BLOOMINGTON — Most often, “shalom” in Hebrew is used interchangeably to say hello or goodbye.
It also means peace, which is in short supply in Israel right now.
Few in Indiana understand that better than Yarden Garzon, a sophomore for the Indiana University women’s basketball team. Garzon may be on loan to the Hoosiers, but she is from Israel. That is where her parents and other family members live.
While Garzon is taking three-point shots for the Indiana hoopsters, her relatives are trying to stay out of the line of fire after avoiding other shots fired by Hamas terrorists who invaded the country from Gaza Oct. 7.
Garzon speaks accented English, and my fluidity in Hebrew peaked when I was 13, long before she was born. When we cross paths in a basketball realm, I do say “shalom,” as in hello.
A few days ago, the Hoosiers opened their 2023-24 season with a 96-43 cruise-control victory over Eastern Illinois at Assembly Hall. Garzon was one of the five IU starters after starting all last season as a freshman for the 28-4 club.
Garzon excelled last year and was chosen second-team All-Big Ten, much of it on the foundation of her long-range shooting. At various times, she recorded high points of 21, a high in rebounds of 14 and twice notched seven assists. She showed an all-around game.
Against Eastern Illinois, Garzon scored 15 points and collected seven assists and as coach Teri Moren had urged her went hard to the basket more regularly than just relying on outside shots. Moren called Garzon’s first half in particular a “special” showing.
More impressive is that she can play at all. Moren essentially called Garzon the queen of compartmentalization, able to focus her mind on basketball when the rest of her waking moments, her mind drifts to war and fear for loved ones.
Hardly any of us will ever face a level of this type of personal distress like Garzon’s. She periodically receives word long distance that parents Eitan and Ruth Garzon are safe as well as a sister and brother. An older sister, Lior, is in the same circumstance as Yarden, a college basketball player in the U.S. at Oklahoma State.
It would be easy to let concentration lapse given the big picture. Some 1,400 countrymen were casualties from the initial Hamas attack when a precise unknown number of civilian hostages were taken. They remain at continuous serious risk amid thousands more dying in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
For a few moments after her exemplary court performance Tuesday night, Garzon talked basketball. Ironically, she spoke of “attacking” the basket and being more “aggressive,” in the sporting vernacular, for her success.
She also diverted the conversation from the mundane to the alarming. Pointing to a wristband on her left arm, Garzon said a name out loud. She said it belonged to a 12-year-old hostage.
“I’m trying to bring it on the stage,” Garzon said of this drawing attention to the situation. “I hope she is going to come home soon.”
Sobering consideration. From minute to minute, there is no way to be certain if captives will be killed or freed. Moren said Garzon’s demeanor has been extraordinary under the haunting specter of the international headlines.
Moren said in this instance, she can’t tell a player not to stay up late “and watch the news.” As we know, with computers and the Internet, we live with a 24-hour news cycle, so when do you sleep?
“She is worried,” Moren said. “None of us can put ourselves in her shoes.”
The tensions and battles between Israel and other Middle Eastern nations date back decades with interspersed violent flareups. Stakes keep rising over the safety of homelands in light of more efficient and deadlier weapons.
One sports reporter has a father who is Israeli. After the basketball discussion concluded, he told Garzon his dad is safe, and in Hebrew, she said the same about her family. It is a message exchanged they hope does not change as war continues.
There is also the hope the next time Garzon turns in a top-caliber basketball performance, I can greet her again with “shalom,” only this time meaning peace.