In Israel, soccer is the undisputed No. 1 sport, followed by basketball. After that you’ve got tennis, maybe swimming. And cycling seems to be getting more popular.

You’ve got to scroll down, way down, through a bunch of other sports before you come to baseball, the great American pastime.

But from little acorns mighty oaks can grow. Lately, the sport has been increasing in popularity, not only in the ranks of North American olim, but also among native Israelis who are coming to appreciate the intricacies of both the hardball and softball varieties of the game, said Peter Kurz, secretary general of the Israel Association of Baseball (IAB).

One of the things holding back the sport’s success is the scarcity of dedicated baseball facilities in the country, specifically diamonds.

Kurz was in Toronto last week to follow up on developments south of the border in which the Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) American branch was set to fund the development of several new baseball fields across the country, as well as a Baseball Complex in Beit Shemesh, as part of Project: Baseball.

Kurz was scheduled to meet with officials of JNF Canada to determine if there is any interest in following the American lead. The Canadian Jewish community’s support for Israel is well known, he said, and coupled with the popularity of baseball here as well as its bright future in the Jewish state, there’s good reason for Canadian Jews to support development of the  sport in Israel.

Whether there’s any local interest in supporting the creation of baseball fields in Israel remains to be seen. According to Josh Cooper, CEO of JNF Canada, it’s too early to tell. Cooper said he is willing to meet with Kurz, following an introduction from his counterpart with JNF USA. “We look forward to meeting him and learning more about the project and the possibility of working together,” he said ahead of Kurz’s visit.

For Kurz, broad support of the baseball project makes perfect sense.

“Baseball in Israel has always been popular among olim from Canada and the United States. In the last two or three years, 50 per cent of the new players are native Israelis,” he said.

“It’s a game that almost anyone can play. Baseball is a family thing, with picnics and barbecues. It’s like a family celebration.”

Currently there are more than 1,000 players of all ages playing on 80 teams in five leagues across the country.

Israel has had some success on the international stage, Kurz said. The senior national team won the European Cup C pool qualifiers in Slovenia, moving them up to the B pool next year. As well, the under-16 national team won the silver medal in the Suma Open – PONY League European qualifiers in Prague, and the under-12 national team won the silver in the Tuscany Series Tournament in Italy.

Right now, there are a few modest diamonds in use in Israel, but under Project: Baseball, plans are to add “two or three nice fields, with dugouts and some stands for a few hundred people,” Kurz said.

One of the new fields is slated to include seats for up to 2,000 spectators, which would let Israel host international baseball events. Also on tap are four or five smaller fields to be developed in smaller communities across the country.

The IAB is certainly not putting all its eggs in JNF’s basket. Kurz suggests the project could find support among the seven or eight Jewish owners of Major League Baseball teams. There’s also private money out there, including in Toronto, that could be donated to the project.

For the IAB, football suggests the model they’d like to follow. Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team, supports the Israel Football League and the Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem.

“We’re looking for the Bob Kraft of Israeli baseball,” Kurz said.