In the days after October 7, in which Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people, Yarden Garzon struggled to eat and sleep. The outbreak of war in Israel and the Gaza Strip is consuming him, as he watches the news from Bloomington, Ind., where he is a sophomore guard. Yarden, who was born and raised in Israel, worries about his friends, his family, his country. “I think I’m more nervous than my mom,” Garzon said. “The first week was really scary.”
Garzon’s parents are half a world away from him, staying at their home in Ra’anana, Israel, an affluent suburb north of Tel Aviv about 50 miles from the center of the war. However, for the past two months as the death toll mounted, his family spent time in the house’s bomb shelter. Sirens warning of air strikes pierced the sky.
Of Garzon’s three siblings, only his older sister, Lior Garzon, is in the United States. She is a senior at Oklahoma State and a preseason honorable mention all-conference forward for the Cowgirls. “This is one of my most important seasons,” Lior said. “I do not know what to do. stay To go home, to be with my family. It’s really a question of what to do.”
He stayed. But it’s been 82 days since the world changed for the Garzons. Since then, they have played key roles for their respective schools. Both started every game and averaged double-digit points. They also face loneliness.
Growing up, they know what to do when the sirens go off. The sound doesn’t ring every day or week — Yarden describes his childhood as peaceful — but Lior says they’re always prepared for anything that might happen. Her father, Eitan Garzon, recalled a game his daughters were playing when the sirens went off. Everyone rushes to the shelters, but eventually the game resumes as before.
Both Garzons have long been passionate about basketball, even when presented with alternatives. As a child, Lior danced and swam, Eitan said. He also tried judo and tennis. Yarden was a talented artist and played volleyball. However, the outer regional courts appealed more. “Then, with all the routes I send them, they come 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 launchpad to travel the world.
When Yarden walks into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall or Cook Hall, Indiana’s training facility, he tries to focus on the sport. The gym, he said, is “like a safe place.”
“I only clear my mind when I focus on basketball,” she added.
But if he has his phone in hand, it will be difficult to ignore the news from the region. Lior tries to convince his sister, who used to watch the news, to take regular breaks and not have to monitor every minute update. Lior admits he felt anxious early on during rehearsals, thinking, “What if something happens now?”
Lior Garzon writes a message in Hebrew on his sneakers before Oklahoma State games. (Courtesy of OSU Athletics)
Leaving situations in their two worlds is almost impossible. Lior drew a Star of David on both of his Nike sneakers. On the left shoe, in Hebrew he wrote, “You can never kill our spirit.” At the handshake line after Oklahoma State’s loss to Colorado in early November, the Buffaloes’ coaches told him they were thinking of him and his family.
He broke down in tears when at an Oklahoma State football game earlier this season, a moment of silence was held for the thousands who died amid the conflict. Her colleagues treated her to a gift basket, filled with milk chocolate Hershey Kisses and a Starbucks gift card. “To realize other people care and know what you’re going through, to have this moment, I think that’s really special,” Lior said.
In Indiana, a section of fans who attended their early December game against Stetson wore blue shirts that read “We Stand With Yarden” on the front and with the Star of David inside the basketball. . Assistant coach Rhet Wierzba, who hosted Yarden for a Shabbat dinner shortly after the war broke out, wore an Israeli flag lapel pin on his jacket to support the sophomore. Hoosiers players also posed for a photo holding the flag a few days after the first attack. “It’s the little things we can do that let him know how much he’s loved,” Wierzba said.
Yarden Garzon, a sophomore at Indiana, received support from his teammates as he dealt with the conflict in his home country. (Courtesy of Indiana University Athletics)
Before Indiana’s season-opener on Nov. 9, Yarden took out a black Sharpie and wrote “Bring Them Home” on the tape wrapped around his left wrist, bearing the name of Noam Avigdori, a 12-year-old girl who at the time was being held hostage. . , written underneath. Avigdori returned to Israel, after being held for 50 days, but Yarden continued to raise awareness for those arrested.
Actions, Eitan says, are done without any prompting. “It came from them, not us,” he said in a phone interview. However, their parents send photos and videos of the acts to their Israeli friends. These are small shows of support. “The little things are the big things,” Eitan said. Even brief moments of joy are still moments of joy.
Eitan said he and his wife often talk to their daughters more than once a day. They try to stay calm and assure them of their own safety. But both are “very difficult,” Eitan said. “It’s different to talk about because we just have to hold them or hug them.” Lior says having Yarden in America helps, however. “We feel (we’re) in the same boat,” he said. The sisters texted every day, about what was going on at school, about their respective programs and about the war. Community has been key.
It took Lior a while to focus on basketball. Even the sport he has been playing since childhood doesn’t bother him. “Like why would I enjoy it if people are literally fighting for their lives right now?” he asked.
However, more than a third of the way through the season, he found himself enjoying the season. He drew strength from feeling more purposeful. “I think my mind right now is (thinking) this is the best way for me to represent Israel, just showing how strong we are and that nobody can actually kill our spirit,” he said.
The words were written on his sneaker. With each step, he moves forward.
(Illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic; Yarden and Lior Garzon photos: Jeffrey Brown / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Michael Hickey / Getty Images, Courtesy of OSU Athletics)
