David Beckham to visit Israel with Real Madrid for soccer friendly

by ryan | May 11, 2007 at 09:27 am

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David Beckham has found another job to add to his resume, peacemaker. The effectiveness of sport as a method of bringing warring peoples together is a long practiced effort, however it has reached a new height of celebrity with the participation of Beckham.

Spanish soccer powerhouse Real Madrid, and its star David Beckham, will arrive in Israel this summer for a soccer friendly against a joint Israeli-Palestinian team, Israeli media reported Friday.

Beckham and Real will be the guests of the Peres Center for Peace, founded by Nobel Peace laureate Shimon Peres in 1996 to encourage economic and grass-roots cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.

The team is scheduled to arrive on June 19, just before Beckham is slated to depart for the U.S. to join Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, with whom he signed a five-year contract earlier this year. The Real Madrid players are to meet with young Israeli and Palestinian soccer players during their visit.