Pursuing in Israel the Krivine “Tennis for All” vision of “building opportunity, friendship and understanding between Jewish and Arab communities” is never more urgent.

By David E. Kaplan

One would expect or at least hope our political leaders should set examples  for coexistence but not so.

Clearly not the present crop of Israel’s leadership!

Did our paranoid Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, so quick to cry out that “Arabs are stealing the Israeli election”  implying 20% of the population was taking something that was not theirs – the vote – ever think apart from moral repugnance how this would reflect on the country’s image?

Far removed from this current government’s stigmatization of Arabs, thankfully, there are Israelis, not politicians but ordinary citizens who do care an are trying to build bridges instead of walls between Arab and Jewish communities. I was reminded by this by Fonda Dubb, who a few days before the October 27, 2026 election, participated in a poetry reading at the home  of Jane Krivine in Yichron Yaacov. Jane is the daughter of the late Freddie Krivine (1920-2005) and is the Chief Executive Officer at Freddie Krivine Initiative fulfilling the legacy of her late father who in 1992, championed tennis programs in Arab communities and set up a groundbreaking initiative during the Second Intifada in 2000, bringing together Jewish and Arab Israeli children.

‘COACHING’ COEXISTENCE

While the country was in turmoil and communities lived in fear during this period characterized by intense violence, suicide bombings, and military incursions, Krivine’s “Tennis for All”  initiative brought Jewish children from Caesarea, and Arab kids from Jisr a Zarqa and Faradis  together to learn and play tennis. “The point was that Israeli youngsters representing diverse cultures and religions but who REPRESENT THE FUTURE were through my father’s favorite sport coming together and being enriched by the physical and social engagement,” says Jane. Not only will they emerge as  tennis players as they advance to adulthood but also be better understanding human beings of each other. This is the underlying philosophy of the initiative.

Despite Freddie being advised he was crazy to attempt such a project during such a volatile time, when just boarding a bus or stepping into a restaurant was risking your life, “My dad believed it was precisely the moment to drive social change and unite Jews and Arabs through his beloved sport,” explains his daughter Jane.

Born in Harrogate, England in 1920, Freddie forged a connection with the emerging Jewish state early during the era of the British Mandate, studying at Pardes Hannah Agricultural College in 1935 before returning home and serving in the British army during World War II. A tennis enthusiast, Freddie would go on to co-found the Israel Tennis Centers in 1972 and moved to Israel in 1984, where he became Director of Women’s Tennis, propelling players like Anna Smashnova, Tzippi Obziler, and Shachar Peer into the international top 100 — a feat Britain wouldn’t achieve for another decade.

RIGHT MOVE AT RIGHT TIME

Continuing Freddie’s vision following his passing in 2005, his daughter Jane established a charity in his name to continue and expand his work.

She explains:

“My father could see that Jewish and Arabs lived in homogeneous communities and didn’t mix and he knew that it was important to have Israeli-Arab children participating in the wider community. And then suddenly the Second Intifada blew up, and people were saying to him you’re mad Freddie, don’t go ahead with this now, its just not the right time. And he said “You’re wrong. It is absolutely the right time”.”

The head coach of the Freddie Krivine Initiative is an Arab who was one of Freddie’s first recruits. Mohameed  Rashwan was  8-years-old when:

“… they came to my school. They told us there was a tennis class but we did not know what tennis really was. I knew that we were going to a sport class; I through, ‘why not – I’d get out of the village, take a bus, it will be fun,’ but nothing more than that.”

It turned out much more; it proved transformative. Stepping onto the court all those years ago was a step in a new direction.

Recalls Jane:

 “Mohameed was one of the first children to join the program, he was a very keen tennis player, always smiling, and now he is a grown man and our head coach. When he switches languages from Hebrew to Arabic while coaching it has an impact – it normalizes healthy interaction between young minds. People, who otherwise would not meet and get to know one another start relating at a young age to each other and in each other’s language; it is so important.  One has to work at it and that is what we are doing.”

THE SCORE CARD

The FKI has two major goals. The first is working with Arab children from low socio-economic villages, focusing on empowerment and helping them integrate into Israeli wider society. The second is to organize activities for the wider community in order to mobilize participation of as many Jewish and Arab children “to run around playing together. Tennis is the tool to bring them together,” says Jane.

Moriah a young Jewish summer camp participant explains:

“I didn’t know I would be good at tennis or even if I like tennis when I joined the camp but it turns out that its great fun playing tennis, Jews and Arabs together,” and shows a bracelet on her arm made by one of her new Arab friends.

Bracha Birbaum-Gerish, a parent of a FKI participant, offers her perspective that the program provides a real and meaningful channel to actualize her ideals:

“So, you can believe in something and say you want peace,  and that you want to get along with everybody, but few ever actually go out there and talk to someone different from them. This program has been taking everything I believe in and putting it into action.”

No one said it would be easy. Explains Jane:

“It’s quite a leap of trust for young children to spend time with other children who speak another language; who live in the same country but have never met but then we see the success – how they play with each other; how they lose all that sense of mistrust. I then see the effect it has on their parents and on the wider community.”

Says parent Bracha Birbaum-Gerish:

“October 7 felt like a big blow  to the ideology of peace and coexistence. Having said that, it does not take away from the fact we don’t have any other choice. I cannot envision any other future. What is the alternative?”

The message from the Krivine vision says Freddie Krivine Initiative Director Lee Wilson  “is to support programs like these that encourage Israeli communities – Jewish and Arab – to keep  building a society that is equal for everyone because at the end of the day, none of us are going anywhere. We have one country, and we are all destined to live here together.”

In Israel’s troubled times of today, Director Wilson maintains the spirit of the late Freddie Krivine when she recalls “When everyone told him, ‘This isn’t the time,’ he would reply, ‘This is exactly the right time!’ “We, too, believe right now — when Israel is in crisis – this is the time to keep building relationships for a better Israel.”

Over the years since her father’s passing in 2005, the Initiative under Jane’s leadership has:

– expanded its tennis programs in disadvantaged Arab communities

–  introduced after-school homework clubs, summer camps, educational support and

 –  initiated joint Jewish-Arab community activities.

Says Jane, “I say to people, I inherited this charity, this non-profit from my father, it was his legacy to me. And now I know I am at that point in my life that I can pass that legacy on to the next generation.”

In June 2022, the Freddie Krivine Initiative received the Israeli Parliament’s Quality of Life Prize for its efforts to promote social mobility among Arab youth and to foster coexistence by bringing together Jewish and Arab children through tennis.
The award was presented by then Speaker of the Knesset, Mickey Levi to founder Jane Krivine, celebrating 22 years of impactful work.

In 2025 which marked a quarter-century of bringing children together through tennis, education and shared experiences, the three daughters of Mackie Behrman, a much-loved cousin of Freddie Krivine initiated an annual Arab and Jewish children’s tournament in his memory – the Mackie Behrman Memorial Tournament. Following this in 2026, is the inauguration in November of the Tennis Together Doubles Open for adults at the Haifa Tennis Centre. Each doubles team will comprise one Arab player and one Jewish player.

Looking back, more than 10,000 children have benefited from FKI programs with former participants having become doctors, teachers, business owners and professional tennis coaches, with some now mentoring the next generation.

The message of the FKI is “Tennis Together” – with the focus on together. It’s a message we need to all embrace as we venture forth into the future.

*Feature picture: Tennis Together. Jewish and Arab Children together at Freddie Krivine Initiative’s Club on Moshav Beit Hanannia. (Photo courtesy of FKI)

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