Israel Men's National Lacrosse Team

Israel's senior men's lacrosse program assembled its first official national team in Ashkelon in 2013.[1] The team has since competed in World Lacrosse Championships, European championships, and the World Games. Its results include seventh place at the 2014 world championship, participation in the sixes tournament at the 2022 World Games, and victory at the 2025 European Men's Lacrosse Championship.[2][3]

The 2025 European title secured Israel's qualification for the 2027 World Championship and strengthened the program's longer-term effort to reach the six-team lacrosse competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.[4][5]

Lacrosse first took root in Israel around 2010–2011, introduced primarily by Scott Neiss, a New York-reared American immigrant, and fellow founder David Lessud.[1][6] Sources place the formal establishment of the Israel Lacrosse Association in either 2010 or 2011, while formal and informal practices and games were being held by 2011.[7][6]

The first official national team was assembled in 2013 and based its early operations in Ashkelon.[1] Player Evan Goldstein recalled hearing in January 2012 that a national team was being created, then contacting coach Jon Barocas, who connected him with Israel Lacrosse director Scott Neiss.[1] Ashkelon served as the team's training base, and members of the inaugural squad also conducted youth clinics while preparing for international competition.[1][8] Players at the first training camp were given instructions on procedures in the event that a rocket siren sounded — a detail that captured the unusual context in which the team was being built.[1]

The team's first international appearance came at the Turkish Buzzer Lacrosse Open in Istanbul, where Israel defeated Turkey and Bulgaria to win the tournament.[8] David Franklin scored in what was described as Israel's maiden international contest, a 13–9 victory over Turkey.[8] The association later developed an eight-city league and a budget of more than $4.8 million.[7]

From its inception, the team has drawn heavily on American-born Jewish players, many of whom made aliyah and settled in Israel.[1] At least 15 Jewish American players on early rosters had immigrated to Israel, with Goldstein describing the team as a vehicle for connecting players with their Jewish roots while also spreading lacrosse throughout the country.[1] Because not every player held an Israeli passport, international federation rules required the team to be divided for competition purposes: all players could practice together, but only those with qualifying documentation could appear in official tournaments.[1]

Israel Lacrosse executive director Ian Kadish emphasized that the organization sought players committed to developing lacrosse in Israel and engaging the Jewish diaspora, rather than recruiting American Jewish athletes solely for athletic talent.[9] Men's team captain Yakov Silberlicht, who began coaching and playing for the national team at the 2014 World Championship, described his motivation as opening opportunities for young Israelis to one day represent the national teams.[9]

By the time of the 2018 World Championship, the team's 23-player roster included 22 Americans, approximately half of whom lived in Israel.[10] Co-captains Seth Mahler and Jacob Silberlicht had each been based in Israel for about five years.[10] Mahler directed the men's program from Tel Aviv, also coaching the under-19 team and developing the Ashkelon youth program; Silberlicht coached in Shaar Hanegev.[10] Another national-team player, Chris Friedman, ran coaching programs in Sderot.[10] At that stage, Ori Bar David, then 18, was identified as the team's only native Israeli.[10]

By 2025, the composition had shifted noticeably. A profile that year reported 22 players on the squad, with 12 living in Israel — among them five native-born Israelis — while ten others had immigrated and lived in the country for varying periods.[6] Players also served in regular military roles, career service, or reserve duty.[6] Reports offered differing snapshots of the domestic youth program: the Jewish Virtual Library estimated 300–400 children and teenagers, most of them American-born Jews, while a 2018 report counted approximately 1,000 players aged 8–18 across about 12 teams from Beersheba to Netanya.[7][11]

From its earliest years, the national program presented competitive success and the development of Israeli-born players as linked goals. Goldstein described its desired future as: “The future is Israeli born players, and not just American born Jews, and of course, in the future to win championships.”[1] By 2018, national-team players were also coaching children in teams around the country, connecting senior international competition with a domestic development system.[11]

The 2025 European title gave that project its first championship in the European men's field competition and secured a place at the 2027 World Championship.[4] Team officials identified qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as the program's next long-term objective.[5]

Israel made its World Lacrosse Championship debut in 2014, finishing seventh.[2] That result established the team as a genuine international competitor within only a year of the national program's formal launch.

The 2018 World Lacrosse Championship was held in Netanya from July 12 to 21, with games staged at Netanya Stadium and the Wingate Institute.[12][13] Israel was selected as host after Manchester, England, withdrew over financial difficulties, with Netanya's geographic proximity to many European federation members cited as a factor in the selection.[7][10] The tournament drew 46 national teams and approximately 2,000 athletes and staff — the largest edition in the championship's 50-year history and the first held in a country whose official language was not English.[7][12]

Israel opened the tournament against Jamaica, winning 11–3 in front of fans waving flags and delivering soccer-style chants; Matthew Popak scored the team's opening goal.[13] Israel then defeated Russia to advance from the group stage before beating the Philippines 11–8, leading 5–4 at halftime and pulling away in the second half before thousands of Israeli supporters.[14] In the quarterfinals, Israel lost to Australia 9–6 and ultimately finished seventh, matching its 2014 result.[10]

At the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship in San Diego, Israel entered ranked seventh among 30 teams and second in Europe.[9] The team won five consecutive matches — over Sweden, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Czech Republic, and Ireland — before falling 19–3 to top-seeded United States in the quarterfinals.[15]

Israel qualified for the eight-team men's lacrosse tournament at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, where the event used the sixes format — a smaller field, six players per side, and a 30-second shot clock.[3] Israel came from behind to defeat Japan in overtime in its opening match, its first international success in the new format, before finishing eighth overall with that single victory.[3]

Israel earned silver at the 2016 European Lacrosse Championship and claimed first place at the 2017 European Indoor Lacrosse Championship.[7] Israel also hosted the men's World Lacrosse Championship in Netanya in July 2018, reflecting the country's expanding role as a venue for international lacrosse.[12]

The defining moment in the team's European history came at the 2025 European Men's Lacrosse Championship in Poland.[4] Israel navigated the group stage against Portugal, Scotland, and Switzerland, then defeated England in a semifinal result that kept England out of the final for the first time in 30 years.[5] Israel led Italy 4–1 after the first quarter of the final, but Italy drew level at 4–4 by halftime.[4] The lead changed hands before Israel moved ahead 9–7 with ninety seconds remaining; Italy scored to make it 9–8, but goalkeeper Drew Morris stopped Italy's final attempt with five seconds on the clock.[4] The victory was Israel's first European championship in the men's field competition.[4]

The championship had particular meaning for several players: team professional manager Uri Bar David noted that the squad included veterans who had lost the 2016 final and were determined not to let another final slip away.[4] He also described the logistical challenge of bringing the full team to Poland amid the ongoing wartime situation in Israel, with reserve soldiers on the squad having served on Israel's borders.[4] The title secured Israel's place at the 2027 World Championship, and the team identified qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics — one of six available spots in the Olympic competition — as a longer-term goal.[5]

Sources differ on the Israel Lacrosse Association's founding date: the Jewish Virtual Library gives 2010, while a 2025 ynet profile reports that Scott Neiss and David Lessud founded it in 2011.[7][6] Other reporting places the start of formal and informal play in 2011 and the assembly of the first official team in 2013, suggesting that distinct organizational milestones may have been conflated.[1]

Sources have also used the term “European champion” imprecisely. A 2018 report said Israel had won the European championship the previous year.[12] The Jewish Virtual Library identifies that 2017 success specifically as the European Indoor Lacrosse Championship, while Sport5 described the 2025 men's field title as Israel's first European championship.[7][4] The difference in formats largely explains the apparent conflict, although the shorthand used in some earlier reports was ambiguous.