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The Jewish Sport Report: Two top US college basketball teams are in Israel right now
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Good afternoon! Gymnastics legend Simone Biles returned to competition last weekend for the first time since she withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics — and she performed to Israeli pop star Noa Kirel’s “Unicorn,” a song that came in third place in this year’s Eurovision contest.
“She made history and she’s amazing and it’s so moving to me because she really exemplifies the values that this song represents,” Kirel said in a Hebrew video message to Israeli media. “This is one of the wildest things that has ever happened to me.”
Arizona and Kansas State’s men’s basketball teams are touring Israel right now
The University of Arizona men’s basketball team at a tour of the City of David in Jerusalem. (Courtesy of Athletes for Israel)
Two of the country’s top collegiate basketball teams, Arizona and Kansas State, have embarked on a 10-day trip to Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Organized by the nonprofit Athletes for Israel, the program is an expansion of the “Birthright for College Basketball” trip that Auburn players experienced last summer. Adding the UAE to the itinerary was a step toward realizing the organizers’ dream of creating a trip modeled after the Abraham Accords, the series of normalization agreements between Israel and neighboring Arab countries.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who was involved in planning this summer’s trip, is accompanying the teams on their flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi, to “feel very much a part of the Abraham Accords,” he told me. Pearl said his goal is to create a full “Abraham Accords Cup” with teams from the United States, Israel and Arab countries.
While in Israel, the teams will play an Israeli Select Team that will include NBA G Leaguer Ryan Turell (more on him below).
Read more about the teams’ Middle East tour right here.
Halftime report
HISTORY IN GERMANY. Makkabi Berlin, a sports club founded by Holocaust survivors, is about to become the first Jewish team to compete in the German Cup, the annual tournament featuring 64 of Germany’s top soccer teams. They face the Bundesliga’s Wolfsburg on Sunday.
PEDAL TO THE METAL. Israeli-Canadian billionaire and philanthropist Sylvan Adams won the world championship in the 65-69 age group at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland last weekend. He has been a key supporter of cycling in Israel.
THAT’S AMAR’E. The Phoenix Suns are retiring the number of former star Amar’e Stoudemire, who converted to Judaism and played professionally in Israel.
BIG DILL. A couple weeks ago, we reported on the growing popularity of pickleball at Jewish summer camp. America’s fastest-growing sport is also a huge hit at JCCs across the country — and this Sunday in Park City, Utah, there’s even a “Kosher Dills” Jewish pickleball tournament.
HANK READ-BERG. A new kid’s book about Jewish baseball legend Hank Greenberg, called “Hank on First!: How Hank Greenberg Became a Star On and Off the Field,” tells the story of the Hall of Famer’s courage as he overcame antisemitism to become one of the best hitters in baseball history.
Ryan Turell’s story hits the big screen
Ryan Turell, the Jewish basketball player who wears a kippah on the court, dribbles in a scene in “Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey.” (Courtesy of Prime Video)
Ryan Turell, the former Yeshiva University standout who is now playing in the NBA’s G League, is prominently featured in a new documentary that debuted on Amazon Prime this week.
“Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey,” produced by The Ringer and the Tom Brady-cofounded sports documentary outfit called, apropos for Turell, Religion of Sports, follows a number of G League players who are at various stages of their basketball careers.
Turell is shown in the film saying the Hanukkah blessings, signing kippahs for fans and describing one particular basketball move as “The Spinning Dreidel.”
“I want to be a Jewish hero,” Turell says at one point in the documentary.
Read more about the new sports doc here.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASEBALL…
Oakland Athletics rookie Zack Gelof has been on fire since his callup — in his first 22 MLB games, the Team Israel alum has 21 hits, 15 runs scored and 6 homers. The A’s face the Washington Nationals this weekend. Alex Bregman, who has 18 homers on the year, and the Houston Astros host the Los Angeles Angels in an AL West showdown.
IN SOCCER…
The new English Premier League season kicks off this weekend. Catch Israeli star Manor Solomon with his new club Tottenham on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET against Brentford. U.S. men’s national team goalie Matt Turner has joined Nottingham Forest after a stint as Arsenal’s backup. Turner is expected to see more playing time with his new club and could possibly win the starting role. Those two teams face off Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET.
IN GOLF…
Max Homa is in Memphis this weekend for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Ben Silverman, who is currently tied for second in the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour, is at the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha.
The JCC Maccabi Games wrap up a summer of competition in Israel and Florida
(Courtesy of JCC Association of North America)
The JCC Maccabi Games, which were held this summer in both Israel and Florida, brought together thousands of Jewish teen athletes, including a delegation from Ukraine, shown here at the opening ceremony in Fort Lauderdale. (Courtesy of JCC Association of North America)
“Today’s JCC Maccabi athletes are tomorrow’s Jewish leaders, and during the summer of 2023, we focused on building a true sense of belonging, understanding, and connection to Israel and the Jewish people for thousands of teen athletes,” said Samantha Cohen, the senior vice president for program and talent at the JCC Association and the head of JCC Maccabi.
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Two top US college basketball teams are in Israel right now appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire
Members of the Security Council cast a vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, US, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/David Dee Delgado
The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, said diplomats, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, which also condemns attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities. The text does not name the United States or Israel.
“The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Sunday. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.”
“We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program,” Guterres said.
The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran’s enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, “no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage.”
Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran’s sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again.
“Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,” said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran requested the U.N. Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Israel‘s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the U.S. and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”
Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the U.S. strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Danon said: “That’s for the Iranian people to decide, not for us.”
The post UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
The post Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
The post Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.