Netanyahu injures leg during friendly Arab-Jewish soccer match
Prime minister expected to be in a cast for weeks after tearing a tendon while scoring a goal
Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a leg injury on Monday while playing soccer with Jewish and Arab children in Jerusalem.
“The prime minister slipped on the turf, got up, continued to play and scored a goal,” a spokesperson for Netanyahu said.
The prime minister cancelled a meeting of the Likud faction in the Knesset later on Monday, the spokesperson confirmed, unwilling to say whether further appointments would be delayed or cancelled as well.
Netanyahu’s left leg was placed in a cast after a CT scan revealed a torn tendon. The cast will remain in place for “several weeks,” according to the prime minister’s office, but he will return to work in his office on Tuesday morning.
The friendly soccer match — during which the prime minister played with Arab and Jewish youths for about 20 minutes at Jerusalem’s Kraft Family Stadium — took place in the framework of Netanyahu’s participation in a television program in which a leader shows his or her country to a journalist.
Award-winning US travel journalist Peter Greenberg’s “Royal Tours” series previously featured the king of Jordan, the prime minister of New Zealand, the president of Peru, the prime minister of Jamaica and the president of Mexico. Over the past week, Netanyahu spent time with Greenberg, in a bid to boost tourism to Israel. On Friday, the filming started in Rosh Hanikra, on the northern border. Other highlights included a climb up Masada, visits to the Technion, Jerusalem’s Old City and the beach resort in Eilat, as well as exploring Tel Aviv’s nightlife.
The Tourism Ministry said it hoped for an additional 200,000 visitors after the show is broadcast. “Royal Tours” is watched regularly by 300 million viewers across the globe.
