RSS
The Jewish Sport Report: Meet Jessica Berman, trailblazing Jewish commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League
This article was sent as a newsletter. Sign up for our weekly Jewish sports newsletter here.
Good afternoon, and happy football season! The NFL kicked off last night with a thrilling 21-20 victory by the Detroit Lions over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Check out all the Jewish players to watch here, and read on for their Week 1 schedule below.
How Jewish values inspire Jessica Berman in the effort to grow women’s soccer
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman holds the trophy during the NWSL Cup Final game between the Kansas City Current and Portland Thorns FC at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2022. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Jessica Berman has as impressive a resume as anybody in sports.
The Jewish Brooklyn native is now the commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League after stints in leadership roles with the National Lacrosse League (where she made history as a woman executive in a men’s league) and the NHL. As a labor lawyer, she also worked with the NFL, MLB and NBA.
As she works to grow women’s soccer, Berman told me she is inspired by her Jewish upbringing — which included several years at Jewish day school.
“In this role in particular, I’ve never felt more aligned with the values that were instilled in me as a child, which include empowering others and ensuring that there is an equal playing field, that marginalized and underrepresented groups have to support each other and work together,” she said.
Check out our profile of the trailblazer right here.
Halftime report
GOLDEN BOYS. The Israeli under-17 men’s flag football team won its first-ever gold medal at the 2023 European Junior Flag Football Championships last weekend in Italy — even after forfeiting a game that fell on Shabbat.
HISTORY. A new film that just debuted at the Venice International Film Festival is based on Iran’s policy of boycotting Israeli athletes. “Tatami” was filmed in secret and is being billed as the first-ever film co-directed by an Israeli and an Iranian.
YER OUTTA HERE. A fan was ejected from a U.S. Open match earlier this week after allegedly chanting a Nazi anthem at German star player Alexander Zverev. The No. 12 seed stopped the match and told the umpire, “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world. It’s not acceptable.”
GO COCO. Speaking of the U.S. Open, American star Coco Gauff — who just became the youngest American to reach the finals since Serena Williams in 1999 — has received support and inspiration from a number of Jewish sources. Gauff is being advised by Brad Gilbert, a former star player who now coaches and works as a TV analyst, and she got a custom-made bag from Jewish designer Susan Alexandra.
CURRY WITH THE ASSIST. The Israeli cybersecurity startup Upwind just raised $50 million, raising its value to $300 million total. Retired Israeli NBA player Omri Caspi and his former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry are among the company’s many investors.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN FOOTBALL…
It’s Week 1 in the NFL, do you know where your Jewish players are? Here’s the schedule:
Sunday at 1 p.m. ET: Greg Joseph and the Minnesota Vikings host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns face the Cincinnati Bengals.
Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET: A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers play the Chicago Bears, and Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks take on the Los Angeles Rams.
IN BASEBALL…
Last month’s American League Rookie of the Month Zack Gelof — who clobbered eight doubles, seven home runs and 15 RBI in 27 August games — plays the Texas Rangers this weekend with his Oakland Athletics, while fellow Team Israel alum Spencer Horwitz and the Toronto Blue Jays match up against the Kansas City Royals. Jewish relievers Eli Morgan and Kenny Rosenberg will be in opposing bullpens this weekend as their Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels face off.
IN SOCCER…
Captain Steve Birnbaum and his D.C. United play the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The 32-year-old California native won a silver medal with the U.S. team at the 2012 Pan American Maccabi Games in Brazil.
Matzah ballin’
In case you missed it, the New York Mets celebrated Jewish Heritage Night last weekend. The festivities included a ceremonial first pitch thrown by Tsach Saar, the acting consul general of Israel in New York, and a performance from Jewish rapper Matisyahu, who also threw out a first pitch of sorts…
—
The post The Jewish Sport Report: Meet Jessica Berman, trailblazing Jewish commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.