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Denver Jewish Day School makes history on the basketball court
This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with Jewish teens around the world to report on issues that affect their lives.
(JTA) — After a crushing loss last year in the state championship round of 16 to Caprock Academy, the Denver Jewish Day School boys’ basketball team began the 2022-23 season hungrier than ever and ready to prove themselves. That drive paid off in March when the Tigers became Class 1A state champions, the first-ever crown for the pluralistic Jewish community K-12 day school.
But to get there, they had to pull off a 15-point comeback against the reigning state champions, battle through antisemitism on and off the court and travel more than an hour and a half each way for their final three games.
Winning the state championship was not only a monumental moment for the school, but it was also only the third time ever that a Jewish day school had won its state basketball championship.
The Tigers dominated the regular season, ending with a 22-3 record and becoming the number two ranked team behind the Belleview Christian Bruins. Going into the playoffs, the Tigers were on the lookout for the Bruins, who had delivered them one of their few regular-season losses. However, during the playoffs, the Tigers outplayed the Bruins twice in both the district and state championships, delivering Belleview their only two losses of the season and securing the championship.
Last year’s playoff loss against Caprock Academy, located 250 miles west of Denver, only provided them with more motivation. “We had a four-hour bus ride home of pure sadness and anger” on the way home, said starter Andrew Zimmerman, 18. “Everyone except the seniors were back in the gym the very next day to start getting ready for this season.” With a starting five composed of four seniors and one junior, everyone on the team knew that, for many of them, this was their last chance to win the state championship.
To add to this pressure, several players on the team experienced antisemitism from fans and players during the tournament. Some were called slurs, while others found posts on social media complaining that the game was moved because of the team’s Sabbath observance and saying that they should be forced to forfeit instead. However, the Tigers ignored what people were saying and focused on what they were best at: playing basketball.
The two other Jewish schools that have won their basketball state championships were Shalhevet, an Orthodox Jewish high school of about 260 students in Los Angeles that won the California women’s Division IV basketball state championship only a few days before the Tigers, and the Yavneh Academy of Dallas, a Modern Orthodox school, whose boys’ basketball team won the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ 3A title in 2020.
Winning the state championship as a Jewish day school is “just incredible for the whole Jewish community, and the fact that it’s so rare for it to happen makes it even more special,” said Coach Michael Foonberg. “There’s also a stereotype of [there being very few good] Jewish athletes. And you can overcome that with hard work and commitment and dedication. To stay the course and do it with this Jewish school and being Jewish myself, it was something that I just dreamed about, and to fulfill it is just incredible.”
Jews value athletic achievement as a statement of minority pride, according to Howard Megdal, a Jewish sports writer who covers basketball and specifically women’s sports, especially if a team wins a championship. “It is always significant, particularly in athletics, to see Jewish people excel,” he said. “At a time of rising antisemitism, this is especially important to the Jewish people.”
For DJDS, winning was about more than just bringing a trophy back to Denver. They were playing for something bigger than themselves.“Winning is just such a big accomplishment, and it’s something that we did for our school and for the Jewish community,” said starter Jonathan Noam, 17. “In the huddle, we always break it with ‘Mishpacha’ [family] because that’s the idea that we play with in our heads. DJDS is like one big mishpacha, along with the Jewish community in Denver. Everybody knows each other. Everybody is so tight-knit. It’s like we’re one big family. [We won] it for everybody.”
Fans and team members worried that DJDS would not be able to compete in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s state championship tournament due to the team’s Sabbath observance. However, according to Josh Lake, the athletic director of DJDS, “The changes to the tournament this year were in place for well over a decade. [CHSAA Associate Commissioner Bethany Brookens] and I meet yearly to make sure the accommodations are kosher for the particular season based on when the tournament is scheduled.”
Recently, the state association has been much more accommodating of DJDS’s Sabbath observance. “CHSAA respected the fact that we were Jewish and that we keep Shabbos and are not allowed to play on Shabbos,” said Noam. The team was able to play games typically scheduled for late Friday or Saturday afternoon on Friday afternoon and Saturday night, so the team could avoid violating the Sabbath.
According to Brookens, the Sabbath accommodations for DJDS have “been in place and communicated well before this year.”
While CHSAA respected the team’s Sabbath observance, fans and parents of opposing players were unhappy with the scheduling changes and expressed antisemitic sentiments against the team from the stands and on social media, according to starter Gavin Foonberg, son of Coach Foonberg, 18, and starter Elan Schinagel, 17. “We always run into [antisemitism]. It happened in the playoffs against McClave. “There were some people calling our fans ‘dirty Jews,’” said Schinagel, “You just have to be the bigger person when that type of stuff happens. It happens generally once or twice a season.”
Fellow starter Gavin Foonberg also experienced antisemitism at the tournament. “After we beat McClave, there was a bunch of talk, all over Twitter and CHSAA Instagram, about how [DJDS] is cheating because we had the game moved back farther because we can’t play on Shabbat,” he said. The team also experienced antisemitism during the regular season at a game against Lyons. “At Lyons, there definitely was [antisemitism]. [The fans] called our JV team “K*kes” at one point.”
Some commenters complained on Facebook after the state high school athletic association agreed to let the Denver Jewish Day School play their basketball games at a time other than Shabbat. (Via Facebook; JTA illustration by Mollie Suss)
DJDS prepares the players to deal with antisemitism. According to school policy, if they encounter antisemitism, they are taught to tell their coach or a school administrator immediately. “It’s not a great feeling knowing that we have to prepare for that, but it is a good feeling knowing that our kids know what to do,” said Assistant Coach Matan Halzel.
Despite the protocol, the athletic director of DJDS, Josh Lake, did not receive any reports of antisemitism directly. “No one has shared with me any [reports of ] antisemitic behavior at the district, regional, or state tournament this year,” he said. One of the players only discussed the antisemitic experiences he witnessed within the team and said he did not report it because he was used to such behavior.
Officials at McClave said that no one had contacted them about any alleged antisemitism. ”No one from the Denver Jewish Day School contacted myself or any other administrator during or after the tournament, so this is the first I am hearing of any issues,” said Maggie Pacino, principal of McClave. However, ”Had I or any other school administrator heard such comments we would have immediately dealt with those involved.”
Administrators at Lyons said they could not comment on the specifics of the antisemitic incident reported by Tigers players due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, even though that federal privacy law only covers personal information on a student’s record. “What I can share with you is that whenever our school receives a report of conduct outside of the very high standards we hold for our students, we conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate disciplinary action as necessary,” said Christopher Frank, principal of Lyons.
Tiger center Zimmerman said an adult fan supporting McClave walked past and called him a “dirty f–cking Jew.” A DJDS fan who saw it happen told him that the man had been saying similar things the entire game. Zimmerman did not respond to the comment and walked away.
Notwithstanding the antisemitism, the state championship win is still a bright spot for the Jewish community and a huge win for Jewish athletes around the nation.
The win “is history and is something that you’ll never forget,” said Halzel. “It’s etched in stone. We have a trophy, we have a banner, we have a signed ball that’s already in the trophy case. These are memories that will never be taken away from us.”
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Police eye Iran involvement as 3 London synagogues are targeted in arson attacks
(JTA) — Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a London synagogue on Sunday, the third within days on Jewish targets in the city.
No one was injured at Kenton United Synagogue after police said a “bottle with some sort of accelerant” was thrown through a window. A fire was extinguished before it could do significant damage.
Police offered few details about the men arrested beyond their ages, 17 and 19. But they said they saw emerging evidence that the attack and others in recent days may have been conducted in exchange for payments from Iran, which has said it would strike targets abroad in response to the U.S.-Israeli war against it.
“We’ve seen a pattern,” Matt Jukes, the police force’s deputy commissioner, said on the BBC on Monday. He said there had been 15 arrests related to incidents targeting the Jewish community in recent weeks and most appeared to be of “people taking cash as it looks like quick and easy money” to stage an attack.
Many of the attacks, including the most recent one, have been claimed by a new group, The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, that appears Iran-linked and says it is behind arsons and explosives targeting synagogues across Europe.
Jukes and Vicki Evans, the Metropolitan Police’s senior national coordination for counterterrorism, addressed the drumbeat of London attacks during a press conference on Sunday outside the Kenton synagogue. There, Evans spoke directly to Brits who might be considered as a get-rich-quick scheme.
“To anyone even considering getting involved, my message to you would be this: The stakes are high — and it is absolutely not worth the risk for a small reward,” she said. “Those tasking you will not be there when you are arrested and face court. You will be used once and thrown away without a second thought.”
The Kenton arson followed multiple other incidents in recent days. Two people were arrested after throwing bottles containing liquid at Finchley Reform Synagogue last week, and on Friday a fire was set at a nearby building that formerly held a nonprofit called Jewish Futures and still bears its sign. Suspicious material was also found near the Israeli embassy.
Last month, arsonists set fire to ambulances owned by Hatzola, an emergency service operated by a Jewish nonprofit. At least five people, including several young adults and one person who does not hold British citizenship, have been arrested in connection with the arson. Police also arrested multiple men who they said had been spying on British Jewish communities on behalf of Iran.
British Jewish leaders have responded to the incidents with growing alarm, even as police have worked to apprehend the perpetrators and calm tensions.
“A sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum. This sustained attack on our community’s ability to worship and live in safety is an attack on the values that bind us all together,” Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said in a statement. “Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, an advocacy group, criticized the government for failing to designate and ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. British lawmakers tabled a proposal to adopt such a designation, which other countries including the United States and the European Union have adopted as a tool to fight Iran’s malign influence, earlier this year.
“It is shocking that concern for the sensitivities of a violent Iranian regime is more important to the Government than the welfare of Jewish people in this country,” the Campaign Against Antisemitism said.
And the Board of Deputies, a group representing Jewish communities, urged British Jews to follow security guidelines and vowed to defy the violence.
“Our community will not be intimidated by these cowardly acts of hate, which are an attack on Britain and its values, and on the security and cohesion of everyone in our country,” it said.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Police eye Iran involvement as 3 London synagogues are targeted in arson attacks appeared first on The Forward.
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U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan calls Israeli government ‘evil’ like Hamas
Abdul El-Sayed, a U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan, said in an interview aired Sunday that the Israeli government is as “evil” as Hamas, sharpening his criticism of Israel in the closely-watched Democratic primary.
“Killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil,” El-Sayed told CNN congressional reporter Manu Raja on the network’s Inside Politics program. “It’s not how evil is this one versus that one — Hamas: Evil, Israeli government: Evil. We can say both.”
El-Sayed, 41, is a physician and the son of Egyptian immigrants. He is seeking to channel the energy of the 2024 Uncommitted movement, which protested the Biden administration’s support for Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza. He is also hoping to build on the surprise success of the New York City mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani in taking on the Democratic establishment.
He is locked in a dead heat with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens. The primary is set for Aug. 4.
Earlier this month, El-Sayed faced backlash for appearing alongside streamer Hasan Piker, who has been accused of antisemitic rhetoric — including saying that Hamas “is a thousand times better” than Israel. McMorrow, who is married to a Jewish man, and Stevens, who is closely aligned with AIPAC, have both criticized El-Sayed.
In the CNN interview, El-Sayed defended his decision to campaign with Piker, framing it as an effort to reach voters who feel alienated from traditional politics. “My understanding of America is, it’s a place where we have freedom of speech,” he said.
#MISen Abdul El-Sayed on CNN Inside Politics: @mkraju: You said Israeli government is evil. Do you think they’re just as evil as Hamas?
El-Sayed: “Yes, killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil. It’s not about how evil one is versus the other. Hamas —… pic.twitter.com/4GfJ5oCtqR
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) April 19, 2026
The Michigan Senate race is shaping up as one of the starkest tests of the Democratic coalition and how the party navigates policy towards Israel in Congress amid the wars in Gaza and Iran. The state is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States.
Last week, 40 Senate Democrats voted to block $295 million for the transfer of bulldozers, used by the Israeli military to demolish homes in the West Bank and Gaza; 36 of them also supported a measure to block the sale of 1,000-pound bombs to the Jewish state. It shattered a previous high of 27 Democrats who backed a similar pair of resolutions of disapproval to block some weapons transfers last year.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who is Jewish, was among those who voted for the measures. In remarks as they announced their votes, Democrats highlighted their opposition to the Israeli government’s policies in the occupied West Bank, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the war with Iran.
The post U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan calls Israeli government ‘evil’ like Hamas appeared first on The Forward.
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NYC Mayor Mamdani Unveils Major Tax Hike on Unoccupied Luxury Real Estate
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at the New York City Office of Emergency Management, as a major winter storm spreads across a large swath of the United States, in Brooklyn, New York City, US, Jan. 25, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Bing Guan
i24 News – NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has officially introduced a controversial new tax targeting secondary residences valued at over $5 million.
The measure, designed to tap into the city’s vast concentration of unoccupied luxury wealth, is projected to generate roughly $500 million annually for the municipal budget.
“This tax is specifically aimed at the ultra-rich,” Mamdani stated, highlighting high-profile examples such as Ken Griffin’s $238 million Midtown penthouse and Alexander Varshavsky’s $20.5 million Columbus Circle residence.
While the city has yet to finalize specific evaluation criteria or the methods for distinguishing primary from secondary homes, the proposal has already become a flashpoint for economic debate.
The move has drawn sharp condemnation from billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who argued that the policy is fundamentally flawed.
Ackman contended that owners of luxury secondary residences contribute significant capital to the local economy without utilizing costly municipal services. He warned that the tax would likely trigger a corporate and high-net-worth exodus to low-tax jurisdictions like Miami, ultimately harming the city’s tax base.
President Donald Trump also entered the fray, denouncing the policy as “totally misguided” and claiming it is “destroying New York.” Trump, whose own extensive real estate holdings in the city could be impacted, argued that such taxation serves only to drive away the international investors who fuel New York’s development.
Implementation remains a significant question mark, as the tax could potentially affect nearly 13,000 property owners, including major figures like Jeff Bezos. Financial analysts point out that many of the city’s most expensive apartments are held through complex offshore structures and shell companies, making the identification and appraisal of these properties an immense administrative challenge for the city.
As the debate intensifies, the Mamdani administration faces a difficult path ahead in balancing its “tax the rich” mandate with the practical realities of New York’s competitive global real estate market.