And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: Howbeit on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; there shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work; it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of solemn rest, and ye shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye keep your sabbath. (Leviticus 23:26-32)
The Israeli tennis team competing in the Davis Cup is being fined €10,000 (over $13,000 US) to change the date of its match against Belgium so as not to play on Yom Kippur.
Because the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, the dates of the various Jewish holidays shift throughout the secular year. This year, Yom Kippur falls out on Saturday, September 14. The Israel-Belgium tennis match was set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday of that week originally. When the dates were announced, the Israeli team immediately requested a postponement.
According to the Davis Cup website, both teams agreed to the change. The match will now begin on Thursday. The World Tennis Association, however, has ordered the Israeli team to pay €10,000 to the Belgian team as compensation.
Initially, the Belgian team was unwilling to postpone the game. According to Israel Tennis Association chairman Yossi Touchmair, “However, after the intervention of the International Tennis Federation, it was determined that the Yom Kippur game would be played on September 13, 2013.”
In a statement on the ITA website, Touchmair said, “The Israel Tennis Association is a non-profit organization, which designates all of its funds to promote tennis in Israel and develop Israeli tennis players. As a result, the high fine is a detrimental blow for the budget of the professional program for the Israeli tennis teams and to Israeli tennis in general.
“As an institution that represents the State of Israel and its values, we in the Israeli Tennis Association stand proud, before all those who refuse to recognize the importance of the Jewish tradition, on behalf of Israel and Jews world over.”
The Davis Cup website noted that the Israeli team faced a similar challenge in 2010 against the Austrian team. According to ITA CEO Shlomo Glickstein, “This has already happened in the past with a match in Switzerland which fell on Rosh Hashana, but other cases which also involved Yom Kippur were mainly with games which were held in Israel, so we will probably have to pay the Belgians.”
Among athletes that have refused to compete on Yom Kippur are Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax, both baseball players. Last month, Israel’s fledgeling women’s lacrosse team refused to play on Shabbat, forcing them to forfeit their final game in which they would have competed for sixth place.
