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The Jewish Sport Report: Hank Greenberg’s 1934 High Holiday conundrum

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Hello, and shana tova to all those celebrating Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight.
The life of a sports executive can be unpredictable. This week alone, the revolving door of baseball operations bosses saw David Stearns return to New York to run his hometown Mets and Chaim Bloom get abruptly fired by the Boston Red Sox.
As the Jewish podcasting duo Cespedes Family BBQ pointed out on social media, that makes for a “shana lo tova” — a not happy new year — for Bloom, who is an observant Jew.
Looking back at Hank Greenberg’s 1934 Rosh Hashanah dilemma
Hank Greenberg scores after hitting a home run to give the Detroit Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox, Sept. 10, 1934. (UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
The year is 1934, and future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg is enjoying a breakout season for his American League-leading Detroit Tigers.
On Sept. 10, the Tigers were set to face the Boston Red Sox in a crucial game as they looked to hold onto their lead over Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees in the pennant race.
There was just one problem: the game fell on Rosh Hashanah.
Greenberg, who was raised in an Orthodox family, was torn. Playing would feel wrong on one of the holiest days in the Jewish year. Sitting out would mean letting his team down when it mattered most.
Click here to see what Greenberg ultimately decided — and how the game turned out.
Halftime report
ON TO THE NEXT ONE. Israel’s national soccer team — which features Premier League player Manor Solomon — is one step closer to qualifying for the 2024 European Championship. It would be their first qualification for a major soccer tournament since the 1970 World Cup. Israel beat Belarus 1-0 in a qualifying match on Tuesday on an injury-time goal from Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Gabi Kanichowsky. Next up they’ll have to beat Switzerland on Oct. 12.
SERVE’S UP. Israel is gearing up for another Tel Aviv Watergen Open, which has become a premier international tennis tournament (all-time great Novak Djokovic played in and won the men’s contest last year). Organizers are working to expand the main court’s seating capacity to 4,500 to accommodate an increase in fan interest. The tournament will take place Nov. 5-11 and feature $1 million in prize money.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY. Sport Report readers know that Jewish MLB rookie Zack Gelof has been tearing it up with the Oakland Athletics. But his younger brother Jake is also on fire, in the minor leagues. The younger Gelof, who was drafted this summer by the Los Angeles Dodgers and is playing in Single-A, was just named Minor League Player of the Week in the California League after posting a .360 batting average with 16 RBI in just six games.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN. Speaking of Jewish sports family dynasties, Quinn Hughes was just named captain of the Vancouver Canucks, joining a small group of Jewish NHL players to have ever earned that honor. Quinn’s brother Jack is an alternate captain for the New Jersey Devils, while current Tampa Bay Lightning Assistant Coach Jeff Halpern served as captain of the Washington Capitals (and of the U.S. National Team) during his playing career.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN FOOTBALL…
Greg Joseph and the Minnesota Vikings kicked off NFL Week 2 last night with a 34-28 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Here’s the rest of the Jewish schedule in the NFL this week:
Sunday at 1 p.m. ET: Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks play the Detroit Lions, while A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers square off against the Atlanta Falcons.
Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET: Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.
IN BASEBALL…
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer takes the mound Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET during a crucial series against the Tampa Bay Rays — the winner takes control of the AL East. Joc Pederson and the San Francisco Giants face Jake Bird and the Colorado Rockies this weekend, while Zack Weiss and the Boston Red Sox take on Spencer Horwitz and the Toronto Blue Jays.
IN SOCCER…
Manor Solomon is back with Tottenham after playing with Israel earlier this week. The Spurs face Sheffield United Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. Daniel Edelman and the New York Red Bulls host their crosstown rivals, New York City F.C., Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. (It is unclear whether either player will suit up on Rosh Hashanah.)
IN GOLF…
Max Homa is back in action this weekend at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California — which he won each of the last two years. David Lipsky is also competing in the tournament, while Ben Silverman is at the Simmons Bank Open in Tennessee.
IN RACING…
Lance Stroll will be on the grid for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday at 8 a.m. ET.
Bernie trades his mittens for a baseball glove
You may have seen the viral video of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders making a slick catch while pitching to his grandson. “Pitching Ninja” Rob Friedman — check out our profile of the social media star here — put a fun spin on the clip, comparing the 82-year-old’s fielding to that of Hall of Fame pitcher and 18-time Gold Glove winner Greg Maddux.
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Hank Greenberg’s 1934 High Holiday conundrum appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
The post Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest

Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
The post UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.