On Monday night, the New England Patriots will honor a young fan who was tragically killed Thursday in a Palestinian terror attack while studying abroad in Israel.
Ezra Schwartz, 18, was a Massachusetts native and an avid Patriots fan. His hometown of Sharon, Mass., borders Foxborough, which is of course where Gillette Stadium is located — and the site of Monday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is Jewish, received a letter from Dov Lipman, a former member Israel’s parliament, requesting that Schwartz be honored by the team he grew up supporting. Here is the note, courtesy of The Algemeiner.
Dear Mr. Kraft,
By way of introduction, I served in the Israeli Knesset and played in the flag football league here in Israel years ago. We thank you for all that you have done to make that league and the stadium become a reality.
I was with the boys of the Ashreinu school when they were told that their friend, Ezra, was killed and have been with them daily since. The one theme which comes out over and over again was his passion for the Patriots. Boy actually apologized to “his soul” for telling him to stop screaming with joy as he watched games in his dorm room at 3:00 a.m. Last night at the funeral, Ezra’s body was outside the building during the service so what did they put in the middle to represent Ezra? An Israeli flag and Ezra’s Patriots jersey (#87).
Many in Israel and around the world have been shocked that almost no media outlets covered the murder of this boy who came to Israel for a year of study and volunteering and was shot by a Palestinian terrorist while on his way to his volunteer activity.
It would mean so much to the people of Israel, to supporters around the world, and to Ezra’s family and friends if the Patriots could do something in his memory — perhaps a moment of silence before tomorrow night’s game, perhaps an EZRA patch on their jerseys for a game — whatever you believe is the right way to honor Ezra and to bring awareness to his story.
May we only share good news,
Dov Lipman
Member of the 19th Knesset
The moment of silence is expected to take place prior to kickoff.
[…] Click here to view a copy of the letter. google_ad_client = "pub-3499085351258422"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; google_ad_format = "336x280_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; google_color_border = "#CCCCCC"; google_color_bg = "#CCCCCC"; google_color_link = "#000000"; google_color_text = "#333333"; google_color_url = "#666666"; […]