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Meet Thomas Poretsky, 10-year-old Native American-Jewish racer
ELKO NEW MARKET, Minn. (JTA via TC Jewfolk) — Thomas Poretsky is six years away from being behind the wheel of a street-legal car and is too young to drive bumper cars at the State Fair. This is ironic as he stands in the shadow of Elko Speedway in a firesuit and holds his racing helmet, waiting to take his Bandolero race car onto the track to get some practice laps in.
“I don’t like bumper cars,” he said. “I’m trying to avoid running into things.”
Poretsky, a 10-year-old Prior Lake resident, has been driving cars for nearly half of his life. His No. 8 car is emblazoned with two important pieces of family heritage: an Israeli flag denoting his father’s Jewish heritage, and a flag of the Quechan Nation, the Native American tribe of his mother’s side of the family.
“It means a lot to me,” Poretsky said during a recent practice session. “There’s not a lot of Native and Jewish mixes and it’s just … me. It shows my story.”
The Bandolero looks like a scaled-down stock car. It has a tube frame with a roll cage to protect the driver and is covered by fiberglass panels that can be removed for maintenance.
Poretsky is in his first season driving Bandoleros but has been behind the wheel of cars since he was six.
“Thomas was always quiet and shy and not sure of himself,” said Mary Poretsky, Thomas’ mother. “And one day, he said he wanted to race cars. He and I, we made this deal. He said, ‘Mom, I’ll race as long as you’re there.’ So I said ‘okay.’ And then one thing led to another and then I’m looking for a car.”
Poretsky’s car features Native American and Israeli flags. (Lonny Goldsmith/TC Jewfolk)
Poretsky started driving in what so many young drivers — including professionals — started: quarter-midget cars. But the Poretskys learned that those cars require more maintenance than the Bandoleros, so they made the move up a class.
“It’s an introductory class for kids,” said Tim Brockhouse, referring to the Bandoleros. He is the owner of the Great North Legends Bandolero parts and repair shop in Burnsville, Minnesota, and maintains Poretsky’s car. “And that’s what we try to keep it as. They actually have adults racing them down south, but at 14 we kick them out.”
Thomas drives his car around the quarter-mile inner oval at Elko Speedway at roughly 46 miles per hour. His father Solomon times his laps and said Poretsky was consistently between 18.9 and 19.1 seconds per lap.
“I’m really, really happy with his performance,” Solomon Poretsky said. “If you rip a good lap, the problem is you may not be able to repeat it. If you’re consistent, you always do the same thing.”
Consistency has been a feature of Thomas’ racing. He took part in a competitive go-kart league at Pro Kart in Burnsville last winter. Solomon Poretsky said that his son was never near the front of the pack, but consistent laps and finishes helped him finish in third place in the final standings, behind “generational racing families.”
“For a starting Bando racer to finish every race and not damage your car, that’s an accomplishment,” the elder Poretsky said. “His car control’s pretty good, especially for a beginning driver.”
Family affair
Solomon and Mary Poretsky met online in the pre-dating app era, after he answered an ad she placed on Yahoo! Personals.
“He sent me this whole dissertation,” she said.
“It was more of a thesis,” he quipped back.
That was 25 years ago, and 17 years ago when they moved to Minnesota from Sacramento, Solomon knew that they didn’t want their kids to play hockey. It was too expensive, he said, laughing. (Thomas’ car cost $7,000, and the engine — which is sealed and can only be purchased from one spot — is $2,500.)
Neither of Poretsky’s parents are mechanically inclined. Solomon has decades of experience in real estate, and Mary used to run her own small business before giving it up to focus on her son’s racing. Solomon joked that he only buys new cars to avoid dealing with repairs.
Mary said she’s getting the hang of filling Thomas’ car with gas and managing the tire pressure. But “it’s been a real learning process,” she said.
(Lonny Goldsmith/TC Jewfolk)
And the parents agreed: if Thomas is serious about pursuing racing long-term, they will support him — even if it means they need to move out of Minnesota.
Mary recalled how in an early practice session, her son’s engine blew out and he had to be pushed up the track.
“[Thomas] was in tears,” she said. “And people just came to help, and slap a new engine in. Nobody asked for anything. I was saying thank you to everybody, and everybody kept saying ‘It’s for the kids.’
“It was so beautiful,” she added. “It just looked like a testament of the goodness of humanity. They didn’t know him, they didn’t know us. We never even said hello to each other before.”
Since he has started racing at his current level, Thomas’ parents and their friends have noticed a different kid.
“He walks differently, he talks with a little bit more authority,” Mary said. “It’s like he came out of his shell. He’s making friends left and right. He has the admiration of the kids in his class. His teacher even came at the end of school to watch him.”
Said Thomas: “[My friends] didn’t believe it until I showed them a picture of the car.”
Meaning in the car design
Poretsky and his father both said a plain, white car was fine. His mother protested.
“No, it needs to be pretty,” she said.
The car number is for Thomas’ favorite NASCAR driver, Kyle Busch. The white on the bottom features tribal-inspired geometric patterns — the white and green are separated with a thin line of blue, with a diamondback snake over it. The snake is native to the southwest where Mary’s tribe originates.
The flags on either side of his name over the windows to the car was the icing on the cake.
“He’s Native American. And he’s Jewish. And we should be proud of that. And we should be proud of him,” she said.
Solomon, who described his family as “gastronomic Jews,” said being a “member of the tribe” has taken on a new meaning for Thomas. In addition to the tribal components of Native American and Jewish culture, the racing community is tight-knit, too.
“People have been so welcoming and so kind,” Solomon said. “I can’t tell you how many people have put their kids in the car, they’ve got a picture of their kids in the car smiling out the window with a Quechan and an Israeli flag. It’s been completely welcoming.”
Towards the rear of the car behind the windows on each side is a blue Thunderbird. In Native traditions, the Thunderbird is a desert bird that is the protector of the sky.
“When he flaps his wings, that’s the thunder. And he shoots lightning out of his eyes,” Mary said. “I thought that was good for Thomas to have a protector.”
Thomas said he drives for two reasons: For fun, and because he gets to inspire people.
“That’s a really big thing for me,” he said. “A lot of people wish they could do this, and it’s just cool to know that they’re feeling happy because they’re inspired to follow their dreams.”
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The post Meet Thomas Poretsky, 10-year-old Native American-Jewish racer appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Hezbollah Says Lebanon Move on Army Plan Is ‘Opportunity,’ Urges Israel to Commit to Ceasefire
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, September 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”
Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.
But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the army’s progress. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally approved the plan.
Qmati told Reuters that Hezbollah had reached its assessment based on the government’s declaration on Friday that further implementation of a US roadmap on the matter was dependent on Israel’s commitment. He said that without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain “suspended until further notice.”
Lebanon’s cabinet last month tasked the army with coming up with a plan that would establish a state monopoly on arms and approved a US roadmap aimed at disarming Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Qmati said that Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” those two decisions and expected the Lebanese government to draw up a national defense strategy.
Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, it has continued its strikes, killing four people on Wednesday.
A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.
Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to disarm the group. But Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south.
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month raised the specter of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible.
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UK Police Arrest Dozens at Latest Protest for Banned Palestine Action
Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organization.
Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Police have arrested hundreds of Palestine Action supporters in recent weeks under anti-terrorism legislation, including over 500 in just one day last month, many of them over the age of 60.
On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament in central London to protest against the ban on Saturday, with many holding up signs that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had begun arresting those expressing support for Palestine Action. Police did not say how many arrests were made but a Reuters witness said dozens of people were detained.
Palestine Action’s ban, or proscription, puts the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS and makes it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
“I can be unequivocal, if you show support for Palestine Action – an offense under the Terrorism Act – you will be arrested,” Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said on Friday. “We have the officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”
Human rights groups have criticized Britain’s decision to ban the group as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
The government has accused Palestine Action of causing millions of pounds worth of criminal damage and says the ban does not prevent other pro-Palestinian protests.
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Macron’s Meeting with American Jewry ‘Won’t Happen’ Amid Palestinian Recognition Drive, Surge in Antisemitism
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in Paris, France, June 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
i24 News – French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to set up a meeting with American Jewish leaders later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
i24NEWS has learned that the meeting won’t happen, firstly because Macron was only available for the meeting ahead of the UN General Assembly during Rosh Hashanah, and yet, a person invited to meet with Macron and who has knowledge of the discussions told i24NEWS the sit-down simply wasn’t going to happen, anyway.
“I think the organizations, for the most part, would not have participated,” the person said, adding that AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee would have likely received invitations, among other entities.
“The guy has a 15% popularity rating in France. It’s not our job to help him out,” the person said.
Asked by i24NEWS whether Macron’s push for greater Palestinian state recognition or his lack of action in tackling antisemitism at home led to the stance of organized American Jewry, the person said it’s more of “the climate” which allows one to say ‘Look, the American Jews met with me,’ regardless of the content.”
The person said they are sure, if a meeting would have happened, that everybody in the room would have taken a hard line with Macron, including his “statements on Israel, the failure to respond to antisemitism” and France’s announcement this summer that it will recognize a Palestinian state later this month, and is leading an effort to get more countries to do the same.
But, the person told i24NEWS they are convinced that, in the end, while no final decision actually had to be taken, there was enough pressure that a consensus would have been reached to decline the meeting.
Of the timing of Rosh Hashanah allowing for leadership to not be forced to officially say no to Macron, the person said “G-d saves us every time.”
Another source familiar with the matter noted that it cannot be ruled out that Macron may eventually succeed in arranging a meeting with certain representatives, as the organizations are not a single unified body. However, he is unlikely to be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of groups representing American Jewry.
i24NEWS has also learned that French President Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of visiting Israel ahead of the convention, but was advised by the Prime Minister’s Office that the timing was inappropriate. The message came as Macron continues to push for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move Israel strongly opposes. Sources further told i24NEWS that Israel is weighing additional retaliatory measures against Macron, including the potential closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem, which primarily serves Palestinians in the West Bank.