Sounds of silence: Israeli sports return, but minus fans who define them
BEITAR JERUSALEM players celebrate a dramatic late winner at Teddy Stadium – their joy echoing through empty stands as fans cheer from afar in homes and shelters across Israel. (photo credit: BEITAR JERUSALEM/COURTESY) As the Israel Soccer League resumed play across the country this week, the atmosphere was eerie. It evoked the empty-stadium days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Sports are supposed to be played in front of fans. Period. But in Israel right now, that simple truth feels almost like a memory.
Due to restrictions imposed by the Home Front Command amid the ongoing war with Iran, professional sports have returned – but without the one element that gives them life: the crowd. As the Israel Soccer League resumed play across the country this week, the atmosphere was eerie. It evoked the empty-stadium days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but this carried a heavier emotional weight.
Players lined up for “Hatikva” in near silence, while artificial crowd noise was piped into broadcasts. Every shout from the coaches, every touch of the ball echoed through cavernous venues in Jerusalem, Netanya, Beersheba, and Nazareth, each limited to roughly 150 people. The games went on, but the spirit of the sport felt detached from the field.
That reality struck even harder in Netanya, where one match was temporarily halted due to incoming missile fire . Players were rushed off the pitch into a shelter as explosions were heard overhead. When the all-clear was given, they returned to the field and resumed play – as if such interruptions were just another part of the matchday routine.