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The Jewish Sport Report: Your Jewish guide to the new NHL season
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Hello, Jewish sports fans! It’s hard to believe, but we hit send on the very first edition of the Jewish Sport Report two years ago this week. Whether you’re an original fan or joined the team more recently — thanks for reading.
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Now, onto the news!
The NHL is more Jewish than you think
From left: Adam Fox, Jack Hughes, Zach Hyman, Devon Levi and Jason Zucker. (Getty Images; Design by Mollie Suss)
The NHL season is underway, and the league is chock full of Jewish players to watch.
You may know some of the stars, like Jack Hughes, Adam Fox and Zach Hyman. But there are actually 11 known Jewish players who started the season on an NHL roster, plus a few veterans and prospects currently vying for a spot, too.
Here are the Jewish players on NHL teams:
Jakob Chychrun, Ottawa Senators defenseman
Adam Fox, New York Rangers defenseman
Cole Guttman, Chicago Blackhawks center
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils center
Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils defenseman
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks defenseman
Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers left winger
Luke Kunin, San Jose Sharks center
Devon Levi, Buffalo Sabres goaltender
Jake Walman, Detroit Red Wings defenseman
Jason Zucker, Arizona Coyotes left winger
Read our full Jewish NHL season preview right here.
Halftime report
“I AM A JEW.” A group of 19 current and former Jewish MLB players — almost all of whom have played and/or coached for Team Israel — participated in a video the team shared yesterday, calling for fans to stand up against antisemitism and in support of Israel. The video features Alex Bregman, Ryan Braun, Shawn Green, Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler and many others.
PROUD. Speaking of Team Israel, Kinsler, who has played for and managed Israel, donned his blue and white jersey this week when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ Game 3 ALCS matchup against the Houston Astros.
MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING. Another Israeli star athlete has been identified among the more than 1,400 killed in the war. Karina Pritika, 23, a former rhythmic gymnast, was one of the more than 250 victims at the desert music festival where former soccer star Lior Asulin was also killed.
OFF-PITCH. Yeshiva University is known for its vaunted basketball program, but the Maccabees’ soccer team is also solid, starting the season with a 5-1-2 record. The New York Times looked at how the Orthodox school’s athletes are responding to the violence in Israel, on and off the pitch.
MARCHING ON. Following their matchup against the Brooklyn Nets last week, the Maccabi Raanana basketball team continued their U.S. tour in Cleveland, where they lost 120-89 to the Cavaliers. “The fact that we’re continuing to play these games, we’re representing Israel and we’re competing, I think it gives people hope,” said assistant coach Abe Kuhn. At the team’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Raanana players warmed up in shirts with the names and faces of Israeli hostages.
RED CARDS. Across European soccer, a few players have faced consequences for their reactions to the Israel-Hamas war. Dutch player Anwar El Ghazi was suspended by his Bundesliga club Mainz for a social media post about the conflict. In France, Nice defender Youcef Atal is being investigated on charges “of defending terrorism”after posting an allegedly antisemitic video.
NOT A FAN. The Tottenham Hotspur club is known for its strong Jewish ties. They also feature the Premier League’s only Israel player, Manor Solomon. So how has the club responded to the war in Israel? The Athletic spoke to Tottenham fans to find out. Spoiler alert: many are unhappy with their team.
SPEAKING OUT. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a longtime supporter of Israel, spoke with Jewish ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap about the ongoing war. “I had the privilege to go there and to see what’s happened this week, and it’s just sad,” Kraft said in the clip.
ON THE RISE. MLB veteran and former Team Israel pitcher Craig Breslow has emerged as a leading candidate in the Boston Red Sox’s search for a new baseball boss, following last month’s firing of fellow Jewish Yale graduate Chaim Bloom. Breslow has worked for the Chicago Cubs since 2019 but still lives in the Boston area.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASEBALL…
The Championship Series are nearing their end, as the World Series rapidly approaches. Catch Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros against the Texas Rangers in a pivotal Game 5 tonight at 5:07 p.m. ET and Garrett Stubbs and the Philadelphia Phillies against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 4 tonight at 8:07 p.m. ET. The NLCS then continues Saturday at 8:07 p.m., and the ALCS continues on Sunday at 8:03 p.m. ET.
IN HOCKEY…
Jakob Chychrun and the Ottawa Senators play Jake Walman and the Detroit Red Wings Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, while Adam Fox and the New York Rangers face the Seattle Kraken Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
IN FOOTBALL…
It’s Week 7 in the NFL — wow that was fast — and all four Jewish players are in action.
Sunday at 1 p.m. ET: Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns face the Indianapolis Colts.
Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET: Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks host the Arizona Cardinals.
Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET: A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers play the Denver Broncos.
Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET: Greg Joseph and the Minnesota Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
IN BASKETBALL…
The NBA Preseason is wrapping up, with the regular season set to tip off next week. Catch Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards in their final tune-up tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Toronto Raptors.
IN GOLF…
David Lipsky is in action at the Zozo Championship in Japan this weekend.
IN RACING…
If the all-Texas ALCS isn’t enough, the Formula One United States Grand Prix is this weekend in Austin. Watch Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll on the grid Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
New kits
Ethan Zohn in a new Maccabi USA soccer jersey. (Courtesy of Ethan Zohn)
Friend of the Jewish Sport Report Ethan Zohn, the former “Survivor” winner and longtime Maccabi USA soccer player, is leading an effort to raise $100,000 to support Maccabi USA to help support young athletes competing in this year’s Pan Am Maccabi Games in Argentina. Zohn helped design this new Maccabi soccer jersey that will be at the centerpiece of the fundraiser — with all the money being raised through sponsorships.
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Your Jewish guide to the new NHL season 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.