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Here is Team Israel’s full World Baseball Classic roster
(JTA) — With just one month to go until the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Team Israel announced its full roster on Thursday.
Thanks to a recruitment effort led by Peter Kurz, president of the Israel Association of Baseball and Team Israel’s general manager, along with the team’s former-star-turned-manager, Ian Kinsler, Israel will arrive in Miami next month with a roster laden with talent — including an unprecedented 15 players with Major League Baseball experience.
Here is the full 30-man roster, with their current playing level:
Starting pitchers: Brandon Gold (Triple A), Colton Gordon (Single A), Dean Kremer (Baltimore Orioles), Robert Stock (Triple A)
Relief pitchers: Jake Bird (Colorado Rockies), Richard Bleier (Boston Red Sox), Daniel Federman (Single A), Jake Fishman (Triple A), Andrew Gross (Double A), Rob Kaminsky (free agent), Evan Kravetz (Double A), Kyle Molnar (free agent), Bubby Rosman (free agent), Jacob Steinmetz (Arizona Diamondbacks organization), Joey Wagman (free agent), Zack Weiss (Los Angeles Angels), Josh Wolf (Single A)
Outfielders: Alex Dickerson (free agent), Jakob Goldfarb (free agent), Spencer Horwitz (Triple A), Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants),
Infielders: Zack Gelof (Triple A), Ty Kelly (free agent), Assaf Lowengart (college), Noah Mendlinger (Single A), Matt Mervis (Triple A), Danny Valencia (retired), Michael Wielansky (free agent)
Catchers: Ryan Lavarnway (free agent), Garrett Stubbs (Philadelphia Phillies)
Kurz told the Jewish Baseball News site that the current roster is Israel’s strongest ever. “We’ve come a long way since our international debut at the 2012 WBC qualifiers,” he said.
Big leaguers Scott Effross and Harrison Bader, both members of the New York Yankees, had planned to play for Israel but dropped out due to injuries. Outfielder Kevin Pillar was previously rumored to be on the team but did not appear on the final roster.
Israel also has an additional group of relievers it can add to the roster if it advances past the first round: Jake Kalish (AAA), Alex Katz (free agent), Adam Kolarek (Los Angeles Dodgers organization), Jake Miednik (Single A), and Israeli Shlomo Lipetz.
Israel will be playing in Pool D in Miami, along with Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
With half of the MLB based in Florida for Spring Training — which overlaps with the WBC — the proximity helped entice players to participate.
“Team Israel has shown well,” Kinsler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in October. “Being in Miami makes [players’] decisions easier. All of those things led to more opportunities for more players. I think we get more accomplished players.”
Kinsler added that Pederson, perhaps the team’s most famous MLB player, has helped with recruitment. Pederson is a two-time World Champion and was an All-Star in 2022.
“Joc’s making phone calls and sending texts and is doing his best,” Kinsler said. “He wants to play on a competitive team.”
Another element is Israel’s continued success on the international stage. The team reached seventh place at the 2017 WBC and was one of just six teams to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
Previous success aside, Israel is set to face its toughest competition yet. The Dominican team is headlined by MLB stars Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Sandy Alcantara.
Pool D begins action Saturday, March 11, and two teams from each pool advance to the second round. Israel’s first game is March 12 against Nicaragua. The team will also face the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals in exhibition games before the WBC starts.
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The post Here is Team Israel’s full World Baseball Classic roster appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Exclusive: Israeli Officials Harshly Critical of Steve Witkoff’s Influence on US Policy on Gaza, Iran, i24NEWS Told
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Amid growing disagreements with the Trump administration over the composition of the Board of Peace for Gaza and the question of a strike on Iran, officials in Israel point to a key figure behind decisions seen as running counter to Israeli interests: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The officials mention sustained dissatisfaction with Witkoff. Sources close to the PM Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Saturday evening: “For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making.”
This criticism relates both to the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in Gaza’s governing bodies and to the Iranian threat. A senior Israeli official put it bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”
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EU Warns of Downward Spiral After Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman
European Union leaders on Saturday warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” over US President Donald Trump‘s vow to implement increasing tariffs on European allies until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa said in posts on X.
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said tariffs would hurt prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, while distracting the EU from its “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies,” Kallas said on X.
“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”
Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the tariff threat.
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Israel Says US Gaza Executive Board Composition Against Its Policy
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinians shelter at a tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer/File Photo
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that this week’s Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.
It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The statement did not specify what part of the board’s composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.
The board, unveiled by the White House on Friday, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Israel has repeatedly opposed any Turkish role in Gaza.
Other members of the executive board include Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; an Israeli‑Cypriot billionaire; and a minister from the United Arab Emirates, which established relations with Israel in 2020.
Washington this week also announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan, announced in September, to end the war in Gaza. This includes creating a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave.
The first members of the so-called Board of Peace – to be chaired by Trump and tasked with supervising Gaza’s temporary governance – were also named. Members include Rubio, billionaire developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.