from Stan Fischler at the Daily Freeman,

Welcome to Hockeytown.

And I don’t mean Detroit either.

This is Hockeytown, Israel and if that seems a bit strange to you at this time of the year -- or any time year for that matter -- it’s hockey time any time in Metula.

No bigger than Phoenicia, Metula sits on Israel’s Northern border, neck and neck with Lebanon. Its Olympic-sized Canada Centre ice rink actually produces good, young hockey players.

And one reason that it does is that every Summer a former National Hockey League player runs an ecumenical stickhandling camp for Jews, Christians, Druse and Arab kids.

Former Washington Capitals forward Alan May has worked for this Canada-Israel Hockey School and is amazed at how well the varied players get along.

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