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The Jewish Sport Report: This Holocaust survivor threw out the first pitch on her 100th birthday
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Good morning!
Today is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the spring harvest and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. One popular Shavuot custom is to enjoy dairy products, like cheesecake.
So if you’re going to a game this weekend, or even just watching at home, enjoy an ice cream cone or slice of cake — it’s a mitzvah! And let us know by emailing us at sports@jta.org: What’s your favorite ballpark/stadium treat?
A 100th birthday for the ages
Helen Kahan, center, with her daughter Livia Wein and son Lucian Kahan. (Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Holocaust survivor Helen Kahan celebrated her 100th birthday in just about the best way I could imagine: by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for her favorite baseball team, surrounded by her multi-generational family.
Is it misty in here?
Kahan, who survived multiple Nazi concentration camps, was joined by her two children, plus five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, on May 5 as the Tampa Bay Rays honored her before a matchup with the New York Yankees.
“I never could have imagined celebrating a birthday like this, let alone my 100th!” said Kahan. “I’m so grateful that I am here to tell my story and help the world remember why kindness and empathy are so important for us all.”
The Rays also announced a $10,000 partnership grant with the Florida Holocaust Museum, where Kahan volunteers. Kahan got a standing ovation, met several Rays players and coaches and had her story featured on the broadcast. Talk about a perfect game.
Halftime report
RED FLAG. Israel lost 2-1 to Colombia in its first-ever U-20 World Cup match last weekend, and the drama was not confined to the pitch. After a Colombia goal, fans raised a Palestinian flag in the stands. Israeli fans responded by shouting, “This is not politics, this is soccer.” Police eventually intervened and expelled the Palestinian flag holders.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS. The Denver Jewish Day School boys’ basketball team made history earlier this spring when it won the state championship — it was only the third time ever that a Jewish day school had won its state basketball championship. Along the way, they overcame antisemitism and pulled off a 15-point comeback.
CHAI-LIGHTS. Heichal Hatorah, a yeshiva in Teaneck, New Jersey, made it onto SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays this week, with this wild game-winning three-pointer in a JV basketball game.
Wild game winning shot from a kid in Heichal HaTorah in New Jersey makes @SportsCenter top 10 pic.twitter.com/oVLkxMppOP
— jewboy media (@simmy_cohen) May 23, 2023
PUT ME IN, COACH. Friend of the Sport Report Justine Siegal, the first woman to coach a professional men’s baseball team, was recently a guest coach in the Mexican Baseball League. Siegal is a pioneer of women’s baseball and an advocate for the sport around the world.
SHIPPING (BACK) UP TO BOSTON. Jewish tight end and Harvard alum Anthony Firkser has signed with the New England Patriots. Check out our 2021 interview with Firkser here. Maybe he’ll have Shabbat dinner at Robert Kraft’s house?
A Jewish guide to the French Open
Camila Giorgi serves in the National Bank Open final at IGA Stadium in Montreal, Aug. 15, 2021. (David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The French Open, or Roland Garros, is underway, and there are numerous Jewish players and storylines to keep an eye on. Here’s your cheat sheet:
Madison Brengle
The 33-year-old Delaware native is ranked 94th in women’s singles and looks to make it past the second round in singles for the first time in her 10th French Open.
Taylor Fritz
Fritz does not identify as Jewish, but his maternal grandfather was Jewish, and his great-great-grandfather was David May — the German-Jewish immigrant who founded the May Department Stores, which merged with Macy’s. Fritz is the best player of this group, entering the French Open with a men’s singles world ranking of 9.
Camila Giorgi
The Italian star, who has said her favorite book is “The Diary of Anne Frank,” is ranked 36th in women’s singles and reached the fourth round last year.
Aslan Karatsev
Karatsev was born in Russia but moved to Israel at 3 years old and has said the country still feels like home. He’s currently ranked 62nd in men’s singles. This is his third French Open.
Diego Schwartzman
Schwartzman has struggled so far in 2023, dealing with a leg injury and some disappointing performances, dropping him down to 93rd in the rankings — the first time the Argentine is out of the top 30 since 2017. Schwartzman got his start at his local Jewish sports club near Buenos Aires, and has enjoyed the Roland Garros in the past — he reached the semifinals in 2020, the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2018 and the fourth round last year.
Denis Shapovalov
Shapovalov, ranked 31st in men’s singles, was born in Tel Aviv to a Ukrainian Jewish mom and Russian Orthodox Christian dad. He often wears a cross when he plays, but his mom considers him Jewish. This is the 24-year-old’s fifth French Open.
Elina Svitolina
Svitolina, who had a Jewish grandmother, is back at Roland Garros for the first time since 2021. The Ukrainian star, who took a break from tennis in 2022 due to the war in her home country — and the birth of her first child last fall — has made it to the French Open quarterfinals three times.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASEBALL…
Atlanta Braves rookie Jared Shuster, who earned his first MLB win on Monday, will take the mound Friday at 7:20 p.m. ET against Garrett Stubbs, Dalton Guthrie and the Philadelphia Phillies. Dean Kremer toes the rubber for the Baltimore Orioles Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET against the Texas Rangers. Jewish stars Max Fried and Joc Pederson, both of whom are on the injured list, are making progress toward a return.
IN SOCCER…
Manor Solomon and Fulham F.C. host Man United Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET. Over in the U-20 World Cup, Israel plays Japan Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Israel lost to Colombia last weekend and finished with a 1-1 draw against Senegal on Wednesday. Jewish midfielder Daniel Edelman is representing the United States in the tournament — they play Slovakia this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
IN RACING…
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll will race in the Monaco Grand Prix Sunday at 9 a.m. ET. Stroll is currently eighth in the standings.
Flashback Friday
Twenty-one years ago this week, Shawn Green put together one of the most impressive single-game performances in baseball history, collecting a record 19 total bases — he went 6 for 6 with four home runs. A Jewish baseball legend!
On this day 21 years ago, Shawn Green set the MLB record with 1⃣9⃣ total bases in a game!
6-6 AB
4 HR
5 XBH
7 RBI pic.twitter.com/C3QD3LLksE
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 23, 2023
—
The post The Jewish Sport Report: This Holocaust survivor threw out the first pitch on her 100th birthday appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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120th anniversary of the Forverts advice column “Bintel Brief”
מזל־טובֿ! דעם 20סטן יאַנואַר 2026 איז געוואָרן 120 יאָר זינט דער גרינדונג פֿון „אַ בינטל בריוו“ — דער עצות־רובריק פֿונעם פֿאָרווערטס. די רובריק איז פֿאַרלייגט געוואָרן פֿונעם גרינדער און לאַנגיאָריקן שעף־רעדאַקטאָר אַב קאַהאַן אין 1906.
כּדי אָפּצומערקן דעם יום־טובֿ ברענגען מיר אײַך צוויי זאַכן:
• ערשטנס, אַן אַרטיקל וועגן אַ טשיקאַווען בריוו וואָס איז אָנגעקומען אין דער פֿאָרווערטס־רעדאַקציע אין יאַנואַר 1949, פֿון אַ לייענער וועמעס זון האָט חתונה געהאַט מיט אַ קריסטלעכער פֿרוי
• צווייטנס, אַ פֿאָרווערטס־ווידעאָ אויף ייִדיש וועגן דער געשיכטע פֿון „אַ בינטל בריוו“, מיטן געוועזענעם פֿאָרווערטס־רעדאַקטאָר באָריס סאַנדלער און דער פֿאָרווערטס־אַרכיוויסטקע חנה פּאָלאַק.
The post 120th anniversary of the Forverts advice column “Bintel Brief” appeared first on The Forward.
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Report: Khamenei Moved to Underground Bunker in Tehran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Amid tense expectation of US strike on key assets of the Islamic regime, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was moved into a special underground bunker in Tehran, the Iran International website reported on Saturday.
The report further added that the supreme leader’s third son Masoud Khamenei has taken over day-to-day management of the leader’s office, functioning as the de facto main channel for coordination vis-à-vis the executive branches of the government and the security forces.
The report describes Khamenei’s hideout as a “fortified site with interconnected tunnels.”
On Thursday US President Donald Trump said that a “massive” naval force was heading toward Iran.
“We have a lot of ships going that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.
“We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see,” Trump added.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, along with three destroyers, was spotted making its way to the Middle East from Asia, according to ship-tracking data.
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Israel, Syria to Finalize US-Brokered Security Deal ‘Soon,’ as ‘Developments Accelerate Noticeably’
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – Syrian and Israeli officials are expected to meet soon under US mediation, perhaps in Paris, to finalize a security agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem, a source close to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told i24NEWS on Saturday.
According to the Syrian source, the talks will also focus on various potential joint strategic and economic projects in the buffer zones between the two countries.
“There is very optimistic talk suggesting the possibility of even opening an Israeli embassy in Damascus before the end of this year, given the significant progress in the prospect of Syria joining the Abraham Accords,” the source said.
The original Syrian plan was limited to a security agreement and the opening of an Israeli liaison office in Damascus without diplomatic status, the source tells me. “But developments are accelerating noticeably under pressure from the United States, and specifically by President Trump, and amid growing Syrian openness.”
If Damascus manages to reach an integration agreement with the Druze in southern Syria, similar to its agreement with the Kurds in the northeast, and Israel commits to respecting Syria’s unity and territorial integrity, then al-Sharaa would be open to elevate the status of the agreement with Israel to more than just a security agreement, to also include diplomatic relations and an Israeli embassy in Damascus.
“The al-Sharaa government believes that a viable compromise to advance a peace process with Israel would include a 25-year lease for the Golan Heights, similar to the one Jordan previously signed with Israel over the border enclaves, turning it into a ‘Garden of Peace” of joint economic ventures,” the source said.
The source close to al-Sharaa also tells me that US President Trump is seeking to bring Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Al-Sharaa together for a peace agreement signing ceremony.
It should be noted that Israel has repeatedly rejected returning any part of the Golan Heights, let alone the entire territory.
On another front, the source stated that Damascus intends to adopt a new local administration system based on expanded administrative decentralization to enhance participation in local communities across all Syrian governorates.
According to the source, this solution would resolve persisting disputes with the Druze, Kurds, Alawites, and other minorities. A new Syrian government is expected to be formed within the next three months, the source added.