As the Israel Defense Forces increased its troops in the north Jan. 22 in light of tensions in the region, about 900 Israelis gathered at the Maccabi basketball arena in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon LeZion for an evening of knights doing battle. The Israeli soul, it seems, finds it difficult to refuse another dose of violence, even if it is a little strange because it seems like a game but sort of isn't.

Seven Israelis and seven guests from Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Russia, and Ukraine have come to fight each other with swords, axes and javelins, wearing helmets that weigh 5 kilos (11 pounds), chain mail weighing in at 30 kilos (66 pounds) and armor adding another 5 kilos. They battle in a ring surrounded by iron chains and an arena with painted flags for decoration. Medieval music completes the atmosphere.

As the first round of the first battle got underway, the crowd reacted with a surprising gasp, attesting to their expectation that the evening's entertainment would be somewhat light. What they got instead was fighters hitting each other with frightening force. Sparks flew when the heavy swords hit the armor of an opposing knight. Things got serious when the second battle ended with a technical win for the French knight, a 23-year-old truck driver, after an emergency medical team determined his Israeli opponent would be unable to continue for medical reasons.

The organizers promote these battles as regular sporting events, which are part of an international tradition of medieval re-enactments, including of battles, at various fairs and competitions. Around 100 Israelis are active participants in this community, 20 as fighters.