Israeli sisters find strength, support and a safe place in college basketball

In the days after October 7, when Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, Yarden Garzon struggled to eat and sleep. The outbreak of war in Israel and the Gaza Strip was all-consuming for her as she watched the news from Bloomington, Indiana, where she is a second-year security guard. Born and raised in Israel, Yarden worried about her friends, her family, her country. “I think I was more nervous than my mom,” Garzon said. “It was really scary the first week.”

Garzon’s parents were half a world away, staying at their home in Ra’anana, Israel, an affluent suburb north of Tel Aviv, about 50 miles from the epicenter of the war. Yet over the past two months, as the death toll has risen, her family has spent time in the home’s shelter. Sirens warning of air raids flew through the air.

Of Garzon’s three siblings, only her older sister, Lior Garzon, is also in the United States. She is a senior at Oklahoma State and an all-conference honorable mention for the Cowgirls. “This is one of my most important seasons,” Lior said. “I didn’t know what to do. To stay. To go home, be with my family. It was really a question of what we should do.”

She stayed. But it’s been 82 days since the world turned for the Garzons. Since then, they have played key roles for their respective schools. Both have started every game and are averaging double figures. They too are dealing with grief.

Growing up, they knew what to do when the sirens sounded. The sound didn’t happen every day or week — Yarden describes her childhood as peaceful — but Lior says they were always ready for whatever might happen. Her father, Eitan Garzon, remembers a game his daughters were playing when the sirens went off. Everyone rushed to shelters, but eventually play resumed normally.

Both Garzons have long been drawn to basketball, even when alternatives are presented. As a child, Lior danced and swam, Eitan said. She also tried judo and tennis. Yarden was a talented painter and played volleyball. Nevertheless, the outdoor courts in the region were the most appealing. “At the end of the day, all the routes I send them take them back to basketball,” said Eitan, who also played growing up. Their success has become a point of pride – both Lior and Yarden represented Israel at last summer’s European Championships, held partly in Tel Aviv – and a launching pad for traveling the world.

When Yarden walks into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall or Cook Hall, Indiana’s practice facility, she tries to focus on the sport. The gym, she said, is “kind of a safe place.”

“I just clear my head when I focus on basketball,” she added.

But when she has her phone in hand, it becomes difficult to ignore news from the region. Lior tried to convince her sister, who already had the daily habit of watching the news, to take regular breaks and not necessarily keep up with updates every minute. Lior admits that she felt anxious early on during training and wondered, “What if something happens now?”

Disentangling the situations in their two worlds has been virtually impossible. Lior drew a Star of David on both of her Nike sneakers. On the left shoe she wrote in Hebrew: “You can never kill our spirit.” During the handshake after Oklahoma State’s loss to Colorado in early November, the Buffaloes coaches told her they were thinking of her and her family.

She broke down in tears as a moment of silence was held at an Oklahoma State football game earlier this season for the thousands who had died in the fighting. Her teammates made her a gift basket full of milk chocolate Hershey Kisses and a Starbucks gift card. “To realize that other people care and know what you’re going through, to experience this moment, I think that was really special,” Lior said.

In Indiana, some of the fans who attended the game against Stetson in early December wore blue shirts with the text “We Stand With Yarden” on the front and with the Star of David in a basketball. Assistant coach Rhet Wierzba, who hosted Yarden for a Shabbat dinner shortly after the outbreak of war, has worn an Israeli flag lapel pin on his jacket to support the sophomores. Hoosiers players also posed for a photo with the flag in hand just days after the initial attack. “The little things we can do help her know how much she is loved,” Wierzba said.

Yarden Garzon, a sophomore at Indiana, has received support from her teammates as she deals with the conflict in her home state. (Courtesy of Indiana University Athletics)

Before Indiana’s season opener on Nov. 9, Yarden took a black Sharpie and wrote “Bring Them Home” on tape around her left wrist, naming Noam Aviddori, a 12-year-old girl who was being held hostage at the time. , written underneath. Aviddori is back in Israel after being held for 50 days, but Yarden has continued to raise awareness for those taken.

The gestures, Eitan said, are done without any prompting. “It comes from them, not from us,” he said in a telephone interview. Yet their parents send photos and videos of the acts to their Israeli friends. These are small expressions of support. “The little things are the big things,” Eitan said. Even brief moments of joy are still moments of joy.

Eitan says he and his wife often talk to their daughters more than once a day. They try to remain calm and reassure them of their own safety. But both “are having a lot of trouble with it,” Eitan said. “It’s different to talk about because all we have to do is touch them or hug them.” However, Lior said helping Yarden in America helps. “We feel like we’re in the same boat,” she said. The sisters text daily about events at school, about their respective programs and about the war. Community has been critical.

It took a while for Lior to focus on basketball. Even the sports she had practiced since childhood could not distract her. “Like, why would I enjoy it when people are literally fighting for their lives right now?” she asked.

But well over a third of the way through the season, she found herself enjoying the season. She draws strength from the feeling that she has an extra purpose. “I think right now I think this is the best way I can represent Israel, just showing how strong we are and that no one can actually kill our spirit,” she said.

The words are written on her sneaker. She is moving forward with every step.

(Illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletics; Photos of Yarden and Lior Garzon: Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Michael Hickey/Getty Images, courtesy of OSU Athletics)