Pop star Noa Kirel brought sparks of hope and reflection to Brooklyn Thursday when her beautiful rendition of the Israeli national anthem brought emotion to the Barclays Center during an exhibition game between the Brooklyn Nets and Israeli team Maccabi Ra'anana.
The Israeli team had only been in the U.S. for three days when tragedy struck their home country in the form of Hamas' surprise attack last Saturday, yet they are still playing their hearts out and inspiring those watching.
"My heart is broken," Yehu Orland, Maccabi Ra'anana's head coach, told FOX News on Saturday.
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"I lost a good friend of mine, and I care about his family and about his kids… is it about basketball? Yeah, of course. It's hard to focus on basketball in those moments, but I chose that profession, and I will do it the best I can."
Orland's friend Eli Ginsburg served in the military for 23 years, but retired last month. As soon as the war started, he took up arms again to fight for his country, but lost his life.
Kilmeade, speaking to Orland, said, "You told me almost everyone in Israel knows somebody that was affected directly by the attacks. That's amazing."
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"That's amazing and sad," Orland replied. "It's really sad and hard to understand if you are not living in Israel. People ask me why we stay and play. We said our bodies are the in the United States, but our minds and our hearts are in Israel is because we need to give hope for those kids, for those babies, for those young people that live in Israel, and to show them that we are a strong country."
"In Israel, the strong people have to go forward through this all."
Orland told the media during the pre-game he anticipated his own emotions would run high as the anthem played.
"I told them I might cry and that's all right. It's a personal tragedy for me, but it's also tragedy for Israel as a country. So, yes, I cried a little bit, but that's fine with me. I have no need to be ashamed or that."
As the nation's war against Hamas terrorists reaches day eight, Israelis like Orland and their allies continue to reel with emotions and fear for the fate of the innocent. As of early Sunday, at least 3,600 people have died in the war, including at least Israeli civilians and soldiers and 29 Americans.
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