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Maxwell Jacob Friedman — the latest pro wrestler in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame — is glad to be seen as a strong Jew
COMMACK, N.Y. (JTA) — Maxwell Jacob Friedman has never been short on confidence, so when he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on Monday, he described it as the fulfillment of a childhood prediction.
“I remember in the basement of my old home in Plainview, my father had shown me a Jewish athletes almanac,” Friedman, 27, recalled in his remarks. “I remember reading through it, and it wasn’t particularly big, but the names in it were big. I remember reading that book and thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to be in this book one day.’”
At the same time, the professional wrestling star — known as MJF — recognizes that his meteoric rise isn’t exactly a typical career path for Jewish kid from Long Island. Friedman is just the second pro wrestler to be inducted in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame — 1990s icon Bill Goldberg entered in 2010 — and the first to be inducted during his career, which remains very much on the rise.
Friedman is the longest-reigning world champion in the four-year history of All Elite Wrestling — a pro wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida — and makes his feature film debut this weekend in “The Iron Claw,” which follows the tragic story of pro wrestling’s Von Erich family.
“When you would say that to people out loud,” Friedman said of his childhood ambitions, “they would laugh, they would snicker, because what is a Jew to everyone else around the world? Probably not a Hall of Fame athlete. Well, to that, I say, ‘Screw yourself,’ because a Jew can be literally anything if we set our mind to it.”
I can’t put into words what today meant to me.
With the rampant discrimination and bigotry seen worldwide i proudly say i’m not just a Jew, I’m a human. We should all treat each other as such.
Except me…I deserve special treatment because I’m a hall of fame level human. pic.twitter.com/X5TifpyDUe
— Maxwell Jacob Friedman (@The_MJF) December 19, 2023
That combative confidence serves Friedman particularly well now, not only in his chosen profession, but in the way he aims to represent Jews more broadly.
Membership in the Jewish Hall of Fame isn’t the only thing Friedman shares with Goldberg: They are both outliers among Jewish pro wrestlers, most of whom perform under stage names. By contrast, Friedman not only kept his first and last name while in the ring but changed his middle name to make it sound more Jewish. In real life, his name is Maxwell Tyler Friedman.
He also emphasizes his Jewish heritage in his presentation, using social media to share photos from his bar mitzvah and talking openly about antisemitic taunts he’s faced.
“When everyone else thinks of Jews, it comes with a lot of discriminatory thoughts and processes,” Friedman said. “But when I thought of a Jew, I always thought of someone strong, intelligent, brave, because when you think about it, in almost every single piece of history of humankind, whenever there was an issue, we got blamed for it. We got blamed for it, we got attacked for it, we got run off for it and we’re still here.”
He added, “You would think by now, people would understand that we’re not very easy to run off. We’re not very easy to scare. They’re still trying, but they’re still failing.”
As a visibly Jewish champion, Friedman hopes to send the message that Jews will always overcome hatred — particularly in the present climate, when reports of antisemitism have spiked amid the Israel-Hamas war.
He likewise did not downplay his Jewish identity in the earlier part of his career, when he was presented in the ring as a villain.
“I’ve never read more hate-filled tweets and comments in my entire life,” Friedman said. “Think of any horrible thing you can say to a Jew, I’m reading it, but honestly, it doesn’t deter me. It just makes me want to talk about being a Jew more.”
As he continues his wrestling journey as a newly minted Hall of Famer — appearing regularly on AEW’s flagship broadcasts on TNT and TBS — Friedman is thrilled for the opportunity to give young Jewish fans someone to be proud of — someone, he said, “they get to look up to that’s a strong, handsome — humble — Jew.”
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The post Maxwell Jacob Friedman — the latest pro wrestler in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame — is glad to be seen as a strong Jew appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
The post Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
The post Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
The post Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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