cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";} In a short window of some twenty minutes, Prince WIlliam got a whirlwind introduction to Tel Aviv beach culture during a visit with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai to the popular and ever-bustling Frishman beach on Tuesday afternoon.The two watched a spot of footvolley before climbing up the steps of the lifeguard tower for a good view of the sea. The Duke of Cambridge then returned to the sand where top Israeli surfers Lee Korzits, Omri Hazor and Shushu Aharoni were waiting for a scheduled chat with him.On his way over to them, the prince made the effort to stop and talk to people watching and cheering from the sidelines before telling them to "enjoy the beach. "William told Huldai he was sorry he hadn't brought his swimming trunks to such a beautiful beach and the mayor presented the prince with flip flops and a towel.The three surfers had brought white, red and blue surf boards to the beach in honor of the British flag and they waited for William around a plate of watermelon and Bulgarian cheese - a popular Israeli beach snack.Taking to The Jerusalem Post ahead of the prince’s arrival, windsurfing champion Korzits said she was excited to meet William and quipped that felt like she was about to meet a character from Game of Thrones, a fantasy drama TV series which features many British actors playing royals.William discussed with the surfers youth empowerment and environmental protection, both causes supported by William and his brother Prince Harry.He then joined a short game of volleyball before heading to the next location on his itinerary.Earlier in the afternoon, William attended a soccer game sponsored by The Equalizer and Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, with the participation of dozens of Jewish and Arab children at the Neve Golan Stadium in Jaffa.During the event, William took part in a penalty shootout, scoring two out of three attempted goals.Chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and the son of Shimon Peres, Chemi Peres, presented William with his father's book No Room for Small Dreams. William told Peres how important it had been to his father Prince Charles to attend the late president's funeral. "We thank you for your visit and we are proud to continue the legacy of peace and coexistence in Israel, through sports," Peres told William.<doc-sep>TEL AVIV — Britain’s Prince William strolled along a trendy Tel Aviv boulevard with Israeli Eurovision song contest winner Netta Barzilai on Wednesday to the delight of cheering onlookers. But there was no “chicken-dance,” Barzilai’s signature move performed as part of her women’s empowerment hit “I’m Not Your Toy” during the 2018 song-fest. William, second in line to the throne, is on the first official visit by a British royal to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He later traveled to the occupied West Bank and met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Muqata, the headquarters of the Palestinian government in Ramallah, where William was given a red carpet welcome that included an honor guard and a band. The prince and Abbas made no immediate comments to reporters. In downtown Tel Aviv, William walked with the purple-braided singer along Rothschild Boulevard. The tree-lined avenue at the heart of the city’s financial districts contains shops, restaurants and galleries. The day before, he had focused in his first engagements on honoring the memory of victims of the Nazi Holocaust. William and Barzilai chatted at a kiosk, described as one of the first refreshment stands in Tel Aviv. They were served Gazoz, a retro Israeli soft drink made from flavored syrup and fizzy water. “We love William,” a clutch of female tourists, standing among a cheering crowd held back by barriers, shouted at the 36-year-old prince. He smiled in response. On Tuesday, William, wearing a button-down shirt and trousers, walked along the Tel Aviv shore as beachgoers snapped photographs. After meeting Barzilai, he chatted with environmental activists at a rooftop reception at Beit Ha’ir, a Tel Aviv museum, where he poked fun at his choice of attire for the beach visit a day earlier. “Yesterday, it was a little bit tricky: I turned up like this on the beach. I was like, really?” Asked if he should have opted for swimwear, William said: “No. I wouldn’t. You see, there’s too many cameras around. But another time I might have done. I’ll get beach-ready for Israel the next time.” In the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, the prince is scheduled to meet Palestinian youngsters after seeing Abbas. William met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Unlike William, Netanyahu did perform the chicken dance when he met Barzilai in May. The video, which the prime minister posted on his social media pages, went viral. William’s trip, which ends Thursday with a visit to holy sites, is at the behest of the British government. Until now it had been British policy not to make an official royal visit until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved. British officials have given no detailed explanation for the change in policy, other than saying that the time was right for the visit, during which William hoped to shine a spotlight on the young generation of Israelis and Palestinians and their hopes for the future.<doc-sep>In Israel, the saying goes that the army is the “great equalizer.” But after almost 10 years of rapid growth, a kids' soccer program that Prince William visited in Tel Aviv Tuesday is trying to challenge that claim. During the first official visit by a member of the British royal family to Israel, the Duke of Cambridge made time to watch a soccer game cosponsored by the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and The Equalizer – a sports and educational program for marginalized Israeli youth. Britain's Prince William playing soccer with children in Jaffa. Credit: Haaretz For the young Jewish and Arab players, it was their first time playing together in mixed teams rather than as opponents. Prince William appears to have asked for some distance from the press on the sidelines of Tuesday’s event in order to chat privately with some of the participants, including a group of female players. He also took to the field himself and was pictured taking a penalty kick. Tomer Hemed, a member of Israel’s national soccer team and the English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, also attended the exhibition game and posed alongside the British royal for a group photo. Haaretz attended one of The Equalizer’s regional tournaments – in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv – ahead of the royal visit. Open gallery view Karam taking part in an Equalizer session in Herzliya. "It’s like we’re becoming connected," says the 12-year-old from the predominantly Arab city of Baka al-Garbiyeh. Credit: Kyle Mackie “It’s like we’re becoming connected,” said Karam, 12, a first-year program participant from the predominantly Arab city of Baka al-Garbiyeh in northern Israel. This is the second time I’ve come to a tournament and met Jewish children,” he said. “We play together with good sportsmanship. If someone falls or anything happens to [a Jewish player], someone would come and help him and wish him well.” “One of the things I like about The Equalizer is to meet children who are talking a different language than me,” said 11-year-old Haim, who is Jewish. “When you play football, you don’t have to talk the same language.” >> Prince William's Visit to Israel and 'Occupied' Jerusalem: Official Itinerary Prince William helps Netanyahu crack the diplomatic isolation theory | Analysis ■Journalist barred from covering William's visit over suspicion he is Muslim Open gallery view Haim at The Equalizer tournament in Herzliya. "One of the things I like about The Equalizer is to meet children who are talking a different language than me." Credit: Kyle Mackie The Equalizer, which is partly funded by the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, aims to level the playing field for a broad range of Israeli youth. Participants include boys and girls, secular and religious Jews, Muslim and Christian Arabs, Bedouin, Druze and new immigrants. Founded in 2009 with just seven teams and 100 kids, The Equalizer now has 220 teams and 3,500 participants around the country. Open gallery view The Equalizer founder and executive director, Liran Gerassi. "At the beginning of the year, the kids are a little bit afraid to meet an Arab kid or a Jewish kid." Credit: Kyle Mackie “The program is based on the assumption that kids from underprivileged areas of Israel really love soccer, and they usually can't afford to participate in any soccer club or soccer team after school hours,” said The Equalizer's founder and executive director, Liran Gerassi. “We give them this opportunity – but we give them this opportunity with a small condition.” In order to play at two weekly soccer practices, Equalizer participants also have to attend two weekly after-school study sessions. Once a month, the teams in each region meet and play against each other in a tournament. But since the teams are made up of participants from the same schools, the players are largely segregated by language and religion. Prior to Prince William’s visit, the only kids who had practiced and competed together in mixed teams were part of a pilot program in Jerusalem during the 2017-2018 school year. Regardless, Gerassi said he wasn’t worried about Jewish and Arab kids from Jaffa playing together for the first time in front of a royal visitor, because “they live in a mixed city.” (Although Jaffa is now officially part of Tel Aviv, historically it was always an overwhelmingly Arab city in Israel.) “At the beginning of the year, the kids are a little bit afraid to meet an Arab kid or a Jewish kid – and suddenly they get together once every month or so. They get to learn about each other and they shake hands," Gerassi explains. Open gallery view Participants in the Equalizer soccer tournament in Herzliya. Credit: Kyle Mackie “They now can trust each other and see that [the other] is not a monster, he’s a human being just like you.”<doc-sep>The royal dad landed in Tel Aviv on Monday to kick off his historic trip Prince William Just Became the First Royal to Touch Down in Israel for Official Visit William, 36, left Amman after two successful days highlighting the links between Britain and Jordan, visiting archeological ruins and building a new friendship with Crown Prince Hussein, 23. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Now comes the more challenging part of his Middle East tour, as the royal dad endeavors to build bridges, cement old friendships and see for himself the communities that make up both historic Jerusalem and the disputed territories he is also set to tour. Prince William Middle East Tour, Tel Aviv, Israel - 25 Jun 2018 Prince William arriving in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 25, 2018. | Credit: Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock “The complex challenges in the region are of course well known,” William’s spokesman, Jason Knauf, said in a run-up to the historic visit. “The non-political nature of His Royal Highness’s role — in common with all Royal visits overseas — allows a spotlight to be brought to bear on the people of the region: their cultures, their young people, their aspirations, and their experiences.” “In cities with storied histories that are never far from the headlines, The Duke’s goal will be to meet as many people from as many walks of life as possible,” Knauf said, “and to use the spotlight that his visit will bring to celebrate their hopes for the future.” Prince William Middle East Tour, Tel Aviv, Israel - 25 Jun 2018 Prince William in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 25, 2018. | Credit: Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock RELATED VIDEO: Commercial Flights, Color-Coded Luggage & More: Here’s How to Travel Like Your Favorite Royals William is staying at the famed King David Hotel in Jerusalem and will begin Tuesday at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center also located in the Israeli capital.<doc-sep>
Prince William has arrived in Israel, marking the first time a Royal has made an official visit to the country and the Palestinian territories. The Duke of Cambridge touched down in Tel Aviv on Monday evening after two days in Jordan, where he toured the Roman ruins of Jerash, met Syrian refugees and sat down with 23-year-old Crown Prince Hussain to watch England's 6-1 World Cup win over Panama. But the focus now turns to his solo journey to Israel and Palestine. It is one fraught with political overtones despite Kensington Palace reinforcing the "non-political nature of His Royal Highnesses' work". During the tour he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and in times where a mere tweet can cause ripples around the globe, words have to be chosen wisely. A taste of that came just last week, when several Israeli MPs voiced their outrage after the Royal itinerary mentioned that the Duke's visit to the Old City in Jerusalem was in the "the occupied Palestinian Territories". The Old City is part of East Jerusalem, and much of the international community does not recognise Israel's annexation of the area. Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze'ev Elkin said the reference was a "distortion" that "cannot change reality". Britain's Prince William walks with Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein at the ancient city of Jerash, Jordan June 25, 2018. ( Reuters The tour has put the 36-year-old prince in an "appalling position", according to Ben Jamal, director of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. "The decisions about where the Royal family go are made not by the Royal family, but by the UK Government, and I think the responsibility for putting a member of the Royal family in what I would describe a completely invidious position, where he is at risk of being seen to sugar-coat, to normalise human rights abuses, that responsibility rests with [British Prime Minister] Theresa May," Mr Jamal said. Prince William meets with disadvantaged women at the Princess Teghrid Institute for Development and Training in Jordan. ( Reuters "So it is impossible in that context for the first visit not to be political, and obviously the concern is that if you're reversing a policy that has existed for 70 years, you need to have a very reason why you're doing that. "The only good that can come out of this is if it brings international attention to the continuing oppression of the Palestinian people and need for action to end that." Others are more optimistic about what a Royal visit could do for the troubled region, as well as Britain's Jewish community, the Jewish Leadership Council's CEO, Simon Johnson, said. Prince William visits women north of the Jordanian capital Amman. ( Reuters "We've waited a long time for an official visit of this nature, and we're delighted that the Duke of Cambridge will be spending time in the region and proper time in Israel learning about the country and meeting people and experiencing some of the issues that are relevant on the ground," Mr Johnson said. "There's no question that diplomatically its very sensitive, and I'm sure that Kensington Palace and the Foreign Office are tiptoeing appropriately around the areas that might create flashpoints." While some of the sites the Duke will visit are not officially listed on his itinerary due to apparent political sensitivity, the ones that are have been warmly received, including him meeting young Israelis and Palestinians. "For this visit he is not going to just be in a series of rooms shaking hands with politicians," Mr Johnson said. "What he will be doing is getting out and seeing the vibrancy of this most vibrant part of the world. "I think that the pictures you will see of the heir to the British throne in some of the world's most holy religious sites, meeting ordinary people in one of the world's most scrutinised areas, I think will be very powerful. "I think it will be very powerful for that region, and very powerful for the Royal family as well."