Second Documentary About Team Israel May Be Better Than The First

“We’re not going to the Olympics because we’re crap,” Danny Valenica says in the new film “Israel Heads for Gold.” The sequel to “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel” may be even better than the first because we see the vulnerability and commitment of those involved.

While the first film celebrated the Cinderella story of Team Israel’s improbable run in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, this film shows how the team was still a huge underdog in the Tokyo Olympics and explains why Valencia, a utility player who hit 18 homers for the Blue Jays in 2015, and played for several MLB teams, made the comment.

You will cheer when Valencia later crushes a key home run to left field.

There’s a lot to unpack in this movie, as it has moments of humor, gravity, the surreal and the unreal.

A clip shows Anke Spitzer at one point bashing the International Olympic Committee for not having a moment of silence for the group of 11 Israeli athletes/coaches who were murdered by terrorists in the 1972 Munich Olympics. Ankie’s husband, Andre was a fencing coach who was killed. The film shows that in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, (the games were played in 2001 due to Covid)  and there finally was a moment of silence for the athletes who were murdered.

It is unclear if Spitzer’s previous comments had any impact.

“I think it was very meaningful to finally have a moment of silence and it meant a lot to the players,” director Daniel A. Miller told the Journal.

The film also shows how for this Olympics, flags of all countries were posted outside their living quarters, including the Israeli flag for Team Israel.

The majority of footage comes from players filming themselves as the directors were not allowed to come and be in their rooms due to Covid restrictions.

“That’s definitely something different from what we’re not used to,” Miller said. “But in a way, it allowed us to have more interesting and intimate moments that we might have otherwise had.”

There’s a funny moment, when most of the uniforms don’t fit and the day before the first game, they all line up, hoping Japanese tailors can fix their uniforms in time.

There is a pin exchange, where due to comradery, athletes exchange pins, but two athlete from England are not interested in engaging Israeli athletes. There’s the reality that the security includes factual recognition for the players to get to their rooms. Then there’s the unreal- Ben Wagner, an outfielder for Team Israel made a TikTok video to see how many players jumping on the beds made of cardboard would crush it. The number was nine. It was a funny video, and nobody with a brain would take offense. And yet, it became an international story with fools and possible antisemites posting online that the team should be sent home for this video. Wagner posted an apology and there was even an ESPN article about it.

“The players regretted making the video but there was no bad intent, and I don’t think anyone expected such a reaction,” Miller said, of what some players called “Bed-Gate.”

There’s a clip of Jewish actor Paul Rudd wishing the team well, saying they are “bad-asses.” The team has great success in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Germany and is one of six teams to be in the Olympics. There’s controversy, as in a 5-5 game against the Dominican Republic, Jose Bautista clearly strikes out on a curveball, but the umpire calls it a ball. There’s a great moment when Shlomo Lipetz, inducting former Met Todd Frazier into a double play. Lipetz is the coolest cat in the film and is alos the pitcher who gets the last out in the qualifying game for the Olympics. The relief pitcher, who was born in Israel, talks about how he’s aware “of the animosity that exists towards us.”

There’s a surreal moment when players are getting their Israeli citizenship and are told that Hamas has fired rockets into Israel.

There’s a surreal moment when players are getting their Israeli citizenship and are told that Hamas has fired rockets into Israel. General manager Peter Kurz tells the players of the attacks and talks about the importance of knowing where the “safe room” is.

Team Israel’s Blake Gailen seems surprised.

“That would be a big deal if a missile landed by Santa Monica Pier,” says the player, who grew up in West Hills, California.

There’s a moment where you may cry, as a player from Team Israel visits with Nathaniel Felber, a former Israeli soldier who was shot by a terrorist.  He gets a Team Israel shirt and squeezes the hand of the player.

We see people protesting the team, yelling “Free, Free Palestine.” 

One player talks bluntly about how Israelis don’t know much about baseball but there is the hope that the media attention from the team will make it become more popular. In the recent WBC, the team had a dramatic victory over Nicaragua, before falling in a perfect game losing soundly to other teams in Pool D, though there was a great moment when Orthodox pitcher Jacob Steinmetz struck out Manny Machado on a slider and blew a fastball by Juan Soto.

Miller said he was excited by the victory and said the truth of sports is that there are both great victories and difficult defeats. Yet in this WBC, it was clear the talent level of others team was far superior, with teams boasting multiple MLB All-Stars.

The film is inspiring, powerful and hits all the right notes, even though there is a bittersweet feeling when the team loses. It’s also sad to hear that France has decided to have breakdancing instead of baseball in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. So, for many of the players, some who are former Major Leaguers, and were never stars, it’s their last ride and your heart goes out to them. But at least their experience was recorded in a memorable film.

The film, which is also directed by Sthe Kramer and Jeremy Newberger, and by Menemsha Films, includes a clip of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who was the chief rabbi of England saying that “No Jew who is a true Jew can ever give up hope.”