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The Jewish Sport Report: Meet Harry Sheezel, who could be the ‘greatest ever male Jewish athlete in Australia’
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Good afternoon! It’s a big day for Jewish baseball players and fans.
The Chicago Cubs have called up top prospect Matt Mervis, a power-hitting first baseman who represented Israel in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Mervis, who hit 36 home runs in the minors last year, is making his MLB debut today.
Over in Atlanta, Braves ace Max Fried squares off against Dean Kremer and the Baltimore Orioles. I say the losing pitcher has to wear the winner’s jersey next time they go to synagogue.
According to the Jewish Baseball Museum’s Bob Wechsler, there have been four previous instances of Jewish opposing starting pitchers. Can you name any of the matchups? Email us at sports@jta.org with your answer! (Hint, it’s been a while).
A star in the making
Harry Sheezel celebrates with Melbourne Kangaroos fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, March 18, 2023. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Harry Sheezel is on a path to greatness. The 18-year-old Jewish day school grad has quickly become a star in his first season in the Australian Football League, where he was drafted as the third overall pick last fall. (Australian rules football, or footy, is very different than American football.)
Sheezel is only the 11th Jew in the sport since 1897, and he’s not wasting any time. Since debuting in March, Sheezel has ranked in the AFL’s top 10 in disposals — a stat referring to legal touches of the football, which indicates how involved one is in a game. He set an all-time record for most disposals for a player in their first four professional games, with 127.
His team, the North Melbourne Kangaroos, already extended his contract. And he was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award.
“You don’t want to get too excited too early, but Harry has the potential to perhaps be our greatest-ever male Jewish athlete in Australia,” said Ashley Browne, an Australian sports journalist who wrote a book about Jewish Australian athletes called “People of the Boot.”
Read more about the Australian star right here.
Halftime report
WELCOME BACK. Jewish outfielder Harrison Bader returned to action this week after an oblique injury kept him out of the New York Yankees lineup for the first month of the season. In his first game back, the Gold Glove winner made an impressive diving catch. (Elsewhere, Philadelphia Phillies Jewish utilityman Dalton Guthrie was also recalled from the minors this week.)
CHOSEN ONES. The NHL began announcing its award finalists this week, and New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes is on the shortlist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship. Adam Fox is a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy for best defenseman, which the New York Rangers standout won in 2021.
PLAY BALL. Philadelphia 76ers owners Josh and Marjorie Harris are supporting a basketball initiative for girls in Israel, in partnership with the organization The Equalizer. Harris, who has been involved with other Israeli sports projects in the past, is also in the process of purchasing the NFL’s Washington Commanders from embattled owner Dan Snyder.
KING OF KINGS. Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings’ playoff run came to an end, but the soon-to-be member of the tribe is poised to stick around his team for the long haul. “Domas is a huge part of what we do,” said Kings general manager Monte McNair. “We’re going to do all we can to keep him here and build around him.”
STAY GOLDEN, PONYBOY. Team Israel won the PONY 19U European Championship in baseball this week, earning a spot in this summer’s Palomino World Series in Texas. Israel beat the Stuttgart Reds 8-2 in the title game.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN HOCKEY…
Jack and Luke Hughes and the Devils face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the second round of the NHL playoffs tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Carolina leads 1-0, with Game 3 set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers are down 1-0 in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights, with Game 2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
IN BASEBALL…
Max Fried vs. Dean Kremer, AKA the Jewish World Series, is tonight at 7:20 p.m. ET. Matt Mervis and the Chicago Cubs host the Miami Marlins this afternoon at 2:20 p.m. ET. On the West Coast, it’s a battle of Jewish sluggers as Joc Pederson and the San Francisco Giants take on Rowdy Tellez and the Milwaukee Brewers at 10:15 p.m. ET tonight.
IN GOLF…
Max Homa is at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina this weekend. Homa won the tournament in 2019, his first PGA Tour victory, and again last year.
IN RACING…
After finishing in seventh place in last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll looks to continue his strong season in the Miami Grand Prix, Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Boxing Day came early
(Peter Frutkoff/NY Boxing Hall of Fame)
Dmitriy “Star of David” Salita, a Ukrainian-born former professional boxer-turned-promoter, was inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame last weekend. Salita told JTA in 2009 that boxing is one way he expresses his faith.
“God wants us to work hard,” he said. “While I wouldn’t recommend a rabbi’s son become a boxer, it fits in with my background. In my way, I’m spreading my Judaism.”
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Netanyahu: ‘Our Forces Are Striking the Heart of Tehran With Increasing Strength’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces had “eliminated the dictator Ali Khamenei” along with dozens of senior officials of Iran’s regime during a statement delivered from the roof of the Kirya, Israel’s defense headquarters.
“Yesterday, we eliminated the dictator Khamenei. Along with him, dozens of senior officials from the oppressive regime were eliminated,” Netanyahu said after a meeting with the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff, and the Director of Mossad. He added that he had issued instructions to continue the offensive.
According to Netanyahu, Israeli forces are “now striking at the heart of Tehran with increasing intensity,” a campaign he said will “increase further in the days to come.”
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the toll of the conflict on Israel, calling recent days “painful” and offering condolences to the families of victims in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, while wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.
Netanyahu emphasized that the operation mobilizes “the full power of the Israel Defense Forces, like never before,” in order to “guarantee our existence and our future.” He also highlighted US support, noting “the assistance of my friend, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and of the American military.”
“This combination of forces allows us to do what I have hoped to accomplish for 40 years: strike the terrorist regime right in the face,” Netanyahu concluded. “I promised it — and we will keep our word.”
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Trump Says Iran Military Operations Are ‘Ahead of Schedule,’ CNBC Reports
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during military operations in Iran, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. February 28, 2026. The White House/Social Media/Handout via REUTERS
US President Donald Trump told CNBC on Sunday that US military operations against Iran are “ahead of schedule.”
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Iranian Missile Strike on Beit Shemesh in Israel Kills 9
Emergency personnel work at the site of an Iranian strike, after Iran launched missile barrages following attacks by the US and Israel on Saturday, in Beit Shemesh, Israel, March 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An Iranian missile strike hit the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday, killing nine people and wounding dozens, in what authorities described as a direct impact on a public bomb shelter.
A ballistic missile leveled the bomb shelter, leaving a large crater in its wake. Most, if not all, of those killed had been taking cover inside the shelter when it hit, Jerusalem Police Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled said at the impact scene.
Those in critical condition were airlifted to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
At least 20 people were still missing late on Sunday afternoon local time.
As you read this, an Iranian missile has just struck a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, Israel, only 30 kilometers/about 18 miles from Jerusalem.
Nine people are dead.
More than 20 are wounded, including children. A
public shelter collapsed from the direct hit. An… pic.twitter.com/mEVDlPEqgf
— Ella Kenan (@EllaTravelsLove) March 1, 2026
Several buildings surrounding the shelter in Beit Shemesh, which is west of Jerusalem, were also damaged in the attack, with two collapsing entirely. A synagogue was also destroyed.
Emergency crews from Magen David Adom, ZAKA, and United Hatzalah joined fire and rescue units at the site, combing damaged buildings and debris for possible survivors. Many people were trapped under rubble or inside apartments, first responders said.
The Iranian Regime directly fired missiles toward the civilian neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, killing innocent civilians.
The Iranian regime purposely targets civilian targets while we precisely target terror targets. This is who we’re operating against—a regime who uses… pic.twitter.com/9W8Fp4T2tH
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 1, 2026
Chaim Wingarten, deputy director of operations at rescue organization ZAKA, described the scenes as “very difficult.”
“When I arrived, it was a huge chaos, with wounded people everywhere,” he said.
The strike was part of a larger volley that triggered air-raid sirens across the country. A man in his fifties was wounded by shrapnel elsewhere in central Israel.
IDF foreign media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani charged Iran with deliberately firing at civilians. “We know this is their strategy,” he said, adding that Israel would do “everything in our power to remove these capabilities from this bloodthirsty terrorist regime.”
The Beit Shemesh hit marked the highest single-incident death toll inside Israel since the confrontation with Iran began a day earlier. The previous peak came during the 12-day war in June 2025, when a missile slammed into an apartment block in Bat Yam and killed nine people.
The Beit Shemesh strike came a day after US and Israeli forces struck a compound in Tehran killing senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death was later announced on Iranian state television.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump said 48 Iranian leaders were killed in the strikes. “Nobody can believe the success we’re having; 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly,” he said.
Separately, the American president told CNBC that the US operation was “ahead of schedule.”
Thousands of Iranians braved the strikes and took to the streets to celebrate Khamenei’s death on Saturday evening. Many people stood on balconies and at windows chanting “freedom, freedom,” The New York Times reported. People in the Iranian city of Shiraz were “abandoning their cars for an impromptu dance party, whistling, cheering, clapping, and screaming with joy. In many videos, celebrants joined together in a cheer that is typically reserved for weddings, symbolizing pure joy,” the report said.
GeoConfirmed Iran.
People chanting – Celebrations through the Foolad Shahr area in Isfahan with joy and jubilation over the killing of Khamenei.
Rough location – 32.48169, 51.39167
F9JR+MMF Fuladshahr, Isfahan Province, IranGeoLocated by @Mitch_Ulrich
Geolocation:… https://t.co/iv9TlSPPfS
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) February 28, 2026
Can you hear the joy in his voice?
“I am dreaming, hello world!” pic.twitter.com/ICq77zBerv— William Mehrvarz (@WilliamMehrvarz) March 1, 2026
Iran retaliated by firing repeated waves of missiles and drones, with launches aimed not only at Israel but also at US bases in the Middle East, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Iran on Sunday morning also launched two missiles at Cyprus, where thousands of British military personnel are stationed, which fell short.
Later in the afternoon, the US acknowledged its first losses with US Central Command, saying three American service members were killed and five were seriously wounded during the operations in Iran.