JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Birthright Israel, the charity that provides free group tours of the Holy Land to Jews ages 18 to 26, has scheduled a unique trip for just baseball and softball players and their fans.
Ballplayers who participate in the inter-semester trip will not only get to experience Israel but compete against the Israeli national teams and teach the finer points of the game to local youths.
The all-expenses-paid trip was first proposed by the Israel Association of Baseball and is one of several niche trips organized by Birthright Israel, including separate tours for students of fashion, technology, or the culinary arts, and another for lesbian and gay young adults from New York.
Not coincidentally, the Israel Association of Baseball (IAB) is assembling a roster of Jewish minor-league and college-level ballplayers to play for Israel in the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The new, 16-team qualifying round will take place in the Fall of 2012 and represents Israel’s first opportunity to play in the WBC tournament.
Birthright Israel co-founder Charles Bronfman, a Canadian liquor magnate, was majority owner of the Montreal Expos from the team’s debut in 1968 until 1990.
Click here for sign-up information from Birthright Israel, and here for an invitation from the IAB.
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