Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Hapoel Jerusalem’s practice on Tuesday morning along with Culture and Sports Minister Hili Tropper to talk to the club about the importance they saw in having sports continue without limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am very happy to be here this morning together with my friend the Minister of Culture and Sports Hili Tropper,” the Prime Minister said. “Anthony Bennett is also here, so I feel that I am with family. I’m happy that life is beginning to return to normal and yesterday you won the game with a big crowd of fans on hand.”

“The goal from the beginning was to live side by side with the coronavirus and not close down the country which would have been the easiest thing to do. The infection rate is decreasing and while we may be winning right now against the Delta variant the fight is not over.”

“We will do everything so that we can continue to play sports, in parallel with the issues that may come up. We try to find the most creative solutions because sports are a joy of life, sports are health, sports are mental health. Sports are also a source of employment and part of the economy for many people and it is no less important than taking care of the Coronavirus itself.”

“I want to wish all of you great success. Since Hili and I came here our expectation is that you will be European champions. This is the expectation. We trust you.”

Check out how Bennett set up Bennett!

Israel PM Naftali Bennett sets up former #1 overall NBA Draft Pick Anthony Bennett for an Alley-Oop! Cool! 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 https://t.co/BdbIz7BX2C

— Sports Rabbi (@thesportsrabbi) October 19, 2021