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Jewish Red Bulls star Daniel Edelman could be the next face of US men’s soccer

(New York Jewish Week) — New York Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman is something of a hero to American soccer fans — and Jewish soccer fans, in particular.
The 20-year-old rising star, who is Jewish, won his Major League Soccer team’s Newcomer of the Year award last year, and, as captain of the under-20 U.S. Men’s National Team, he helped lead the team to the quarterfinals at the U-20 World Cup in Argentina in May.
But what might cement this heroic image is a giveaway from last Saturday’s home game: a Daniel Edelman bobblehead, in honor of Marvel Night at Red Bull Arena. Inspired by “Guardians of the Galaxy” superhero Star-Lord, it’s a pretty impressive accomplishment for someone so early in his career.
“It’s really exciting,” Edelman told the New York Jewish Week via telephone as he was en route to practice on Friday morning. “It’s my second season with the team, and to have a bobblehead made of me is pretty cool. This is a team I grew up looking up to, admiring all the players.”
In Saturday’s game, the New York Red Bulls beat the New England Revolution 2-1, and Edelman — who was one of the New York Jewish Week’s “36 to Watch” honorees for 2023 — boasted the most completed passes of the match. The team is now 10th place in the MLS’ Eastern Conference.
Edelman insists that he was selected for a Marvel Night-themed bobblehead because his affinity for comics is well-known among his team — not because he possesses any superhero-like powers. “I’m a big Marvel guy,” Edelman said. “I love all the ‘Avengers’ movies I’ve seen. Captain America is one of my favorite heroes.”
And yet: “I would like to think I could also be a hero of the team, one of the heroes,” he said when pressed. “Being one of the young players of the team, hopefully can inspire young academy kids, younger generations of players.”
Daniel Edelman holds his bobblehead that was inspired by a “Guardians of the Galaxy” character. (Courtesy of New York Red Bulls/Design by Mollie Suss)
It wasn’t that long ago that Edelman was one of those kids. Growing up in Warren Township, New Jersey — where he still lives with his family today — he was bitten by the soccer bug at a very young age. “Soccer’s been everything for me,” he said. “Walking around the house, there’s always been ball at my feet — literally, dribbling through the kitchen while my mom is making food, bothering my dad if he’s doing work around the house. It’s always been a passion of mine; I love the game so much.”
When he was about 6 or 7 years old, Edelman began playing for a travel team, Watchung Hills, where his father, Ari Edelman, a sports public relations executive who played soccer for Loyola Maryland, was head coach. (His mother, Patty Stoffey Edelman, is an athlete too: She was Maryland’s all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.)
But soccer wasn’t the only religion in the household: Edelman grew up celebrating Jewish holidays with his dad’s side of the family. His favorite holiday is Hanukkah.
“That’s probably when I get to see family the most,” he said. “We get to all be together and eat good food, enjoy a good time and give gifts to each other.”
Edelman said his grandmother typically makes latkes, and it’s a family tradition to get Sloppy Joe sandwiches from a deli.
When asked if there was a particular Jewish food he enjoys, Edelman’s answer was a surprising one: “I love gefilte fish,” he said.
He said he draws inspiration, on and off the field, from his late great-grandfather, Benjamin Guyer, a Holocaust survivor. As the family lore goes, he made a daring escape from a cattle car while en route to a Nazi camp. “It’s inspiring that he didn’t give up, he kept fighting and he was able to make it out,” Edelman said.
When he graduated high school, Edelman was set to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But when the opportunity to play professionally for the Red Bulls came up, Edelman seized it. “I trusted myself and my abilities — this is the path I want to go [on]. I’ve always wanted to become a pro,” Edelman said, adding: “It was still something that had to be discussed with my parents.”
Said parents supported Edelman’s decision, but there was some compromise: They insisted that he at least enroll in some classes at University of South Carolina, which has a partnership with the MLS. “My dad definitely wanted me to still pursue an education, find a way to still be working toward a degree while I’m playing,” he said.
“Of course, I just want to focus on my career right now,” added Edelman, who has taken two English courses so far. “But I really see how it’ll be super important to have something when I’m done playing.”
He’s nowhere close to being “done” yet. After an impressive showing at the U-20 World Cup — and with the 2024 Olympics on the horizon — rumors are circulating that several soccer clubs abroad, including Maccabi Tel Aviv, are interested in the young midfielder.
Edelman, right, was a New York Red Bulls fan before he became a rising star on the team. (Courtesy Daniel Edelman)
“It’s cool to hear about that and soak it in,” said Edelman, who is a fan of Israeli soccer and is impressed by the “top quality” players there. “But my full focus is still with the New York Red Bulls and finishing out the year here.”
A Liverpool FC fan, Edelman hopes to one day play for a European team. “I think everyone my age, and everyone at the U-20 World Cup, wants to play in Europe someday,” he said. “That’s something that I’m going to look forward to in the future.”
For now, Edelman’s reveling in the opportunity to help elevate American soccer, and he’s proud of being one of the very few — and possibly only — Jewish player in the MLS. “It’s pretty cool to think about,” he said. “There’s been some fans who have come up to me and say ‘Oh, it’s great to have someone Jewish on the field, see them playing.’ It’s not that common, to be honest.”
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The post Jewish Red Bulls star Daniel Edelman could be the next face of US men’s soccer appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.