#CrewSC forward Aaron Schoenfeld is linked with a move to Maccabi Netanya in Israel: https://t.co/y3eV8g0aGS (h/t @OriginalWinger @NJEMurray— Daniel Karell 🎗️ (@DanielKarell) January 1, 2016 Looks like Crew forward Aaron Schoenfeld has loan interest from Maccabi Netenya in Israel.
Interesting move for the guy, hope he does well. How often do we see Jewish Americans exploit the connection for a move to Israel? Hopefully he thrives; he's probably a good USL player and not much more in the States long term.
Not really. It just depends on whether they are seeking a transfer in the short term and how old they are when they arrive. Canadian striker, Daniel Haber, is the only Jewish player as of late who came to Israel and rejected citizenship due to mandatory IDF service. Noah Sadaoui was reportedly Jewish by Israeli media but that was never confirmed and he never got citizenship. Chilean forward, Sebastián Rozental, never served due to age. He is already 25 years old, which is near the cut-off, so I don't think he's at risk of anything.
I was speaking in general terms. The possibility of mandatory service may have discouraged some players from claiming Israeli citizenship in the past in an effort to play professionally.
Looks like Schoenfeld's odds have just decreased today on his first day. Netanya just signed Itzik Cohen, another forward, from Beitar Jerusalem to a 3.5 year deal.
According to Israeli site, One.co.il, Schoenfeld had an excellent showing today at training with Netanya. Another site, Sport5, goes a step further and says that they expect to sign him. Maccabi Netanya is doing a lot to try and save themselves from relegation. They've signed three players today.
Israeli paper, Yediot Ahronot, reported this morning that Netanya is interested in signing Schoenfeld depending on how quickly he can get temporary residency status from the Interior Ministry. They also said that Schoenfeld claims to have another offer in the US, probably a way to try and negotiate more than the USD $7K a month Netanya are willing to offer him.
Sport5 is reporting that Schoenfeld has signed until the end of the season with an option for another season. He'll reportedly make $6K per month. No word on what Leo Krupnik will receive as a commission. All paperwork for citizenship has been submitted to the Interior Ministry and Netanya are just waiting for approval from the league.
Not so fast says Israeli sport site, One.co.il According to them, Schoenfeld has not put pen to paper because they will not be handing him a contract without confirmation from the Interior Ministry that his paperwork is in order and he would not count as a foreigner as the club has already filled the maximum amount of slots in their squad.
Sport5 is reporting that if the process will take longer than two weeks for the paperwork to be processed then Maccabi Netanya will drop their interest in Schoenfeld.
Well, today Maccabi Netanya was supposed to find out from the Interior Ministry how long Aaron Schoenfeld's paperwork would take to get temporary or permanent residence or even full citizenship. No reports though have come out regarding the answer. This may be because today, Netanya's manager, Reuven Atar, was released by management following yesterday's poor result. All three of Netanya's new signings (Thiago Santos, Itzik Cohen and Sa'ar Benbenisti) performed poorly and the loss left Netanya winless in their last 12 matches. They are still in last place, but only eight points out of safety. Hapoel Haifa 2-0 Maccabi Netanya Sammy Ofer Stadium (attendance: 3,100) Fulltime Elbaz ('7) El Lala ('36) Interest in Schoenfeld may go with Atar but let's wait and see if the media reports anything tomorrow.
Latest update from Sport5 is that Schoenfeld has been trying to get in contact with a rabbi in Nashville, Tennessee who can send a letter proving that he is of Jewish descent. It seems that his ties to the community are limited and the only documentation he had was a certificate from a ceremony for his becoming Bar Mitzvah. Israeli media reached a new low by posting a picture of it in the article. Why it was necessary is beyond me...
His parents are saying, "You think we would have paid all that money for a bar mitzvah if we aren't Jewish?!!!"
Just so we're all clear, Ashkenazi Jewish culture is not Israeli culture. But here is the certificate that was so vital to their story.