Visit To Children’s Summer Camp in Ramla- 2001

Before the afternoon’s training session, USA Rugby paid a visit to a children’s summer camp in Ramla (not Ramala in the West Bank), a small city located about 25km east of Tel Aviv, home to most of Israel’s 100,000 Ethiopian Jewish immigrants.  The team spent about 90 minutes playing with the Ethiopian and Israeli children, an activity at least as grueling as a hard-hitting game of rugby.  The children enjoyed playing soccer, basketball and football with the ruggers, and treated the squad like rock stars as they pressed the team for autographs.  The session finished up with a sing-a-long of traditional Israeli songs and smiles.  The visit will be long-remembered by both the team and the children.