Head of the Charles rower Ilana Zieff shows support for Israel wearing friend's uniform
BOSTON - A local rower will be taking on the Head of the Charles race with a competitor's uniform on her shoulders. It is the uniform of the Israeli national team.
Ilana Zieff has raced in every Head of the Charles since 2004. In 2017, she competed in the Maccabiah Games for Team USA. It is a Jewish international sports competition in Israel.
"I had a particularly good year," said Zieff. "How the Maccabiah works for rowing is it is based off overall stats and standing."
It's there that she met Nurit Bezdensky. She is a rower on the Israeli national team and the fastest women's singles rower in the country. The two formed an immediate bond that has lasted years.
"We stayed in contact after the Maccabiah Games. She came to visit me that Fall, and we started this back-and-forth friendship relationship," said Zieff. "Both of us are fiercely competitive. Both of us love rowing. We joke that we are sisters on other sides of the world, and I feel that way sometimes. I feel like we are very much aligned."
It is popular in rowing to trade uniforms after a race. In 2019, Nurit handed her national team uniform to Ilana. After the war broke out in Israel, she decided to wear it this weekend in solidarity.
"When you race, it's emotional. You put all of yourself into it, and right now my head and my heart are with her and her family," said Zieff. "I am racing for her. I am racing for all of the people who have been kind to my in the Israeli Rowing Federation. I want to bring awareness to the fact that there are Jews in the sport. I want to recognize there still is antisemitism in the world. Every Jewish person has experienced it, even if it has been low."
Ilana attended Nurit's wedding in Israel in May. Bezdesnky left the country for her honeymoon in Vietnam, and then the war broke out. She has yet to return since.
"I am wearing my heart on my sleeve for wearing her uniform," said Zieff. "I miss her right now, and I text her a lot how much I miss her right now."