A Court of Hope
When a rocket slammed just 100 feet from his Ashkelon apartment on October 7, 2023, Jared Armstrong felt the ground shake beneath a life already split between two continents. The American‑Israeli former professional player, who had moved to Israel in 2020 after stints with Hapoel Haifa and Hapoel Rishon, responded not with panic but with a plan: to turn basketball courts into sanctuaries for children coping with trauma.
Beyond the Paint
Under the banner of his nonprofit JAB Courts, Armstrong and his team have already refurbished 17 courts across the country, with a pipeline that aims to add 18 new surfaces each year. The latest dedication, held on April 17 in Ashkelon, featured a court emblazoned with the word “Hope” in bold lettering, a color palette chosen to avoid hues that might trigger anxiety in a population still living under the shadow of conflict.
From Vision to Reality
The initiative extends beyond paint and hoops. A summer‑long Resilience Tour plans to launch ten courts and ten camps in ten communities directly affected by the attacks, from Kibbutz Alumim and Kibbutz Zikim to the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan. Each site will host a girls’ sports component in the pipeline, seeking coaches who can nurture a new generation of female athletes in regions where such opportunities are scarce.
Funding for the tour comes from a mosaic of donors, including the Grosberg family of Scarsdale, N.Y., whose son’s bar mitzvah project with JAB in Ashkelon sparked the sponsorship of the Herzliya court. Beginning this fall, JAB Courts will invite b’nei mitzvah classes from across the United States to sponsor courts and travel to Israel for the dedication, turning a rite of passage into a tangible act of solidarity.
On‑the‑ground support is provided by Sheliak Bryant, a resident of Dimona and member of the Black Hebrew community, who helps navigate municipal approvals and ensures that each court is maintained long after the dedication ceremony. Formal agreements with local municipalities and school administrations guarantee stewardship, embedding the courts into the fabric of the neighborhoods they serve.
Beyond the immediate therapeutic benefits, Armstrong sees the courts as a permanent visual testament to diaspora investment scattered across Israeli towns, kibbutzim, development towns and Druze villages. By weaving together sport, mental‑health outreach and cross‑community dialogue, the project not only rehabilitates physical spaces but also works to reshape Israel’s narrative in the eyes of young American Jews.