‘We were playing for you’: Hapoel Tel Aviv remembers October 7

On this night, however, the familiar red-and-white stands carried a different weight.

Hapoel held its annual “Together Forever” memorial ceremony, bringing together fans, bereaved families, players, club officials and supporters to remember those who were murdered on October 7, 2023 and those who fell in the battles that followed, while honoring the courage of those whose lives were cut short.

But the families were at the heart of the evening.

Sharon Kutz spoke about the loss of her brother Aviv, her sister-in-law Livnat and their children Rotem, Yonatan and Yiftach, who had played in Hapoel’s youth academy. All five were murdered in their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.

Shai HarMash spoke about his son Omer, who was murdered in the safe room of his home that day. Amit Halivni shared the story of her husband Yuval, who fell in battle on October 9, while Eyal Eshel spoke about his daughter Roni, an observation soldier who was killed during the battle at the Nahal Oz military base.

Their stories gave a human face to the names and numbers associated with October 7, reminding those in attendance of the individual lives, families and dreams behind every loss.

Hapoel owner Ofer Yanai reflected on how the club responded in the immediate aftermath of the attack and how, for him, the need to tell those stories became personal.

“That Black Saturday was a difficult, bitter and painful event,” Yanai said. “On Sunday, we had to wake up to a world that came after it, and we asked ourselves what we could do. We helped and supported.”

When Hapoel returned to the court soon afterward for a game against the London Lions, Yanai wore a shirt bearing photographs of people who were still believed to be alive and missing.

Over time, the shirt changed as the reality became clearer.

“That shirt ‘evolved’ to include those who had fallen and I would wear it to all of the games,” Yanai said.

Two weeks later, Hapoel traveled to Paris, bringing a group of young fans from the kibbutzim. The children shared their experiences at a press conference, allowing people far from the communities attacked on October 7 to hear directly from those who had lived through it.

“The reason we brought children was because on October 7, I was 30 or 40 kilometers away from the events,” Yanai explained. “I know many people who were affected by what happened and even for me it didn’t feel real. So I wanted people to hear the stories directly from the children.”

For Hapoel’s players, the connection was just as immediate.

Captain Bar Timor spoke about the unique responsibility of representing a club whose supporters themselves had been among those affected by the attacks.

“October 7 touched the homes and families of many Hapoel fans,” forward Tomer Ginat said. “For us as players, knowing that people we see in the stands and who support us wherever we go were hurt so terribly stayed with us. We thought about them then and we think about them today as well.”

Ginat recalled Hapoel’s first game after October 7, in Venice. The players were preparing in the locker room, but basketball hardly seemed relevant.

“Everything felt disconnected,” he said. “We didn’t talk about the team we were facing, not even for a moment. We talked about why we were going out to play, and the reason was very clear: We were playing for you. For the people of Hapoel. For our fans who had been through and were still going through so much.”

That sense of playing for something larger than the scoreboard has remained part of Hapoel’s identity ever since.

“I told myself one thing: When all of this is over, we will try to do things differently,” Raanan said. “We cannot continue living our lives the way we did before.”

Three years later, the empty seats inside the arena remain a powerful reminder of those who will never return.

“The empty seats in front of me here are not empty seats,” Raanan said. “They represent people who were part of us, part of our community and part of our families. They are part of our hearts, and we miss them every day.”

Nothing, Raanan acknowledged, can truly fill those seats or undo what happened. But he believes the community created around sport can help provide a way forward.

“You can’t truly fix what happened or fill those seats again,” he said. “But out of this terrible tragedy, we have to think about how we build new lives and how we move forward.”

For Raanan, Hapoel Tel Aviv is part of that process.

“Sport, and Hapoel Tel Aviv in particular, are among the strongest ways we have to build and live together as a community,” he said. “To create and build lives, while remembering those who were supposed to be here with us and are not.”

Timor echoed that sentiment, describing October 7 as a day that left behind pain, shattered families and an absence that can never completely be filled.

But he also spoke about the importance of remembering the people behind the loss – their lives, dreams, families and the impact they had on those around them.

“As Hapoel Tel Aviv’s captain, I know how much power there is in our team, our club and our community when we stand together,” Timor said.

“On the court, we play to win, but some things are much bigger than any game or any result.”

And so, three years later, Hapoel’s community gathered once again.

Not simply to look back, but to say that the names and stories of those who were murdered and those who fell remain part of the club’s collective memory.

“We are remembering, honoring, and telling the families who lost those dearest to them that we remember, we will not forget, and we will continue to carry their memory with us,” Timor said.

For one evening, the arena was not about the next game, the next opponent or the next result.

It was about the people who should have been there.

And about a community determined to keep their memory alive.