Lacrosse is taking Israel by storm

As recently as 2011, the number of Israelis who knew about lacrosse in general and lacrosse's presence in Israel in particular could perhaps be counted on one hand. But eight years later, the country's women's team is making international headlines, not just with their victories, but also with their goodwill gesture of gifting their Kenyan opponents new lacrosse cleats.

In July, the Israeli women’s national team won a silver medal at the Women's European Lacrosse Championship that took place in Israel. The Israeli team is made up of six native-born Israeli women who play alongside American Jewish immigrants to Israel. “Seeing how far these players have gone in a sport that didn’t even exist in Israel just eight years ago is absolutely incredible,” David Lasday, chief operating officer of the Israel Lacrosse Association, told Al-Monitor. “I knew we’d be good, but I had no idea how good.”