“When I played in the Maccabi youth department my grandfather used to come to the matches and when a player would run into me, which happened often enough, he would stand in the tribune and cry. As I became a bit older I asked him not to come to the matches anymore,” explained Guy Tzarfati who remembered the situation with his grandfather Itzhak Hecht’s very well.

Former player and Under-19 coach Guy Tzarfati became a mainstay in the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad and Israel National Team and experienced many fine moments in his career as well as challenging ones too. But he always knew how to handle anything that came his way and continued on. 

This part of his character, explained Tzarfati was part of him as his grandfather Itzhak Hecht, a Holocaust survivor would tell him about the days of horror and difficulty he spent during the inferno that surrounded Europe.

The decision to join the Polish army at the age of 16
Itzhak Hecht was born in the city of Łódź, Poland. When he turned 16 years of age and before the Nazis had invaded his home country, Itzhak decided to enlist in the Polish Army. “My grandfather understood just before the war began that the situation in Poland was very bad and he decided to fake his age from 16 to 18 in order to join the army,” Tzarfati said.

While his friends were busy in school and just being kids, he left his family with the decision to try and make it to the borders of Israel. Together with some of his Jewish friends in the army they decided to escape Poland for Israel.

Itzhak hid with a family in Jerusalem and met his wife
“My grandfather never slept in a dark room. Only in the lit living room.”

“They didn’t talk about the Holocaust in our home, never, ever. This was a deep wound that was never discussed. He wouldn’t sleep in a dark room as it would give him nightmares and that’s why he only slept in the living room with a light on.” 

Despite that, Tzarfati recalled the interest he had about the number on his grandfathers arm and knew his story well. He also remembers when his grandfather along with his brother came to watch his youth matches. “My grandfather lived right by Kiryat Shalom right next to Maccabi’s Training Ground. Even when my father had played for the Maccabi youth my grandfather came to watch him as well as when his grandchildren played there. I remember his fear and desire to watch over us when we were tackled. We got up quickly to calm him down or else he would begin to cry.”

Tzarfati became a Maccabist in his family’s home and joined the club, “There are things you learn not just from there. Children like me lived through the stories of our grandfathers and grandmothers who experienced the Holocaust. We learnt how to deal with many challenges and even when it may be very difficult you never give up and you just keep going with honor and pride. That is something that very much represents us.”

Last season, when Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv secured the championship, Tzarfati, this time as coach tried to imbue the values that he grew up with at home within his players in order to overcome every obstacle that may be in their way. To understand what it is to be a Jew who came from the lowest point and be able to rise up to be the strongest that thy could be is something that can be found in our DNA. 

“I recall one of the matches before the end of the season when we were fighting for the championship and we were having a rough time. I showed the players the video of when the Israel Air Force flew above the Auschwitz concentration camp. This was one of the most powerful moments and they understood what it meant to be a Jew and what it means to rise from the ashes. It’s in our DNA and we pass it along to players and coaches so they can be as strong as possible.”

“To wear the Maccabi Tel Aviv shirt with the yellow symbol explains what it means to be both a footballer and sportsperson. It represents something that we had experienced in the past which was very difficult but we were able to rise above it. That’s exactly what the Magen David, the Star of David which the Jews in the Holocaust had to wear is and this is something that is part of our tradition whether we are children, players or coaches; it’s something very powerful.”