To most passers-by, it would have appeared as if the group of men chasing an oval-shaped ball around Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park in late July were playing rugby or American football.
Not many would have heard of Australian rules football, let alone have known that the group they were watching were preparing to represent the "Peace Team" - a mix of Israelis and Palestinians slated to participate in this year's Australian Football League International Cup.
The Peace Team is funded by the Peres Center for Peace and the East Jerusalem-based Al-Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue. The idea for the team first came up when James Demetriou, brother of AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou, was introduced to the Peres Center during a trip to Israel. Soon afterwards, the AFL approved the project, and five time VFL premiership player Robert DiPierdomenico was appointed head coach.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1012795.html