When I was in yeshiva I had a rebbe who said that professional sports, such as football and baseball, is really a good thing. He explained that football and baseball games keep hundreds of thousands of people off the streets, busy and distracted with these sports games. If not for the daily baseball game, if not for the weekly football game, many of those people, whether the athletes or the fans in the stands and watching on tv or playing it themselves and trying to emulate the athletes, would be turning their attention to the Jews. Basically, professional sports keep thugs and anti-semites off the street and distracted.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman wants to channel that sentiment and apply it to the Palestinians.
According to Galei Tzahal News, Lieberman is planning to build ten football (soccer) fields in the Palestinian areas. Lieberman is hoping that having nice football fields to play in will keep them busy and distract the Palestinian youth and take them away from violence and attacking Jews with stone throwing at Jewish cars in the streets.
Lieberman plans, in general, to use the carrot and stick method - he plans on coming down with a hard hand on areas from which violence emanates, and be generous and supportive of areas that are cooperative and maintain the quiet. He says that the football fields is just one initiative he is planning, but there will definitely be more and the Arab areas that keep law and order will be rewarded with better lives.
I don't know if ten fields is enough to make a significant difference, but it is, I think, a good idea, and at least a good start. Maybe he should also section off sections of professional stadiums and encourage Palestinians to watch the professional sports, which would naturally encourage the kids to spend more time playing and following sports, distracting them from the streets.
And. considering their highly developed throwing skills (from throwing all those rocks), Lieberman might consider building them baseball fields as well and teaching them how to use a baseball bat. Or maybe putting another potential weapon in their hands is a bad idea.
If you build it they will come.
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