Miran Bozukalo says goodbye in tears as her 13-year-old son joins Maccabi Haifa academy

Model, businesswoman and social media personality Miran Bozukalo told her hundreds of thousands of followers that her family is going through an emotional separation after her 13-year-old son, Ray Bozukalo, was accepted into the prestigious youth academy of Maccabi Haifa in Kfar Giladi.

The move means Ray will leave the family home in central Israel immediately and live independently at the academy complex in the north, all at a very young age, in order to pursue his football dream. Bozukalo said the family spent two difficult weeks wrestling with the decision, marked by heavy doubts, deep fears and many tears behind the scenes.

In a candid post, she wrote that she is facing a separation she did not want but believes is necessary. “Sometimes the things that are most right are the hardest,” she said, adding that “sometimes good things are not necessarily pleasant, and sometimes the things that are most right are also the hardest for us to go through.”

Bozukalo, who describes herself as a “totally devoted” and unusually anxious mother who always puts her children first, said Ray’s determination gave her the strength to let him go. She described him as hardworking and fully focused on his goal, and said parents must know not only how to hold their children close, but also how to spread their wings so they can fly on their own.