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Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl Calls for Release of Hamas Hostage Edan Alexander at NCAA Post-Game Conference
Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates victory as Auburn Tigers take on Georgia Bulldogs at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Auburn Tigers men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl advocated for the release of American-Israeli Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity at the start of his post-game conference on Saturday after his team’s win in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Tigers won the second round of the NCAA tournament by beating No. 9 Creighton 82-70 and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen this weekend. The Auburn University team is one of three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament that have a Jewish coach. All three of those teams, which include the Duke Blue Devils and Florid Gators, won their first- and second-round games and will advance to round 16.
Pearl has publicly voiced support for Israel in the past and condemned Hamas. On Monday, he reposted a message on X by Israel’s Minister of Defense Israel Katz, who wrote in part that Israel “will not stop until our hostages are released and Hamas is no longer in control of the Gaza Strip and is no longer a threat to Israel and Israelis.”
Pearl began his post-game conference on Saturday by talking about 21-year-old Alexander, a New Jersey native and an American–Israeli dual national who served in the Israeli army. He is one of the 59 hostages still held captive by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip after being abducted on Oct. 7. 2023, during the terrorist group’s deadly rampage in southern Israel. Hamas said it would release Alexander, as well as the dead bodies of four other hostages abducted during the Oct. 7 atrocities, if Israel committed to a ceasefire agreement that would lead to a permanent end to the war, an offer Israel rejected and described as “psychological warfare.”
Before even discussing his team’s victory against the Tigers at the post-game conference, Pearl was calling to “bring the hostages home.”
“I believe it was God’s plan to give us this success … to give us this platform; to give me an opportunity to start this press conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now,” said Pearl. “An American held hostage. And there aren’t enough people in this country that know his name. So, I asked the players if it was OK if I started out this press conference and just called out the name of an American. Bring the hostages home.”
Toward the end of the press conference, Pearl was asked by a reporter why he felt the need to talk about the hostages. He responded by again contributing Auburn’s success in part to God and his strong faith as a Jewish American. He also talked about his grandfather immigrating to the United States in 1929 at the age of 11.
“I think what made me say it is — again, it starts with my faith, and it starts with answering the question, ‘Why has God blessed Auburn and this basketball team the way he has all season long?’” he said. “And honestly it’s to, I think, put us in a platform — in this case right now, myself, as a Jewish American who loves his country more than anything else in the world … at the same time, over in Israel, that’s our ancestral homeland for the Jewish people and it’s under attack.”
“It’s under attack. It’s under siege. And all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors,” Pearl added about Israel. “And there are some Arab countries that are wanting peace with Israel. But there is a segment of the population in the Middle East that has been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years.”
Pearl then talked about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and added: “We have Americans who are held hostage in Gaza right now. It’s unacceptable … free the hostages and the killing will stop. And that’s up to Hamas.”
On Saturday night, Pearl reposted a message on X that said the two-state solution – which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel – “is dead” because “time after time, the Arab world rejected coexistence with Israel, every single chance.”
No. 1 Auburn will compete against No. 5 Michigan in the NCAA Sweet 16 on Friday night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The Michigan team includes Israeli-American star player Danny Wolf, who is being talked about as a first-round pick in the NBA Draft later this year.
The post Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl Calls for Release of Hamas Hostage Edan Alexander at NCAA Post-Game Conference first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Improved Food for Security Prisoners
Israel’s Supreme Court. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday instructed the Prison Service (Shabas) to guarantee adequate food supplies for security prisoners, ruling that current conditions fall short of minimum legal standards. The decision followed an appeal filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
In a 2–1 ruling, the court found that the food situation posed “a risk of non-compliance with legal standards.” Justice Dafna Barak-Erez stressed that the matter concerned “basic conditions necessary for survival, as required by law,” not comfort or privilege. Justice Ofer Grosskopf agreed, noting the state had not shown the policy was consistently applied to all inmates.
Justice David Mintz dissented, maintaining that the existing policy already met legal requirements.
The court underscored that Israel’s legal obligations remain binding, even in light of the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza and the fact that many of the prisoners include Hamas members involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the ruling, arguing that while hostages in Gaza lack protection, “terrorist murderers, kidnappers, and rapists in prison” benefit from the Court’s intervention. He added that prisoners would continue receiving only the minimum conditions required by law.
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Ukrainian Government Building Set Ablaze in Record Russian Airstrike
Illustrative. More damage caused by the Russian drone that hit the Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
i24 News – The Ukrainian government’s main building in Kyiv was hit overnight Saturday by Russian airstrikes for the first time since the war, igniting a fire in the building, authorities said. Firefighters are working to put out the flames.
“The government building was damaged by an enemy attack — the roof and upper floors,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said. The blaze is is burning in the area of the office of the prime minister.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight on Ukraine — a record number since the start of the war.
Also as a result of the strike, a baby and a young woman were killed after a nine-story residential building was hit in the Svyatoshynsky district, also in Kyiv. Rescuers are still looking for a third body, authorities said. A woman was also reported killed in the strike in Novopavlivka village.
“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but also with actions. We need to increase sanctions pressure – primarily against Russian oil and gas. We need new restrictions that will hit the Kremlin’s military machine. And most importantly, Ukraine needs weapons. Something that will stop the terror and prevent Russia from trying to kill Ukrainians every day,” wrote Sviridenko after the attack.
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‘Trump’s Legacy Crumbles’: Israelis Call on US President to End Gaza War
Israeli protestors take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, issuing direct appeals to US President Donald Trump to force an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages.
Protesters packed a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of the hostages. Some carried signs, including one that read: ‘Trump’s legacy crumbles as the Gaza war persists.’
Another said: “PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAVE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“We think that Trump is the only man in the world who has authority over Bibi, that can force Bibi to do this,” said Tel Aviv resident Boaz, 40, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
There is growing despair among many Israelis at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has ordered the military to capture a major urban center where hostages may be held.
Families of the hostages and their supporters fear the assault on Gaza City could endanger their loved ones, a concern the military leadership shares, according to Israeli officials.
Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7, 2023 and whose body is being held in Gaza by militants, accused the government of abandoning its citizens.
“We truly hope that the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive deal that will bring them home,” she told the rally. Her son, Omer, is also American.
Tel Aviv has witnessed weekly demonstrations that have grown in size, with protesters demanding that the government secure a ceasefire with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages. Organizers said Saturday night’s rally was attended by tens of thousands. A large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.
There are 48 hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials believe that around 20 are still alive. Palestinian terrorists abducted 251 people from Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led its attack. Most of the hostages who have been released were freed after indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
NO PURPOSE
Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, but nearly eight months into his second term, a resolution has remained elusive. On Friday, he said that Washington was engaged in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli forces have carried out heavy strikes on the suburbs of Gaza City, where, according to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing famine. Israeli officials acknowledge that hunger exists in Gaza but deny that the territory is facing famine. On Saturday, the military warned civilians in Gaza City to leave and move to southern Gaza.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in the city that was home to around a million before the war.
A video released by Hamas on Friday featured Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, saying that he was being held in Gaza City and feared being killed by the military’s assault on the city. Rights groups have condemned such videos of hostages as inhumane. Israel says that it is psychological warfare.
The war has become unpopular among some segments of Israeli society, and opinion polls show that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s right-wing government to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Hamas that secures the release of the hostages.
“The war has no purpose at all, except for violence and death,” said Boaz from Tel Aviv. Adam, 48, said it had become obvious that soldiers were being sent to war for “nothing.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since it launched its retaliatory war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack on southern Israel.
The terrorist group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
The prime minister has said Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel led to the war.
Hamas has acknowledged it would no longer govern Gaza once the war ends but has refused to discuss laying down its weapons.