Mr. van Gelder's 8mm Film

Evelien van Gelder was only six years old when the Rehovot team visited Hengelo. Her father, Samuel (Sam) van Gelder, documented the visit in Hengelo with his 8mm camera. This film is an unexpected treasure, and I am deeply grateful to Evelien for bringing its existence to my attention and allowing me to share this wonderful piece of history.

Mr. van Gelder captured the team's arrival, their first game, and their departure from Hengelo. To make the footage easier to follow, I have divided the film into several short episodes, providing additional context and historical information below each clip. As with other posts on this blog, I plan to continually update this page as new details and names come to light.

Members of the Rehovot team were hosted by local families within the Hengelo Jewish community. Excitement ran high on both sides, with the hosts eager to welcome the team and get to know their Israeli guests.

The gentleman holding the camera is Jacques Zilverberg. He is joined by his wife, Clara, and later by Marga Kalman Cohen [0:13]. Jacques owned a gentlemen's clothing shop in town and was a known joker, always making faces and telling stories. It was his way of coping with the horrors of the not-so-distant past.

Four years later, in 1960, Marga came to Israel. Amihud’s wife, Amela, recalls her arrival: "She came to Ami's parents for lunch when I was already there. Ami introduced her to his sister, and the two of them ended up living in Tel Aviv, remaining close friends until the day she passed away. When Marga met her future husband in Israel, they were married by the same rabbi who married us."

Finally, the team members begin to arrive. The first part captures Amihud Shani, Moti Mokasai, and Eli Kapra arriving at the train station. Between seconds [0:04 and 0:10], a Renault Juvaquatre (license plate SP-3600) pulled up to the station. From [0:10 to 0:16], we see the team gathered in front of the Hengelo Synagogue.

The end of this segment shows my uncle, Gigi Cohen, alongside Shaya Yarimi and Imri Tov, as they get into a Vauxhall (license plate ST-8267) heading to their host families' homes. In the background on the left, a bicycle shop is visible with a sign reading "LOCOMOTIEF." At the time, Locomotief was one of the most prominent Dutch bicycle manufacturers, famous for pioneering lightweight sports bikes, premium three-speed town bikes, and professional racing frames built with top-tier components. To the right of the bicycle shop, a butcher shop can be seen. I managed to find a photo of this exact location from around 1960 on the Facebook page Hengelo zoals het was (Hengelo as it once was).

From left to right is the St. Antonius School, the synagogue, Van Bloemendaal's bicycle shop, and Snijders' horse butcher shop.

Mr. van Gelder documented the ceremony prior to the first match against Olympia Hengelo. More information and photos from the game are available on the post dedicated to this game.

The next two segments document the team's departure from Hengelo. By this point, the team members and their host families appear much more relaxed around one another, beautifully capturing just how close their bonds had become in such a short time.

This film segment is composed of the following episodes:

• **** Mottale Rozenshtein, sporting a big smile and carrying a white bag.
• [0:01 – 0:04] Amihud Shani, looking all smiles in a formal jacket and a Fedora hat.
• [0:05 – 0:06] Amihud and Moti watching Evelien's father Sam kicking a football back towards the wall while holding a cigarette in his right hand.
• [0:07 – 0:15] Hagai Lachover arriving with his hosting family; Amihud welcomes them and Mottale Rozenshtein joins in later.
• [0:16 – 0:29] Kathy and Dady de Leeuw arrive in the Renault (license plate SP-3600) with Yuval Shkolnik, the delegation's administrative manager and Tuvia Cherni.
• [0:30 – 0:45] Yaakov Sendler, Shlomi Kishinyevski, and my uncle, Gigi Cohen, arrive in a black Vauxhall Velox. They pose for a Hollywood style picture and wave goodbye.
• [0:46 – 0:57] Evelien's uncle's car arrives. David van Gelder is at the wheel, her cousin Alex in the middle front, and her aunt Miep van Gelder-Menko on the front right. Evelien's mother, Marianne, opens the car door. Evelien rushes in and lifted up by Amihud at [0:53].
• [0:58 – 1:03] Seven-year-old Maurice (a year older than his sister Evelien) and twelve-year-old Alex play ball.
• [1:04 – 1:12] Uzi Bashist and Malchem arrives with their hosting family.
• [1:13 – 1:15] Amihud takes playful pictures with two teenagers.
• [1:16 – 1:17] Malchem is seen striding toward the station.
• [1:18 – 1:23] My father, Uri Cohen, arrives with a local family who are helping carry the suitcases on a bicycle. He meets up with his brother Gigi, who had arrived earlier.
• [1:24 – 1:30] Eva Numan-Katzenstein striding to the meetup. Eva and her husband Rudolf were founders of the Liberal Jewish Community of the Netherlands. The remainder of this episode is a general view of the assembled delegation.
• [1:31 – 1:33] Hanan Shaibe arrives with another family, joined by Shlomi Kishinyevski.
• [1:34 – end] Feldman, Tzurik Ben-Ari and Shaya Yarimi. arrive with the Zilverberg family. Clara, Jacques and their children Egon and Marcel are all there.

The lighting in this film segment is poor, making it harder to identify some of the participants. It is composed of the following episodes:

• [0:00 – 0:06] Moti Mokasai saying goodbye to the van Gelder family. He is holding Evelien on the right, her cousin Elles Cohen on the left, and her brother Maurice is smiling in front.
• [0:07 – 0:10] A general view of the teams and families gathered together.
• [0:11 – end] The team boards the train. Several members board the train. Soon after, my father, Uri, boards while smiling warmly toward the camera. Finally, another member boards, followed by shots of the team members waving goodbye from the train windows.

Moti Mokasai was hosted by the van Gelder family during the visit. The entire extended family, including Evelien's uncle and his family - stepped up to play their part in welcoming him.

The exact date this color photograph was taken remains unknown. On the left, Evelien's uncle David is holding Evelien's hand. Avi Barzilai, the head of the delegation, stands in the middle, while Moti Mokasai and Evelien's brother, Maurice, are on the right.

This final segment of the film was captured after the delegation departed from Hengelo. It shows the girls having fun together practicing algebra.