Originally, I was going to write about the NCAA Basketball Tournament concluded Monday night. But sometimes, there are several stories (two in this case) that come along at the same time, juxtaposed into a bigger story that can't be overlooked.

On one hand, we have a Jewish soccer story from The Netherlands, so politically vile and detestable that it is unbelievable that such antics can happen in a civilized world. And then there is the other story, from Israel, uplifting in such a way, that it lifts our spirits and our belief that the human spirit transcends politics and our hopes for peace.

The first story takes place last month in Amsterdam.

In a soccer match, Ajax of Amsterdam squared off against Eindhoven, a team from the southern part of the country.

For no reason other than Ajax has had some Jewish players and directors during its 105-year history, the team became identified as Jewish. Seeking to capitalize on the marketing opportunity, about 30 years ago, team management began merchandizing the team through Israeli flags and flags with the head of the fabled Greek warrior, superimposed inside a Star of David.

Clothing apparel worn to games by fans of the team are frequently embroidered with Hebrew writing, and until recently, the team's official Web site features popular Jewish songs fans can download into their mobile phones.

But it is not the clothing or the music that is necessarily the problem. When the opponents are Eindhoven, The Hague or Rotterdam, the visitors see nothing wrong with displaying the Nazi straight-arm salute and chanting, "Hamas, Hamas," to provoke the Ajax partisans.

In some games, the shouts are even viler. Despicable chants such as "Jews to the gas!" or simply the sound of hissing to simulate the sound of escaping gas is heard.

The Ajax games have become so charged with such anti-Semitic displays that many of the team's Jewish fans are avoiding the matches.

But the nasty comments aren't all one-sided. Ajax can run in the gutter with their adversaries. For instance, in a game against a visiting German team in 2004, a group of Ajax supporters displayed a banner that read "Jews take revenge for '40-'45," a reference to the Holocaust.

Some of the Ajax board of directors, past and present, believe the atmosphere at the games has become unbearable, and probably is a direct result of their own ambivalence to the fanaticism in the past. Even for those fans that are proud to call themselves Jews, it's a form of hooliganism.

But if hooliganism represents the ridiculousness of the situation, the club's desire to come up with an alternative strategy for ending the practice has fallen to the sublime. The club has asked an independent committee, headed by the Dutch foreign minister, to suggest ways the practice can be brought to a conclusion.

One suggestion is that supporters substitute the word "Goden," or gods, for "Joden," Dutch for Jews, and call themselves "sons of gods," on the logic that Ajax was a sort of god.

Somebody, PLEASE tell these people what Hanukkah was all about.

Our other story is from the Associated Press in Jerusalem. It is also somewhat problematic, but has a much happier result.

Israel suddenly has two Arab heroes. In a country where Jewish-Arab alienation runs deep, a pair of critical goals in World Cup soccer have created an instant connection across the divide.

For years, Abas Suan and Walid Badir endured racist taunts from the bleachers. Now they're the toasts of the predominantly Jewish State.

Badir scored Israel's only goal in a 1-1 tie with France on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifying match, repeating Suan's feat in a Saturday match against Ireland - and keeping Israel in contention for a slot in the prestigious tournament.

The two are among Israel's minority Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Israel's 6.8 million people. Many Israeli-Arabs complain they are second-class citizens and targets of discrimination in employment, education and living conditions.

Their rage has spilled over from time to time.

Conversely, four years of Palestinian-Israeli violence has kindled Jewish anger against Israeli-Arabs for identifying with their relatives in the West Bank and Gaza.

Most Israeli soccer teams have Arab players, and often they are greeted with racist chants. "No Arabs, no terrorism," goes one.

Now that the two Arab players have rescued Israel's World Cup hopes, though, there's a new slogan being carried in banner headlines in Israeli newspapers: "No Arabs, no goals."

Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab lawmaker, said Arabs have mixed feelings about rooting for Israel in the fervor following the goals by Suan and Badir.

"As Arabs, we're normally pushed away from the Israeli political issues, and then suddenly we're pulled into this ultra-national patriotism," Tibi said.

The euphoria and goodwill of the moment may be transitory, said Zouheir Bahloul, an Israeli Arab sportscaster for Israel Radio and TV. Part of the problem is how Israel's Arab citizens fit into the nation, dominated by its Jewish majority.

Bahloul said when Israeli Arabs see the athletic accomplishments of Suan and Badir, they feel more a part of Israel. But sports creates a virtual reality, he said, generating successful examples for Arabs while doors continue to close in other areas.

"If the state can create more opportunities in other fields, this type of inspiration gives Arabs the confidence to make things happen for themselves," Bahloul said.

Badir, a tall, rangy defender, burst into the penalty area Wednesday and headed a shot past French goaltender Fabien Barthez, salvaging a tie score.

Badir's first comments were about his sport. "You have to give 200 percent in your job. I'm doing my best to fulfill my dream of reaching the World Cup," he said.

But his family's history in Israel is tainted by conflict and tragedy. His grandfather was one of about 50 Arabs killed by Israeli border police in 1956 at the Arab town of Kafr Kassem in an incident described by Jewish-Israelis as a terrible mishap and by Arabs as a massacre.

Yet, Badir stands at attention with the rest of the Israeli national soccer team as the Israeli anthem is sung before games, with its lyrics about Jews returning to their ancient land. It makes him uncomfortable, he says.

At a conference on racism in soccer last year, Badir said he hoped that one day the anthem would incorporate something that represents him as an Arab-Israeli.

"Then I'll be able to sing it as well," he said.

As for Suan, he hopes the goodwill endures. After scoring his goal, he told The Associated Press: "Now Jews and Arabs have something to agree on ... I only hope that Israelis will respect Arabs."

A native of Sakhnin, an Arab town in northern Israel, Suan said that through sports, athletes can set an example by relating to each other through friendship and dialogue.

"I think we get along better than politicians do," Suan said.

BRIEFS

Div. III pitcher eclipses NCAA record for consecutive wins Josh Schwartz of Division III Rowan (NJ) set an NCAA all-division record last month with his 27th consecutive pitching win. The senior left-hander reached the milestone in a 15-1 victory against Gwynedd Mercy (Pa.).

The mark of 26 in a row had been shared by two Division I players, Kyle Sleeth of Wake Forest (2001-03) and Scott Nielsen of Brigham Young (1978, 1982-83). Schwartz is 28-3 in his career with the Profs, starting the streak April 29, 2002, with a 3-1 win against Montclair (N.J.) State. Rowan is 15-0 this season.


The Associated Press reported the death of Milton Green, 91, on Mar. 30 2005, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Green was a world-record hurdler at Harvard University in 1935 and 1936, where he tied the world record of 5.8 seconds in the 45-yard hurdles four times, according to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He also tied the world record of 7.5 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles in 1936.

Green was chosen for the 1936 United States Olympic Track team and was considered a strong possibility to win a gold medal in Berlin, but he boycotted the games because of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.

"It was a very difficult decision at the time," Green told The Palm Beach Post in a 1997 interview. "My roommate and I both qualified for the final tryouts.

We had the certificates. Then we got a call from the rabbi at our temple. He suggested the boycott, and we talked it over with our families and decided. I never regretted it."

At 71, Green, then retired as a shopping center developer, won six gold medals and four silvers at the Florida Senior Olympics in 1984. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Netanya, Israel, in 1997