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The Jewish Sport Report: A Jewish guide to the NFL playoffs
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(JTA) — Hi there! Before we get into this week’s news, a quick birthday shoutout is in order for Holocaust survivor and Olympic legend Agnes Keleti, who turned 103 (!!) on Tuesday.
Keleti is the oldest living Olympic gold medalist in the world and has the second-most Olympic medals of any Jewish athlete ever, second only to swimming icon Mark Spitz. Check out our 2019 interview with the gymnastics champion.
Your Jewish NFL playoffs preview
Running back A.J. Dillon of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after rushing for a first half touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Dec. 19, 2021. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
The NFL playoffs kick off tomorrow, and two Jewish players remain standing as the wild card round begins: A.J. Dillon and Michael Dunn.
Dunn, the 315-pound guard, appeared in 12 games for the Cleveland Browns this season, starting two of them. He played 29% of offensive snaps for the Browns, roughly double his percentage over the previous two seasons, despite spending a month on the injured reserve.
The Browns (11-6) enter the playoffs as the AFC’s 5th seed, and face the Houston Texans (10-7) Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock.
Dillon, who started six games for the Green Bay Packers during the regular season, set a career high with a 40-yard rush in November. Otherwise, he had a bit of a down year in terms of yards and touchdowns. Dillon has previously joked about missing Hebrew School for football practice when he was a kid.
The Packers (9-8), who snuck in as the NFC’s 7th seed, face the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
Halftime report
OUT OF BOUNDS. A New York high school fired its varsity girl’s basketball coach after players used antisemitic slurs during a game against a Jewish day school. The school district and the city’s mayor apologized and called the antisemitic epithets “painful and offensive.”
UNCAPPED. On the eve of the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, David Teeger, a rising star on South Africa’s cricket scene, has been removed as the country’s team captain due to threats he and the team have faced over Israel’s war in Gaza.
CHAIM BLOOMS IN ST. LOUIS. Former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has joined the St. Louis Cardinals front office as an advisor to the team’s president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak. Bloom was fired by the Red Sox in September as the team placed last in the AL East with a record of 78-84.
SURELY YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS. If you read this newsletter, chances are you’re probably familiar with that (in)famous joke about “Famous Jewish Sports Legends” in the 1980 comedy “Airplane!” In a book that explores the history of the cult classic, the movie’s three Jewish creators reminisce about how it got made — including the inspiration behind that sports reference.
STUDY BREAK? NFL star Aaron Rodgers appeared Thursday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the popular ESPN talk show he had supposedly been suspended from earlier this week. During the program, Jewish fans immediately noticed something peculiar about Rodgers’ background: he appeared to be seated in front of a bookshelf full of Jewish books. We reached out to Rodgers’ agents to get to the bottom of this — stay tuned.
MAZELS. Congratulations to Andrea Kremer, Jayson Stark and the late Roger Kahn, who are all part of the National Sports Media Association’s 2024 Hall of Fame class; and Jeff Passan, who was named the NSMA’s 2023 National Sportswriter of the Year.
THE KING RETURNS. Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon is preparing to return to his Premier League Club Tottenham after being sidelined since October with a meniscus injury. The winger is aiming to return to training next week and could see playing time later this month.
LONG SHOT. Jewish golfer Max Homa, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the PGA Tour’s world rankings, made golf history last weekend with a 477-yard drive — the longest drive recorded in the PGA’s StatLink Era, which dates back to 2003, and possibly ever.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards face the Atlanta Hawks Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Wizards are having a rough season, but the Israeli forward is having a career year in just about every offensive category, including an average of 12 points per game. Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and his Sacramento Kings take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. In the G League, Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise host the College Park Skyhawks Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, while Amari Bailey and the Greensboro Swarm host the Capital City Go-Go tonight at 7 p.m. ET and the Osceola Magic Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
IN HOCKEY…
Devon Levi and the Buffalo Sabres host Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers face the Montreal Canadiens Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Adam Fox and the New York Rangers take on the Washington Capitals Saturday and Sunday, both at 1 p.m. ET.
IN GOLF…
David Lipsky is competing at the Sony Open in Hawaii this weekend.
The Pittsburgh Steelers give tzedakah
L-R: Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz, Repair the World Pittsburgh Executive Director Jules Mallis and Steelers owner Art Rooney II holding a check on the Steelers indoor training field. (Courtesy of Repair the World).
The Pittsburgh Steelers are supporting the local chapter of the Jewish social justice nonprofit Repair the World as part of the team’s Social Justice Matching Fund, in which they donated nearly $500,000 to 35 community organizations. The Pittsburgh chapter of Repair the World, a national group with a presence in 13 cities nationwide, received $2,000 from the team.
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: A Jewish guide to the NFL playoffs appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iranian Media Claims Obtaining ‘Sensitive’ Israeli Intelligence Materials
FILE PHOTO: The atomic symbol and the Iranian flag are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iranian and Iran-affiliated media claimed on Saturday that the Islamic Republic had obtained a trove of “strategic and sensitive” Israeli intelligence materials related to Israel’s nuclear facilities and defense plans.
“Iran’s intelligence apparatus has obtained a vast quantity of strategic and sensitive information and documents belonging to the Zionist regime,” Iran’s state broadcaster said, referring to Israel in the manner accepted in those Muslim or Arab states that don’t recognize its legitimacy. The statement was also relayed by the Lebanese site Al-Mayadeen, affiliated with the Iran-backed jihadists of Hezbollah.
The reports did not include any details on the documents or how Iran had obtained them.
The intelligence reportedly included “thousands of documents related to that regime’s nuclear plans and facilities,” it added.
According to the reports, “the data haul was extracted during a covert operation and included a vast volume of materials including documents, images, and videos.”
The report comes amid high tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, over which it is in talks with the US administration of President Donald Trump.
Iranian-Israeli tensions reached an all-time high since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent Gaza war, including Iranian rocket fire on Israel and Israeli aerial raids in Iran that devastated much of the regime’s air defenses.
Israel, which regards the prospect of the antisemitic mullah regime obtaining a nuclear weapon as an existential threat, has indicated it could resort to a military strike against Iran’s installations should talks fail to curb uranium enrichment.
The post Iranian Media Claims Obtaining ‘Sensitive’ Israeli Intelligence Materials first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Retrieves Body of Thai Hostage from Gaza
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday.
Nattapong Pinta’s body was held by a Palestinian terrorist group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was recovered from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified.
Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where a quarter of the population was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza.
Israel’s military said Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved earlier this week.
There was no immediate comment from the Mujahedeen Brigades, who have previously denied killing their captives, or from Hamas. The Israeli military said the Brigades were still holding the body of another foreign national. Only 20 of the 55 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive.
The Mujahedeen Brigades also held and killed Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, according to Israeli authorities. Their bodies were returned during a two-month ceasefire, which collapsed in March after the two sides could not agree on terms for extending it to a second phase.
Israel has since expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as US, Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered.
US-BACKED AID GROUP HALTS DISTRIBUTIONS
The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling.
Aid distribution was halted on Friday after the US-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations. It was unclear whether aid had resumed on Saturday.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. It says it has provided around 9 million meals so far.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that 350 trucks of humanitarian aid belonging to U.N. and other international relief groups were transferred this week via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
The war erupted after Hamas-led terrorists took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack, Israel’s single deadliest day.
The post Israel Retrieves Body of Thai Hostage from Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Mulls Giving Millions to Controversial Gaza Aid Foundation, Sources Say
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
The State Department is weighing giving $500 million to the new foundation providing aid to war-shattered Gaza, according to two knowledgeable sources and two former US officials, a move that would involve the US more deeply in a controversial aid effort that has been beset by violence and chaos.
The sources and former US officials, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the US State Department.
The plan has met resistance from some US officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources said.
The GHF, which has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for an alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week amid warnings that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli aid blockade, which was lifted on May 19 when limited deliveries were allowed to resume.
The foundation has seen senior personnel quit and had to pause handouts twice this week after crowds overwhelmed its distribution hubs.
The State Department and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters has been unable to establish who is currently funding the GHF operations, which began in Gaza last week. The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that a Chicago-based private equity firm, McNally Capital, has an “economic interest” in the for-profit US contractor overseeing the logistics and security of GHF’s aid distribution hubs in the enclave.
While US President Donald Trump’s administration and Israel say they don’t finance the GHF operation, both have been pressing the United Nations and international aid groups to work with it.
The US and Israel argue that aid distributed by a long-established U.N. aid network was diverted to Hamas. Hamas has denied that.
USAID has been all but dismantled. Some 80 percent of its programs have been canceled and its staff face termination as part of President Donald Trump’s drive to align US foreign policy with his “America First” agenda.
One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official said the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency’s dismemberment.
The source said that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF’s operations for 180 days.
The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two sources said that some US officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF’s contractor, and violence nearby.
Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources said.
The post US Mulls Giving Millions to Controversial Gaza Aid Foundation, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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