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The top 10 Jewish sports moments of 2023, from Israel to the NFL
(JTA) — For Jews around the world, this year will be remembered for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The fallout has reshaped nearly every aspect of Jewish life in Israel, the United States and beyond — and the sports world is no exception.
The conflict has permeated pro sports, with many teams and athletes showing public support for Israel in the process.
But even before October, many of the top Jewish sports moments of the year concerned Israel — and unprecedented Israeli success on the international stage in baseball, soccer, gymnastics, football, lacrosse and other sports.
Here are the Jewish Sport Report’s top 10 Jewish sports moments of 2023, presented chronologically.
1. Jacob Steinmetz strikes out three MLB stars at the World Baseball Classic
Jacob Steinmetz pitched for Team Israel against the Dominican Republic, March 14, 2023, in Miami. (Dan Passner)
In March, Israel competed in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami with its most talented roster yet. A number of MLB players joined the squad, including Joc Pederson and Dean Kremer.
Though Israel won just one of its four games — a 3-1 comeback victory over Nicaragua — it was an exciting week. Off the field, Israel’s Twitter account went viral, while Israel and the Dominican Republic codified their friendship. And Jewish fans showed up loud and proud.
But the most notable moment on the diamond came during a 10-0 loss against the Dominican team, when 19-year-old Orthodox prospect Jacob Steinmetz struck out three MLB players: superstar Manny Machado, 2022 World Series Most Valuable Player Jeremy Peña and two-time All-Star Gary Sánchez. Steinmetz began the 2023 season in the Arizona Complex League, one of the lowest tiers in minor league baseball.
“It was awesome,” said Steinmetz, the first Orthodox Jew drafted into the MLB, after the game. “Coming out here in front of a sold-out stadium, with all the Dominican fans and the Israel fans, was something that I’ll never forget.”
2. Domantas Sabonis is joining the tribe
Rabbi Mendy Cohen is dwarfed by 7-foot-1 Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who attended Chabad of Sacramento’s Purim party on March 7. (Courtesy of Chabad of Sacramento)
In April, we learned that NBA star Domantas Sabonis had begun the process of converting to Judaism — which will make the 6-foot-10 three-time All-Star the best Jewish player in professional basketball.
“He loves [Judaism] and really wants to be a part of it,” said Sabonis’ wife Shashana Sabonis (née Rosen), who is Jewish.
Sabonis regularly studies with Los Angeles Conservative rabbi Erez Sherman, who said the Sacramento Kings big man is serious about learning and keeps kosher. The Sabonis couple had a Jewish wedding in 2021.
“People that follow me [on social media] see how we do the holidays and Shabbat, and I think it’s really fun for the Jewish community to see that representation in basketball,” Shashana Sabonis said.
3. Israel makes a stunning run the FIFA U-20 World Cup
Israel’s under-20 men’s soccer teams celebrates winning third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in La Plata, Argentina, June 11, 2023. (Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Israel’s first-ever appearance in the FIFA U-20 World Cup got off to a rocky start, even before its players took the field. In March, FIFA revoked hosting rights from Indonesia after the country objected to Israel’s participation.
But when the tournament kicked off May 20 in Argentina with 24 teams from around the world, Israel went on a miraculous run that included wins over Uzbekistan, Japan and powerhouse Brazil. Israel lost 1-0 in the semifinals to the eventual tournament winner Uruguay but beat South Korea to capture third place.
“We are not players, we are a family with an amazing coach,” midfielder Roy Navi said after the victory. “I feel on the top of the world now.”
Less than a month after Israel’s third-place finish, Israel’s under-21 team made it to the semifinals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship — earning the squad a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
4. Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon joins the “Jewish” Premier League club
Manor Solomon during the Premier League match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, England, Sept. 2, 2023. (Will Palmer/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
It was a big summer for Israeli soccer. The news continued when Israeli star winger Manor Solomon signed a five-year contract with the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club — the London-based Premier League club with a rich (and at-times controversial) Jewish history.
Tottenham fans — who include many Jews — have for decades called themselves “Yids” and the “Yid army” in an affectionate way, but last year, the club asked fans to stop using the term, which many consider an antisemitic slur. The Athletic reported that London’s Jewish community was a plus for Solomon and that Tottenham has a following in Israel.
Solomon, who plays for Israel’s overall national team (he’s too old for the U19 and U21 teams), had enjoyed a breakout first year in the prestigious Premier League with Fulham last season, scoring in five straight games from Feb. 11 through March 6. He was the first Israeli player to ever achieve the feat, and the Kfar Saba native’s success on the pitch drew interest from powerhouse clubs across Europe.
While Solomon suffered a knee injury in October that has kept him sidelined, other Jews made headlines in pro soccer around the world. Goalkeeper Matt Turner has become a starter for his Premier League club Nottingham Forest and for the U.S. Men’s National Team; goalie Daniel Peretz became the first Israeli to join the German powerhouse Bayern Munich; and New York Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman has blossomed into a star in the MLS.
On the women’s side, there were no Jewish players in this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the ascendant National Women’s Soccer League is led by Jewish commissioner Jessica Berman.
5. Zack Gelof becomes the 18th Jewish player in the MLB in 2023, a likely record
Zack Gelof bats during a World Baseball Classic game between Team Venezuela and Team Israel in Miami, March 15, 2023. (Rob Tringali/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
When Team Israel player Zack Gelof made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics on July 14, he became the 18th Jewish player to appear in the big leagues in the 2023 season — a moment that carried multiple layers of significance.
For one thing, 18 Jewish players in one MLB season is believed to be the all-time record, according to information compiled by the Jewish Baseball News, a site that tracks Jewish baseball players. And secondly, the record-setting number is symbolic in Judaism.
Once Gelof debuted, he didn’t disappoint. The Delaware native hit 14 home runs with 72 hits and 14 stolen bases in 69 games and broke multiple franchise records for a rookie. He was named the American League Rookie of the Month in August.
The number stretched to 19 when reliever Kenny Rosenberg, who made his MLB debut in 2022, was called up to the big leagues in August.
6. Eli Dershwitz makes US fencing history
Eli Dershwitz celebrates after winning the sabre men’s senior individual semifinal during the Fencing World Championships in Milan, Italy, July 25, 2023. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Eli Dershwitz, a two-time Olympian and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, became the first American man to win an individual world championship in sabre fencing at the World Fencing Championships in Milan in July.
Dershwitz defeated No. 1-ranked Sandro Bazadze 15-6 in the sabre final, but his semifinal win was even more notable: facing Áron Szilágyi, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the reigning world champion, Dershwitz came back from a 10-4 deficit to advance to the final round.
Dershwitz — who celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Conservative Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts, and fenced at Harvard University — won two gold medals at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel. He represented the United States in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but failed to medal in either appearance.
7. Israel wins its first-ever gold medals at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Israeli gymnasts compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Valencia, Spain, Aug. 27, 2023. (Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images)
In a banner year for Israel on the international stage, perhaps the biggest accomplishment came in August at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Valencia, Spain, when Israel won its first-ever gold medals at the annual competition.
Israel’s team topped China and Spain to take gold in the all-around group category and also won gold in the combined exercise, beating out China and Ukraine. The team also finished fifth in the hoop final.
“We are really happy that we managed to get this medal and that we got the chance to scream out the anthem from the podium,” said Romi Paritzki, the team’s captain, according to Haaretz. “It’s the best feeling any athlete can have.”
Israel has emerged as a global powerhouse in rhythmic gymnastics. Retired Olympian Linoy Ashram, who served as an assistant trainer to the team, became the first Israeli woman to win an Olympic gold medal with her rhythmic gymnastics victory at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Israel has already qualified for group competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
8. Israel wins a flag football European championship after a Shabbat forfeit
Israel won a gold medal at the 2023 European Junior Flag Football Championships in Italy. (Giulio Busi)
Just days after Israel’s big wins at the gymnastics tournament, the country’s under-17 men’s flag football team won its first-ever gold medal at the International Federation of American Football’s European Junior Flag Football Championships hosted in Grosseto, Italy.
Israel beat Serbia 34-14 in the championship game after defeating Italy in the semifinals. Israel’s under-17 women’s team and under-15 coed team both finished fifth in their respective competitions.
The journey to gold wasn’t easy: despite appeals from the Israeli players — a majority of whom are Orthodox — Israel was scheduled to play games on Shabbat. All three teams had to forfeit, resulting in 35-0 losses.
“Our first gold after decades of trying,” Steve Leibowitz, president of American Football in Israel, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Tough young Israeli players against the best young players in Europe. The moment the whistle blew… I knew we had finally arrived. Next thought, first we conquer Europe, the Worlds are next.”
American football is on the rise in Israel, where approximately 2,000 players, coaches and referees are now involved in the league throughout the country, including many native-born Israelis.
9. Jewish MLB players speak out in support of Israel after Oct. 7
Alex Bregman drew a Star of David on his hat during Game 3 of the Division Series between the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins, Oct. 10, 2023. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, several current and former Jewish MLB players and coaches spoke out in support of Israel, both on and off the field.
As Dean Kremer became the first Israeli to start an MLB playoff game just days after Oct. 7, he opened up about how the war was affecting him and his family. Houston Astros star Alex Bregman drew a Star of David on his hat during a playoff win. Ian Kinsler wore his Team Israel jersey when he threw out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers playoff game. The Philadelphia Phillies held a moment of silence for Israel before a game.
Players showed their support off the field and on social media, too. A group of 19 current and former players released a video urging fans to support Israel and combat antisemitism. And Team Israel captain Ryan Lavarnway spoke to JTA about his Israel advocacy, which has made the retired World Series champion a sought-after speaker at Jewish events.
10. Greg Joseph kicks game-winning field goal after wearing Israel cleats
The cleats worn by Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph as part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings)
As NFL players wore cleats this month in support of various causes, Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph chose a particularly personal one.
Joseph, one of only a handful of Jewish players in the league, wore cleats covered in Stars of David with the phrases “I Stand with Israel” and “Am Yisrael Chai,” or “the Jewish people lives.” He picked Leket Israel, the country’s national food bank, as the organization he wanted to promote and support.
The Vikings would go on to win just 3-0 — an extremely rare score in the NFL — on a 36-yard field goal from Joseph, a number that also happens to have meaning in Judaism. (Joseph did not wear his special cleats during the game itself.)
“We were honored to be able to participate in the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats program to call for the end to antisemitism and hate in all forms along with the urgent plea to bring home the remaining hostages,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Honorable mentions
From left to right: Luke, Quinn and Jack Hughes pose for a photo before their NHL game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Dec. 5, 2023. (Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
There were plenty of other notable Jewish sports stories from 2023 that are worth revisiting.
Throughout the year, a number of Jewish athletes were drafted into professional leagues: five players in the MLB, Amari Bailey in the NBA, Abby Meyers in the WNBA and Andrew Cristall in the NHL. Speaking of promising Jewish athletes, we published our first-ever list of 36 Jewish Student Athletes to Watch, an impressive and inspiring group of high school and college athletes with bright futures ahead.
Orthodox athlete Michael Neuman competed on NBC’s obstacle course competition show “American Ninja Warrior” in March and brought with him three young people from his Jewish Inspiration Foundation, which uses sports to support Jewish youth with physical challenges. Neuman had initially qualified for the semifinals — after sharing an emotional on-set moment with Ari Cohen, who has a rare chromosomal disorder. But when Neuman ultimately chose to forfeit his spot because filming for the semifinals fell on Shabbat, NBC decided to cut his entire story from the show and declined to share any of Neuman’s footage — including the clips of his cohort — with their families. Then came the unexpected: two weeks after JTA’s article on Neuman and his foundation, NBC reversed course and shared a clip with Neuman.
Earlier this month, Jewish brothers Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes made history when they became the first trio of Jewish brothers to play in the same NHL game.
Lastly, the Jewish sports community honored a handful of icons who died this year: Alan Sherman, a champion of Jewish sports and US-Israeli relations; Holocaust survivor and Olympian Ben Helfgott; tennis champion Dick Savitt; and Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner.
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The post The top 10 Jewish sports moments of 2023, from Israel to the NFL appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Drexel University Professor Stole Signs From Synagogue, Police Say
Illustrative: People pass a cluster of signs outside a pro-Hamas encampment at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. on April 28, 2024. Photo: Max Herman via Reuters Connect
A Drexel University professor allegedly participated in a mass theft of items from a synagogue in a suburb outside Philadelphia, a local NBC affiliate reported on Tuesday.
Mariana Chilton, 56, a professor of health management and policy at Drexel, has been accused of stealing pro-Israel signs from the Main Line Reform Temple in Lower Merion Township, traveling there from her neighborhood of residency, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Chilton allegedly drove the getaway car while two other accomplices, Sarah Prickett and Sam Penn — who is from New York — trespassed the synagogue and absconded with the loot.
“We are just taking them because we feel like it is a representative of genocide,” Chilton told law enforcement after being caught in the act, the report stated. She then, after offering to “just put them back,” refused to identify herself and comply with other lawful orders.
Video evidence provided by a local resident placed Chilton and her accomplices at the scene of the crime, and a Main Line Reform Temple official identified the signs recovered from her car as the temple’s property. That was enough for law enforcement to charge her with several offenses, including conspiracy and theft. She is also charged with driving without a license and not registering her vehicle.
Drexel University has not responded to The Algemeiner‘s request for comment for this story.
Experts have told The Algemeiner in the past academic year that while the conduct of anti-Zionist students should be reported on, the role of faculty in fostering and engaging in antisemitic acts should be closely scrutinized. Last semester, anti-Zionist faculty attached themselves to anti-Israel, pro-Hamas demonstrations, sometimes breaking the law by preventing officers from dispersing unauthorized demonstrations and detaining lawbreakers.
At Northeastern University in Boston, professors formed a human barrier around a student encampment to stop its dismantling by officers, and at Columbia University, anti-Zionist faculty at the school, as well its affiliate Barnard College, staged a walkout in support of the demonstrations and demanded the abeyance of disciplinary sanctions against anti-Zionist students — dozens of whom cheered Hamas and threatened more massacres of Jews similar to Oct. 7 — who violated school rules.
Chilton’s case is unlike any other reported in the past year, however. While dozens of professors have been accused of abusing their Jewish students and encouraging their classmates to bully and shame them, none are alleged to have resorted to stealing from a Jewish house of worship to make their point.
Mass participation of faculty in pro-Hamas demonstrations marks an inflection point in American history, Asaf Romirowsky, an expert on the Middle East and executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, told The Algemeiner in April.
Since the 1960s, he explained, far-left “scholar activists” have gradually seized control of the higher education system, tailoring admissions processes and the curricula to foster ideological radicalism and conformity, which students then carry with them into careers in government, law, corporate America, and education. This system, he concluded, must be challenged.
“The cost of trading scholarship for political propagandizing has been a zeal and pride among faculty who esteem and cheer terrorism, a historical development which is quite telling and indicative of the evolution of the Marxist ideology which has been seeping into the academy since the 1960s,” Romirowsky said. “The message is very clear to all of us who are looking on from the outside at this, and institutions have to begin drawing a red line. The protests are not about free speech. They are about supporting terrorism, about calling for a genocide of Jews.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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White House Cites Biden Clash With Netanyahu Over Iran as Proof of President’s Mental Fitness
US President Joe Biden hosts the 2023 Teacher of the Year event at the White House in Washington, US, April 24, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Amid growing concerns over US President Joe Biden’s mental fitness, key White House officials are suggesting his foreign policy discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including a clash over how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented military attack on the Israeli homeland earlier this year, serve as evidence that he is still capable of leading from the Oval Office.
Biden and Netanyahu engaged in a heated back-and-forth in the immediate aftermath of Iran launching a massive missile and drone salvo at Israel in April, according to a new report by the New York Times. The US and other allies helped Israel shoot down nearly every drone and missile. The attack caused only one injury.
However, the Times revealed that while Netanyahu initially wanted to respond to Iran in a forceful way, Biden threatened to withhold US support in the event of a major Israeli retaliatory strike, arguing it would risk sparking a regional conflict in the Middle East.
“Aides present in the Situation Room the night that Iran hurled a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel portrayed a president in commanding form, lecturing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone to avoid a retaliatory escalation that would have inflamed the Middle East,” the Times reported. “‘Let me be crystal clear,’ Mr. Biden said. ‘If you launch a big attack on Iran, you’re on your own.’”
“Mr. Netanyahu pushed back hard, citing the need to respond in kind to deter future attacks,” the report continued. “‘You do this,’ Mr. Biden said forcefully, ‘and I’m out.’ Ultimately, the aides noted, Mr. Netanyahu scaled back his response.”
Israel’s military response was small and appeared aimed at minimizing the risk of escalation.
The Times report, headlined “Biden’s Lapses Are Said to Be Increasingly Common and Worrisome,” came on the heels of Biden delivering a widely-panned presidential debate performance last Thursday against former US President Donald Trump. Biden’s performance, which oftentimes appeared incoherent and muddled, set off alarm bells in Democratic circles, sending the president’s allies scrambling to extinguish concerns over his age and mental acuity.
While highlighting rising concerns, the news story also noted instances in which, according to aides, Biden appeared coherent and capable, citing the exchange with Netanyahu and his handling of the Iranian missile attack more broadly as one such example.
However, an anonymous Biden administration official told the Times that they are unsure whether Biden could hold his own against adversarial foreign leaders such as Vladimir Putin of Russia.
On Wednesday, the White House directly attributed quotes to Netanyahu in which the Israeli premier reportedly said he found Biden “very clear and very focused” during his visit to Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. According to a White House spokesperson, Netanyahu also reportedly cited the “more than a dozen phone conversations, extended conversations with President Biden” as evidence of the commander-in-chief’s vitality.
“Some White House officials adamantly rejected the suggestion of a president not up to handling tough foreign counterparts and told the story of the night Iran attacked Israel in April,” the New York Times reported. “Mr. Biden and his top national security officials were in the Situation Room for hours, bracing for the attack, which came around midnight. Biden was updated in real time as the forces he ordered into the region began shooting down Iranian missiles and drones. He peppered leaders with questions throughout the response.”
During its first direct attack on Israeli territory, Iran in April launched roughly 300 missiles and drones at the Jewish state.
Leading up to the attack, Iranian officials had promised revenge for an airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria that they attributed to Israel. The strike killed seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a widely designated terrorist organization, including two senior commanders. One of the commanders allegedly helped plan the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the incident.
“After it was over, and almost all of the missiles and drones had been shot down, Mr. Biden called Mr. Netanyahu to persuade him not to escalate. ‘Take the win,’” Mr. Biden told the prime minister, without reading from a script or extensive notes, according to two people in the room. In the end, Mr. Netanyahu opted for a much smaller and proportionate response that effectively ended the hostilities,” the article added.
Days later, Israel responded to the Iranian aggression by launching a modest missile attack on an airbase near Isfahan. The Jewish state sought to show that it could effectively target key strategic locations in Iran while not escalating the conflict any further. Netanyahu insisted on launching a retaliatory attack against Iran, arguing that ignoring the Iranian strikes would incentivize more attacks against the Jewish state.
IRGC Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that Iran is waiting for “the opportunity” to launch a new round of strikes against Israel, Iranian media reported on Tuesday, potentially boosting Netanyahu’s argument that a smaller response would invite further attacks.
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Journalist at US-Based Nonprofit Promoted Stabbing Israelis, Depicted Rescued Hostage as Pig Drinking Blood: Report
Palestinian terrorists ride an Israeli military vehicle that was seized by gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
A journalist at a US-based nonprofit posted tutorials on how to commit stabbing attacks and depicted a rescued Israeli hostage as a pig drinking blood, according to newly surfaced social media posts.
Eitan Fischberger, a communications analyst and former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) staff sergeant who first broke the story on X/Twitter, alleged that Mahmoud Ajjour, a correspondent for The Palestine Chronicle, posted disturbing images and videos to his Instagram page.
Fischberger posted screenshots and screen recordings of the posts.
According to The Chronicle‘s website, Ajjour is a photojournalist and correspondent for the outlet, which is a US-based 501c3, or nonprofit organization.
One of the posted images depicted Noa Argamani — an Israeli who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel, and then rescued in an IDF special operation last month — as a pig drinking blood from a Coca-Cola bottle.
Here, for example, Ajjour posted a picture of Israeli hostage Noa Argamani, portrayed as a pig drinking the blood of Palestinians.
Noa, as you recall, was freed by Israeli forces in the same rescue operation in which Ajjour’s terrorist colleague was killed pic.twitter.com/oiLCqekxbl
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 30, 2024
In Oct. 2015, Ajjour posted a picture of a masked Palestinian holding up a knife, with the caption, “I declare it a revolution.”
That time — from approximately Sept. 2015 to June 2016 — was referred to as the “knife intifada,” as there was an uptick in Palestinian terrorist attacks, particularly using knives, against Israelis in Jerusalem, along with other parts of Israel and the West Bank.
Ajjour also seems mighty fine endorsing stabbing attacks pic.twitter.com/xi2MnZVddl
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 30, 2024
During that same month, Ajjour also reportedly posted a two-part tutorial on how to carry out stabbings with the caption, “May Allah protect them,” likely referring to those who were engaging in such attacks.
So much, in fact, that he uploaded a two-part instruction video showing off some best practices for stabbing Israelis pic.twitter.com/Z12rVo4Enx
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 30, 2024
Then, in 2023, after the son of a Hamas preacher was killed when a device he was trying to launch at Israel exploded, Ajjour mourned his death on Instagram. “Your father’s legacy is proud of you,” he wrote alongside a picture that included what appeared to be a Hamas flag.
And here, Ajjour mourns the death of Bara’a al-Zard, son of Hamas preacher Wael al-Zard.
Silly Bara’a died in an explosion caused by a device he was trying to launch at Israeli forces near the Gaza security fencehttps://t.co/vZR6IW0shF pic.twitter.com/ipQw55BYd7
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 30, 2024
This is not the first time a journalist from The Palestine Chronicle was alleged to have either supported or partaken in terrorism.
Abdallah Aljamal, who was a correspondent for The Chronicle, allegedly held three Israeli hostages in his home, according to the Israeli government. He was killed during a raid that rescued four hostages, including Argamani. After the allegations came to light, The Chronicle changed Aljamal’s status on its website from a correspondent to a contributor.
The Palestine Chronicle did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Fichberger wrote that he wants the US House Ways and Means Committee to investigate The Chronicle for what seems to have become a pattern.
“If The Chronicle is let off the hook for employing an actual terrorist hostage-taker, it would prove that the American counter-terror legal apparatus really is irreparably broken,” he wrote.
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