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Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon is making waves as a rare Jew in the English Premier League
(JTA) — For decades, Jewish players have been increasingly rare in English professional soccer. Since 1992, only one British-born Jew has appeared in the Premier League, the country’s top tier and arguably the best soccer league in the world.
But this year, an Israeli has been turning heads with his play in the league, to the extent that analysts believe he could earn a spot on one of the world’s elite teams this summer.
After recovering from a knee injury last year, Manor Solomon, a 23-year-old from Kfar Saba in central Israel, has shined as a midfielder for Fulham F.C., one of a few Premier League teams based in London. Solomon scored in five straight games from Feb. 11 through March 6, becoming the first Israeli to accomplish the feat since Liverpool’s Ronny Rosenthal scored in three straight in 1992.
“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of,” he said of his first Premier League goal, against Nottingham Forest.
AN ABSOLUTE BEAUTY! Fulham have TIED it. #FULWOL
: @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/N6FT1InLSs
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 24, 2023
His success story comes after a harrowing year. After playing for the Israeli team Maccabi Petah Tikva, Solomon joined the Ukrainian soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk in 2019. When he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal that season, he became the youngest Israeli to score in the Champions League — the highest level of club competition in Europe — at 20 years old.
After Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, he “woke up to the sound of explosions and sirens,” as he recounted to BBC Sport. “It was like being in the middle of a movie.”
He quickly made arrangements to leave Ukraine, making the 17-hour journey to the Polish border — where he had to wait for more than 10 hours in the freezing cold before making it home to Israel.
“I feel lucky I got out,” he said.
He joined Fulham F.C. last July on a temporary one-year deal, thanks to a FIFA rule allowing non-Ukrainian players in Ukraine to suspend their contracts. His Sephardic heritage allowed him to obtain a Portuguese passport, which helped facilitate his travel throughout the European Union.
RELATED: British Jews love soccer. So why are there no Jews in the Premier League?
Soccer fans back home in Israel are taking notice of the rise of “King Solomon.”
“Everyone has their eyes on the TV to see what Manor is going to do. That’s across the country. Any time that Manor is on TV now, you can guarantee the viewers are through the roof,” sports writer Josh Halickman told The Athletic.
Solomon said “It’s difficult” for him to walk down an Israeli street.
“If you go to Tel Aviv or somewhere, it’s impossible to walk,” he said. “Sometimes, I want to go with my girlfriend to the beach in nice weather and you need to go to a separate place because otherwise, the people go crazy.”
The “Manormania,” as some have called the hype around Solomon, is evident across Israeli media’s sports pages. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in Israel, and having a homegrown star play in Europe is no small feat.
“Him being a representative for Israeli success has a double meaning,” Einav Schiff, a journalist at Yedioth Ahronoth, told The Athletic. “It’s not only that he’s a good soccer player and people admire him for that — they also admire him as a representative of the country.”
Solomon also plays for Israel’s national team. Israel hasn’t qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1970, but the team is currently in the midst of qualifying for the UEFA 2024 European Championships.
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The post Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon is making waves as a rare Jew in the English Premier League appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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VIDEO: Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Light One Candle” — in Yiddish
If, like me, you enjoy listening to old recordings of the iconic folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, you may want to check this out: a new Yiddish version of their Hanukkah song “Light One Candle,” sung by another talented trio — Rabbi Avram, Elisha and Sarah Mlotek. (A transliteration of the lyrics appears beneath the video below.)
The three siblings are the grown children of Zalmen Mlotek, musician and director of the Yiddish National Theater Folksbiene, and his wife, Debbie Mlotek. Rabbi Avram is a writer, Elisha is a filmmaker and Sarah is studying music at a conservatory in Israel — and just became a mom.
Their singing is backed up by C. Joseph Lanzbom on guitar and Elisha on percussion.
The original song, which was written by Peter Yarrow, became an anthem for the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1980s, symbolizing their struggle for freedom. It was translated into Yiddish by the theater producer Moishe Rosenfeld and Avram Mlotek.
“‘Light One Candle’ was one of our Bubbe’s favorite songs every time we got together for a Hanukkah sing-along,” Avram said. Their Bubbe was the renowned scholar of Yiddish song, Chana Mlotek. For many years, she and her husband, the Yiddish cultural activist Yosl Mlotek, ran a column about Yiddish songs and poetry in the Forward.
Although Hanukkah is still a month away, Bubby Chana’s grandchildren had a meaningful reason for publishing it now: This week marks her yortzeit.
TRANSLITERATION
Eyn likht shaynt far di heldishe kinder
A dank vos dos likht geyt nit oys
Eyn likht shaynt far di payn un di laydn
Di sakone’z geven azoy groys
Eyn likht flakert far korbones un laydn
Az yoysher un frayhayt zol zayn
Eyn likhtl flakert far khokhme un visn
Far frayhayt un sholem zol zayn.
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Zey flakern shoyn doyres-lang
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Balaykhtn durkh undzer gezang!
Eyn likht flakert tsu gebn undz koyekh
Az eybik mir’n blaybn getray
Eyn likht flakert far mentshn vos laydn
Oykh mir zenen nisht geven fray
Eyn likhtl flakert far zise khaloymes
Tseteyln zol undz nisht der kas
Un eyn likhtl flakert tsu haltn tsuzamen
Mit sholem un mer nisht kayn has
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Zey flakern shoyn doyres-lang
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Balaykhtn durkh undzer gezang!
Vos iz di mayse vos iz azoy tayer
Vos lebt eybik in undzer flam?
Vos iz di shvue tsu fargangene doyres
Az es lebt undzer folk, undzer am?
Mir kumen, mir geyen, mir hofn, mir gloybn
Az yoysher vet vern der klal
Dos iz der viln, dos iz di shvue
A shenere velt iberal!
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Zey flakern shoyn doyres-lang
Lesht nit di likhtlekh oys!
Balaykhtn durkh undzer gezang!
The post VIDEO: Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Light One Candle” — in Yiddish appeared first on The Forward.
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Report: Regime Change Not Ruled Out as US Mulls Escalation Against Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
i24 News – The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as the US administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Reuters reported Saturday citing four officials familiar with the matter. An escalation that would go so far as overthrowing Maduro’s dictatorial regime could not be ruled out, it is understood.
The report could not provide the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor confirm that Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.
Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Another “senior administration official” said he did not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” the official was quoted as saying.
Also on Saturday, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela, the day after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over the country.
Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal canceled their flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.
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Indonesia’s Biggest Islamic Group Asks Chief to Resign Over Invitation to Pro-Israeli Speaker
Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Yahya Cholil Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, at his office in Jerusalem. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.
Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world’s biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf’s invitation to a person “affiliated with an International Zionism network” for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU’s chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf’s invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz’s background, adding that he condemned Israel‘s “brutal genocidal acts in Gaza.”
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel‘s campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
Berkowitz spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world’s Muslim-majority nation, has routinely condemned Israel‘s actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. It has long advocated for a two-state solution and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.