This fan takes solace in the Phillies as war rages in Israel

The war outside Nadine Bonner’s window feels very far away when the Phillies are working their postseason magic.

So it was hardly a hardship for Bonner to rise at 3 a.m. in preparation for the decisive Game 4 of the National League Division Series, clicking an app on her phone and settling in to listen to the team she’s loved for 60 years slug their way to victory — even though she was 5,000 miles away from Philadelphia, rooting from Beit Shemesh, Israel.

“Nothing’s going to make the horror of war to go away; cheering for the Phillies isn’t going to save anyone’s life,” said Bonner, a native Philadelphian who moved to Israel in 2020 to be closer to her 11 grandchildren. “But this is good for my mental health. Even in wartime, baseball must go on.”

Bonner, 71, fell in love with the Phils as a kid growing up in West Oak Lane, taking buses and the subway to Connie Mack Stadium, waiting outside the clubhouse to collect autographs from Ruben Amaro and Cookie Rojas.

“I love this team,” said Bonner. “I’m a lifelong fan.”

Her father took her to her first game in 1961, and the Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-0. The legendary Willie Mays played center field for the Giants.

Her Phils fervor never wavered as she moved around: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Israel, then back to Philadelphia, where Bonner was a communications professional. These days, it’s easy to follow the team from abroad, via the internet.

Bonner tries not to miss a game, even though it means keeping odd hours. But she couldn’t tune in for the first game of the division series Oct. 7, the day Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israel triggered an all-out war in her country and the Gaza Strip, which still rages.

“That day, we had rockets all day, the war had just started,” said Bonner. “There were planes going over my apartment building all the time.”

She wasn’t sure whether she’d have to listen to Game 4 from her safe room, where she goes when sirens go off, signaling shelling or other danger. The room has enough space for Bonner, some emergency food, and her rescue dog, Lucky, a mini Australian shepherd. The space is fortified by an ironclad door and window covering.

Bonner keeps baseball in perspective. She worries nearly constantly about her own safety, her family’s, her grandson who’s soon to join the Israeli army, and those who have been injured, killed, kidnapped.

It doesn’t feel frivolous or wrong, she said, to celebrate the joy of people who are paid millions of dollars to play a game. It’s the Phillies, her lifelong team, and it makes her happy — a measure of joy in an eerie reality where schools are closed and no children play on playgrounds because of the threat of attack.

“Psychologists have told us to try to find things like listening to music that take our minds off the war,” Bonner said. “I’m really devoted to my team, and this keeps my spirits up.”

And yes, her mind was most certainly off the war when Johan Rojas made a highlight-reel catch in the seventh inning, when Trea Turner slammed a home run, when Nick Castellanos belted two.

“I was thinking how much of the season people were complaining the Phils paid too much for him and he wasn’t producing. He showed he was worth every cent,” said Bonner, who makes sure to outfit her Israeli grandchildren in Phillies gear and sometimes meets people with Philadelphia connections when she wears her own Phillies swag around town.

She doesn’t have a favorite player. Every player, from the stars to the bench players, bring something to the squad.

“I love them all,” she said. “They’re all so different, all their personalities. You look at someone like Trea that had such a shaky start, and the fans really supported him and he really came through. It’s just been a great season.”