Fast recovery! QPR’s Tomer Hemed plays after Yom Kippur
Israeli striker hurriedly broke the fast on pasta and fruit before playing a role in his team's Wednesday night win
Israeli striker Tomer Hemed made a late second half appearance for QPR in its 2-0 win over Millwall on Wednesday night having spent the first 45 minutes of the match, breaking the Yom Kippur fast on the substitute bench.
The 31-year-old, who’s on loan at the west London club from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion had this week posted a picture on social media of him donning his tefillin, and wishing all his followers “Gmar chatima tova!”.
Starting last night’s game on the bench, he was picked up by television cameras eating and drinking during the first half, before coming off the bench in the 72nd minute.
Gmar chatima tova! ????✍???? pic.twitter.com/Wv9qfA1STW
— Tomer Hemed (@tomerhemed10) September 18, 2018
Explaining to Sky prior to the match why he was on the substitute bench, QPR manager Steve Claren said: “As an Israeli he follows the Jewish religion meticulously and today is Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement. He’s been fasting from seven o’clock last night until eight o’clock tonight. we had a chat, he said it’s very difficult to start. It’s very unusual because Yom Kippur hardly falls on a match day, but it has this time, we’re hopefully get some food into him in the first half, keep him on the bench and if we need him in the second half, can bring him on.
Amazing. Steve McClaren says Israeli player Tomer Hemed was kept on the bench at the start of QPR vs Milwall because it was Yom Kippur and he was fasting. The fast ended during the game so he had a drink and came on pic.twitter.com/52MEQ6xfo1
— Raoul Wootliff (@RaoulWootliff) September 20, 2018
LISTEN to this week’s episode of the Jewish Views podcast:
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
