RAMALLAH, January 5 (JMCC) - In a divided city, a
Jerusalem boxing club is a haven for both Palestinian and Israeli sports fans, reports the
Washington Post.
Presiding over it all is Gershon Luxemburg, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who learned boxing as a boy to repel anti-Semitic assaults and later became a champion boxer in Uzbekistan and several times Israel's light heavyweight champion.
An unabashed nationalist who was jailed more than 20 years ago on charges of stockpiling arms, allegedly for attacks on Arabs, Luxemburg, 66, now preaches tolerance. He accepts all comers to his club, which he says is meant to provide a healthy outlet for youths in troubled neighborhoods.
Read the feature at the
Washington Post...