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Florida Gators Become First Team With Jewish Coach to Win NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Almost 40 Years

Florida Gators players celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Houston Cougars in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome, San Antonion, Texas, April 7, 2025. Photo: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

Todd Golden became the first Jewish coach in 37 years to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament when his team, the Florida Gators, beat the Houston Cougars 65-63 in the final of the national championship game on Monday night.

Before Golden, the last Jewish coach to win the NCCA tournament was Larry Brown when he led Kansas to a championship victory in 1988. At the age of 39, Golden, in his third season with Florida, is also the youngest coach to win a national title since Jim Valvano in 1983. Additionally, Golden is the third coach in the last 60 seasons of the NCAA to win a national title after not having an NCAA tournament win, following in the footsteps of Kevin Ollie in 2014 and Steve Fisher in 1989.

Golden is one of three coaches in the history of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to win a national title within three seasons with a team.

Florida’s Monday’s night win in the championship game marked the team’s third national title in its history, following back-to-back victories in 2006 and 2007.

“It was just a great display of grit and resilience,” Golden said in a post-game interview. “I thought our guys did a great job in the second half of finding a way to get nine stops in a row at one point, which flipped the script of the game … we made some big-time winning plays down the stretch on the defensive end that allowed us to win this national championship.”

The head coach of the Houston Cougars, Kelvin Sampson, is not Jewish, but the team includes a player who played professionally for Israel. Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, the son of former Maccabi Tel Aviv player Derrick Sharp, played for Israel’s national youth team.

Golden is an Israeli citizen who played professionally for the Maccabi Haifa basketball team in Israel for two seasons. He made his way to the 2025 NCAA tournament final on Monday at the Alamodome after facing and beating his mentor, Auburn University Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl, on Saturday in the semifinal. An avid supporter of Israel, Pearl is also Jewish. The NCAA tournament’s Final Four bracket this weekend included three teams with Jewish coaches: Florida, Auburn, and the Duke Blue Devils, led by Jon Scheyer.

In 2009, Golden was co-captain of the USA Open Team, coached by Pearl, that won gold at Israel’s Maccabiah Games, which is an international multi-sport event for Jewish and Israeli athletes. Golden was director of basketball operations for the Auburn staff for the 2014-15 season, under Pearl’s leadership, and was assistant coach for the 2015-16 season. Golden came to Florida in 2022.

Prior to coaching the Gators, Golden was the assistant coach at Columbia and the head coach at San Francisco.

In a post-game interview on Monday night, Golden credited Pearl for the success in his career. “I wouldn’t be here without him,” Golden said. “I certainly know that and I’m just grateful for the opportunity he’s provided me over my life. Playing for him back in 2009 was really the start of our relationship and coming for Auburn to work with him for two years, his first two years on the job, I learned so much from him. He’s a great leader, a great man. And it was honestly bittersweet after the game on Saturday, but I know he’s incredibly proud of me and my program right now.”

The post Florida Gators Become First Team With Jewish Coach to Win NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Almost 40 Years first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week

Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism

A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.

The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.

“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.

“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”

Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.

This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.

According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.

During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.

As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.

No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.

The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.

“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.

“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.

“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.

Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.

In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.

In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.

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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution

German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.

“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”

“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.

Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.

The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.

Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.

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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.

The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.

The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.

The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

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