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Alex Bregman draws Star of David on hat during MLB playoff win
(JTA) — On a night when Dean Kremer became the first Israeli-American to start an MLB playoff game — while his parents’ country was at war, no less — fellow Jewish player Alex Bregman drew a Star of David on his Houston Astros hat for his own Tuesday night playoff game.
Kremer, who holds dual citizenship, did not fare so well in his historic start: the 27-year-old surrendered six earned runs in just 1.2 innings, and his Baltimore Orioles lost 7-1 to the Texas Rangers in a game that ended their once-promising season.
Bregman, who has expressed his own form of Jewish pride in the past and has been involved with Houston’s Jewish community, had more luck on Tuesday.
In the fifth inning of Houston’s American League Division Series matchup against the Minnesota Twins, Bregman slugged a solo home run to extend the Astros’ lead to 5-0. Houston would go on to win 9-1 and take a 2-1 series lead.
Bregman, who is only 29, has already become one of the more decorated postseason hitters in MLB history. The two-time World Series champion is seventh all-time in career postseason runs scored (57) and runs batted in (49), and he is ninth in walks (47). Last season, he broke the all-time records for most playoff home runs and RBIs by a third baseman in the playoffs.
Prior to his game, Kremer had said Israel would be “in the back of my head.” He is fluent in Hebrew and spends time each year in Israel, where much of his extended family lives. He has also played for Team Israel numerous times, including in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
On Tuesday night, Kremer wore a star of David necklace on the mound, as he usually does when he pitches. He had said he received support from his manager and teammates.
Fellow Orioles pitcher Kyle Gibson reiterated that support following Tuesday’s loss.
“I don’t know that anybody in this game has ever dealt with what he had to deal with today,” Gibson said. “I feel for him. He’s got so much on his mind right now. I’m super proud of him. What he did today, like I said — you find me another example of somebody who went through what he’s gone through the last five days and gone through it the way he did. I’m really proud of him.”
During the Fox Sports broadcast of the Orioles game, the network shared that Fox Corporation, its parent company, would be donating $1 million to an emergency Israel fund set up by UJA-Federation of New York, the New York area’s Jewish federation. The broadcast shared a link for viewers to donate as well.
Bregman followed in the footsteps of players such as Julian Edelman and Deni Avdija, who have also sported Jewish symbols on their uniforms after crises affecting Jews around the world.
In 2018, Edelman, then a member of the NFL’s New England Patriots, wore a Jewish star and Hebrew words on his cleats as a tribute to victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. And in May 2022, Avdija, an Israeli member of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, drew Stars of David on his sneakers as violence raged in his home country.
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The post Alex Bregman draws Star of David on hat during MLB playoff win appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.