.
But the big match will not be the last game of Aussie Rules played this year on the hallowed turf of the MCG. On Sunday, Jewish and Muslin teenagers will compete in the third annual Jolson-Houli Unity Cup match.
Although the crowd will probably only number in the hundreds, the impact of this match will be much larger. Created by the AFL Peace Team, the Unity Cup celebrates the Jewish and Muslim community’s contribution to, and participation in, the great game of Aussie Rules.
A partnership between Maccabi Victoria, The Henry Jolson Pathway Programs, Ajax FC, the Melbourne Cricket Club, The Bachar Houli Foundation and the Richmond Football Club, the fixture is only one component of a program that brings Jewish and Muslim teenagers together in the name of mutual respect, harmony, and unity.
The program also involves other meetings between the players and social activities. In March/April next year a combined Jolson/Houli team will play a second game against an Indigenous team.
For members of the Jolson squad, the build-up to Sunday’s match has provided an opportunity to meet and become friends with teenagers they wouldn't necessarily associate with.
Maor Chrapot, captain of the Jolson team in 2021, will run out on the MCG on Sunday having played in both previous Unity Cup games. He is looking forward to catching up with the Houli players he met in the previous encounters, both of which were won by the Houli academy.
Chrapot admits there was some apprehension at the start of the program when he was meeting the Houli squad at the first joint training session but says those fears were quickly allayed and relationships started forming.
"I was a bit nervous because it was the first time something like this had been introduced," Chrapot told The Jewish Independent this week. "I missed the first training with them. I was there to start the second training and I didn't know what to expect.
"But as soon as I got there, all the [Houli] boys came up to introduce themselves, and they were really nice.”
The joint training session was a way to break the ice. The lunch that followed was the start of the barriers being broken down between the two groups.
We're kind of seen as enemies sometimes. But we were able to find some common ground, speak for 45 minutes - the conversation just kept flowing.
"We had training with them, which was really good. Then we had lunch with them and sat around talking. I learned so much from their culture,” Chrapot says.
When he was named captain of the Jolson team for the 2021 match, Chrapot phoned the captain of the Houli team.
They knew each other from previous matches and meet-ups and it was a chance to reconnect and chew the fat. "We still keep in contact" Chrapot says, “and a couple of other boys as well that I've met along the way.
"We had a game earlier in the year (a combined Jolson/Houli team) against an Indigenous team, which was an incredible experience.
"We're kind of seen as enemies sometimes. But we were able to find some common ground, speak for 45 minutes - the conversation just kept flowing. Everyone was very interested. At the end, I really didn't see why the Jews and Muslims are portrayed as enemies.
"Talking about their culture was incredible. Even learning that they pray five times every day. Before the game they did it in the same changeroom as us.
"Linking up with these boys again will be an exciting experience. And hopefully, after the game, I'll be able to be able to talk to them a bit more as well and meet up with them."
Sunday will also be the first time a player will grace the MCG wearing a yarmulke. Joel Parasol, who played in last year's Unity Cup game at Punt Road Oval is looking at this program as a chance to not only develop relationships but build more pride in his Jewish identity.
"A lot of the time on the footy field, wearing a kippah … you get comments thrown at you that are pretty negative," Parasol says. "I think one of the objectives of this program is to allow you to play in such an open and welcoming environment and be strong about who you are."
After being selected in the squad again this year, Parasol said he was excited to not only represent his community but to be involved in an event that includes both the Jewish and Muslim communities.
The Houli Foundation is named after Bachar Houli, a three-time premiership player for Richmond, who says the interfaith program is powerful for future leaders in both communities.
"What this program does is show these boys that they are not too different at all," Houli says.
"There are some seriously skilled players on both sides, and it shows the power of sport that they can come together to showcase this on the big stage of the MCG.
"We are proud of this program. We look forward to seeing what these brilliant future Islamic and Jewish leaders can achieve for their own communities and broader Australian communities."
Gates open at the MCG on Sunday at 9am with the first game (U15s) commencing at 9.30am and the second game (U18s) starting at 11am. Entry is free.
Photo: Action from the Jolson-Houli Unity Cup game at the MCG in 2019
Images courtesy of Maccabi Victoria
