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The Jewish Sport Report: Why the Von Erichs, wrestling family in the new movie ‘The Iron Claw,’ were so big in Israel
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(JTA) — Happy Friday, Jewish sports fans!
Before we get into the news, one quick pitch: JTA is hosting an end-of-year online benefit featuring die-hard Philly sports fan (and CNN anchor) Jake Tapper, who will be in conversation with JTA editor-in-chief Philissa Cramer. While they might not have time to discuss the Phillies bullpen, it’s sure to be an exciting evening. If you’d like to support JTA and the work we do, please check out the benefit page here for information and to make a donation. Thank you!
The Israeli angle to ‘The Iron Claw’
From left to right: Mike, Kerry, Fritz and Kevin Von Erich. (Wikimedia Commons and Getty Images; Design by Grace Yagel)
If you’re looking for a movie to see after having your Chinese food on Christmas, you may want to check out “The Iron Claw,” the wrestling movie that hits theaters next Friday.
The film — which has gotten strong reviews so far — features a star-studded cast including Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White (star of “The Bear”) and even the real Jewish wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The movie tells the tragic story of the Von Erich family, the first family of professional wrestling in Texas.
The Von Erichs weren’t just legends in the Lone Star state. At one time they were a super heavyweight-sized deal in the Jewish state as well.
“Anyone who grew up in Israel in the 1980s would be a major fan of the Von Erich brothers — David, Kevin, Kerry and Mike,” said one Jewish federation CEO. “They were icons in Israel as their faces were seen weekly on televisions across the Middle East on Saturday nights.”
Read more about the Von Erichs and their connections to Israel right here.
Halftime report
TAKING A STAND. When Jewish teenager David Teeger, the captain of South Africa’s under-19 cricket team, won a “rising star” award in October, he dedicated the honor to Israel and its soldiers. After a local Palestinian group filed a complaint, Teeger was briefly suspended from the sport and investigated for hate speech. The judge cleared him of any wrongdoing.
MAGIC CLEATS. Last week, we showed you the Israel-themed cleats Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph would wear on Sunday as part of the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” program. We didn’t anticipate what would come next: the Vikings won 3-0 on a 36-yard field goal from Joseph.
FAR FROM HOME. The Forward profiles Israeli Ofri Naveh, a freshman forward who was recruited to play basketball at the University of West Virginia. Naveh shares his experience playing in the states while his country is at war.
BALLIN. As the Oakland Athletics prepare to move to Las Vegas, the city has a new independent baseball team to root for: the Oakland Ballers. Meet their new manager: Micah Franklin, a Jewish former big leaguer who also played professionally in Japan and Korea.
CHANGE OF PLANS. Starting in 2024, sportswear giant Puma will no longer sponsor Israel’s national soccer team. The decision was made in 2022 and is unrelated to the ongoing war.
AL IS OUT. Speaking of lineup changes, broadcasting legend Al Michaels is not included in NBC’s NFL Playoffs coverage plan, which reportedly came as a surprise to him. Michaels is tied with Pat Summerall with a record 11 Super Bowl TV broadcasts.
A JEWISH PIRATE. It’s been a slow MLB offseason for most players not named Shohei Ohtani, but one Jewish free agent is officially off the board: slugger Rowdy Tellez has signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates — which, yes, means Tellez’s salary for the 2024 season is technically higher than Ohtani’s.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards host the Indiana Pacers tonight at 7 p.m. ET and face the Phoenix Suns Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Domantas Sabonis (who is converting to Judaism) and the Sacramento Kings host the Utah Jazz tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET. In the G League, Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise play the Indiana Mad Ants (fantastic name, by the way) today at 12:30 p.m. ET and the Windy City Bulls Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. And across the pond in the British Women’s Basketball League, former WNBA player Abby Meyers and her London Lions host the Durham Palatinates tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET. Meyers enjoyed her best performance of the season so far last Sunday, dropping 28 points.
IN HOCKEY…
Adam Fox and the first-place New York Rangers host the last-place Anaheim Ducks tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Jason Zucker and the Arizona Coyotes host Luke Kunin and the San Jose Sharks tonight at 9 p.m. ET and Devon Levi’s Buffalo Sabres tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. Cole Guttman and the Chicago Blackhawks host Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
IN FOOTBALL…
Greg Joseph and the Minnesota Vikings face the Cincinnati Bengals Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. On Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, catch Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns hosting the Chicago Bears, while A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks wrap up Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET on “Monday Night Football.”
IN SOCCER…
Matt Turner and Nottingham Forest take on Tottenham today at 3 p.m. ET. Nottingham Forest haven’t won a match since Nov. 5, and Tottenham, who are currently fifth in the Premier League standings, are still without Israeli star Manor Solomon, who had knee surgery in October.
A hefty price tag
The news of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s mind-boggling 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers elicited plenty of clever reactions to the historic amount of money involved. This was our favorite:
$700 million is nuts. That’s like almost enough to feed a family of four at the Yankee Stadium Kosher stand
— Max Mannis (@MaxMannis) December 9, 2023
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Why the Von Erichs, wrestling family in the new movie ‘The Iron Claw,’ were so big in Israel 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.