An Arlington athlete represented Team Israel in the World Baseball Softball Confederation Europe’s 18-under Women’s Softball Europe Championships in Spain amid pro-Palestinian protests and logistical challenges.
Noa Kammerman, a rising junior at Yorktown High School and dual citizen with Israel, played in the softball tournament from July 21 to 26 for the chance to continue on to play in the 18-under World Cup in 2026. The team went 0-7 against the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, Austria, Germany and France.
“The tournament was definitely a tough tournament,” Kammerman said. “We started by playing the four best teams in the tournament. We are a very young team; I was one of the oldest girls there, and I’m 16 years old. We hadn’t played with each other for very long.”
That’s because the team is made up of both American and Israeli athletes.
‘They Don’t Want Us to Play on the Fields’
A month before the tournament, Kammerman had been notified by the Israeli Softball Association that the local government in the host city of Pamplona, Spain, would not allow Team Israel to play on their fields.
“The European Championships were supposed to be in Pamplona, Navarra, and this had been planned for over a year,” a member of Israel Softball’s board of directors told Softball on Sports Illustrated.
“Israel was confirmed the whole time. About a month before the tournament, the Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation had their final meetings with the city and the three venues. … Out of nowhere, the city basically told the Federation that if Israel showed up, none of those fields would allow games involving Israel.”
“That, off the bat, was a little nerve-wracking, knowing they don’t want us to play on the fields [in Pamplona],” Kammerman said.
“It was pretty disappointing to hear that you’re not wanted some place,” Kammerman’s father, Joe Kammerman, said.
The president of WBSC Europe threatened to cancel the entire tournament if the local government didn’t find a different venue for Team Israel. The government decided on Zaragoza, more than two hours southeast of Pamplona.
All of the other teams slated to play against Israel had to travel to the new venue.
Noa Kammerman said the city of Zaragoza was welcoming and that she felt safer there. She also said when the team arrived, they found the road spray-painted with “Palestina vencera” — “Palestine will win” — and “Sionistas Asesinos” — “Zionists are murderers” — which Spanish police officers cleared away.
‘We Had Protesters Yelling at Us’
Pro-Palestinian protesters attended five of the seven games as early as when the team was warming up, the Kammermans said.
“Then when we were playing, larger crowds started to form,” Noa Kammerman said, adding that the protesters yelled “Nazis” and “baby killers” at the teens and played audio of babies crying, presumably to represent the children of Gaza.
As Noa Kammerman was up to bat, the group of protesters set off firecrackers. She noted that her Israeli teammates appeared “uneasy” as the noise of the firecrackers resembled explosions or gunshots.
“And there were a lot of American girls in Israel when there were rockets going off,” she added, referencing June’s Iran-Israel conflict. “It was definitely uncomfortable for our team, but I think we still played to the best of our abilities.”
“Sitting in the stands, I think the initial reaction when I first heard [the firecrackers] starting to go off, it made everybody kind of jump a little bit in their seats,” Joe Kammerman said.
He said he was comforted by the fact that Team Israel’s private security team seemed unfazed.
“I was not really sure what was going on, and then I kept just going right back up to bat,” Noa Kammerman said. “I just had to take a second to refocus. It definitely was hard to play, and it took a lot to not listen or be impacted by any of the protesters.”
Noa Kammerman and her teammates tried to keep up morale.
“The Israeli girls did such a great job with cheering and leading cheers,” she said. “Our dugout was very loud. Our coach made sure no one was ever sitting. … It just made it a better environment.”
The team also had local fans in the stands; Zaragoza’s Jewish community attended all seven of the games, cheered, waved Israeli flags and invited the girls to their Friday Shabbat service.
Joe Kammerman spoke to the “very small” Jewish population in Zaragoza and how the community holds a Friday night Shabbat service with Madrid so that the entirety of Spain’s Jewish community can celebrate together.
“They were just the most welcoming, friendly, nice, amazing people ever,” Noa Kammerman said.
“It just made you realize this is so much more than a game,” Joe Kammerman said. “It’s about Jewish identity. It’s about being proud of who you are. The fact that we were able to celebrate together as a community was just very special.”
Although the tournament didn’t have the outcome Team Israel expected — “We lost all seven games” — Noa Kammerman left Spain inspired by her Israeli teammates’ spirit.
“There were a lot of odds stacked against us, and I think we played really hard,” Noa Kammerman said, adding that she and her teammates gave their “best effort.”
“I’m so grateful I had this experience, and I wouldn’t change anything.”
