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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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‘Child Killers’: Jewish Activists Doused With Red Paint in Germany While Hanging Up Hostage Posters
i24 News – Masked attackers doused with red paint and shoved German Jewish activists hanging up posters of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza in Frankfurt on Friday. The assailants shouted “child killers” and “free Palestine.”
Sacha Stawski, a German-Jewish activist who heads the media watchdog NGO Honestly Concerned, who’s spent decades combating antisemitism, spoke to local media about the incident.
“We attached posters with photos of the 50 hostages still in Hamas’s captivity to a fence in the Frankfurt Grüneburgpark,” Stawski told the Bild outlet. “We were branded ‘child killers,’ and I constantly heard ‘Free Palestine,’ and ‘genocide’ calls.”
The paint also poured over my glasses, making it difficult for me to identify the perpetrator,” he added.
Germany’s ambassador to Israel condemned the incident.
The small pro-hostage rally took place near an anarchist encampment housing several anti-Israel organizations. Stawski said this was announced to the camp organizers.
Meanwhile a German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin currently has no plans to recognize a Palestinian state because that would undermine any efforts to reach a negotiated solution with Israel.
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Hegseth Fires Head of Intel Agency Whose Assessment of Damage from Iran Strikes Angered Trump

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
i24 News – US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of damage to Iranian nuclear sites from US strikes sparked the ire of President Donald Trump.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, US media reported, citing sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
The sacking is the latest upheaval in military leadership and in the country’s intelligence agencies, and comes a few months after details of the preliminary assessment leaked to the media.
The assessment found that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months by the bombings, contradicting assertions from Trump and from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Republican president, who had pronounced the Iranian program “completely and fully obliterated,” rejected the report.
n June, Israel launched a devastating bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, missile production and military leadership, saying the operation was necessary to prevent the mullah regime from realizing its oft-stated plan to annihilate the Jewish state.
During the ensuing 12-day war, the US joined in, striking key Iranian nuclear sites.
Following the June strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, Hegseth lambasted the press for focusing on the preliminary assessment but did not offer any direct evidence of the destruction of the facilities.
“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated — choose your word. This was a historically successful attack,” Hegseth said at a news conference at the time.
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Amid Rising Antisemitism, American Jews Make Aliyah to Israel Seeking Safety, Community, Impact

Olim gather at JFK Airport in New York, preparing to board Nefesh B’Nefesh’s 65th charter flight to Israel. Photo: The Algemeiner
NEW YORK/TEL AVIV — Confronted with rising antisemitism and unease in the United States, a growing number of American Jews are choosing to make aliyah, embracing the risks of war in the Middle East for the chance to build new lives and foster meaningful communities.
On Wednesday, 225 new olim arrived in Tel Aviv on the first charter aliyah flight since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Aliyah refers to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel, and olim refers to those who make this journey.
Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) — a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the US and Canada — brought its 65th charter flight from New York, which The Algemeiner joined.
Founded in 2002, NBN helps olim become fully integrated members of Israeli society, simplifying the aliyah process and providing essential resources and guidance.
In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth, and the Jewish National Fund, NBN has helped nearly 100,000 olim build thriving new lives in Israel.
Shawn Fink is one of the 225 people who embarked on the life-changing journey earlier this week, leaving Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife, Liz, and their son.
For Fink and his family, making aliyah was driven not only by their love for Israel and desire to build a new community, but also by the escalating threats and uncertainties facing Jewish communities abroad since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
“Mostly, we were frustrated with the direction the United States is taking, and the rise in antisemitism was a major concern for us,” Fink told The Algemeiner.
Like many countries around the world, the US has seen an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Oct. 7 atrocities.
According to the latest data issued by the FBI, hate crimes perpetrated against Jews increased by 5.8 percent in 2024 to 1,938, the largest total recorded in over 30 years of the federal agency’s counting them.
A striking 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes that were reported to the FBI in 2024 targeted Jews, who constitute just 2 percent of the US population, with 2,041 out of 2,942 total such incidents being antisemitic in nature. Muslims were targeted the next highest amount as the victims of 256 offenses, or about 9 percent of the total.
Fink explained that the increasing costs of living a Jewish life in the US — from education to kosher food — weighed heavily on his family’s decision to make the move to Israel.
While they first considered making aliyah five years ago, Fink and his family had to put the plans on hold for personal reasons — returning to the idea only in the past few months when the timing finally worked in their favor.
“We started planning it seriously in November and began the entire process with Nefesh B’Nefesh,” Fink told The Algemeiner. “It’s been a nonstop whirlwind ever since.”
For them, the current war did not stop their plans, but it did influence the cities they explored for their new home.
“The war really reinforced for us the importance of supporting Israel and our community,” Fink said. “By making aliyah, we felt we could do even more to help.”
Even though it is difficult to leave behind family and close friends, they look forward to reconnecting with friends in Israel, making new connections, and building a vibrant new community.
“Making aliyah in less than six months has been a whirlwind. I’d encourage anyone considering it to give themselves at least twice as much time, double the budget, and be prepared for plenty of unexpected starts and stops along the way,” Fink told The Algemeiner.
Nefesh B’Nefesh provides assistance to families throughout their entire aliyah journey, offering guidance before relocating and continued support once in Israel.
The Israeli government also complements these efforts with resources and financial incentives to help newcomers settle and ease their transition into their new lives.
“Once the ticket is finally in your hand and you’re waiting to board the plane, you realize that all the challenges and obstacles along the way were worth it,” Fink said.
Veronica Zaragovia was also one of the 225 olim who joined the flight earlier this week.
Similarly to Fink and his family, Zaragovia decided to make aliyah, driven not just by her love for Israel, but also by the increasing challenges of being Jewish abroad and the hope of making a meaningful impact by serving her community.
From Florida, she embarked on the journey alone, excited for all the new opportunities and possibilities that awaited her in her new home.
“I want to take pride in being Jewish and in Israel — that’s why I’m making aliyah,” she told The Algemeiner, reflecting on the move she has been planning for the past two years.
“It’s a huge concern for me that in some places in the US, I can’t — or maybe shouldn’t — wear my Star of David necklace,” she said. “I don’t feel that Jews can be fully safe anywhere in the country. The rise in antisemitism has been truly shocking and deeply concerning.”
Zaragovia, who worked as a journalist in the US, said her love for storytelling and uncovering the truth played a key role in her decision to make this move.
“After Oct. 7, I felt that the way my colleagues and other journalists were covering Israel was wrong and unfair,” she said.
“As someone whose career is built on facts and truth, I didn’t see that reflected in their reporting. That’s why I decided to make a difference by being there myself,” she continued.
Rather than deterring her decision to make a change, Zaragovia explained that the current war only reinforced it.
“It became clear that I needed to go, be there with my people, and make a difference through my work,” she said. “I couldn’t have done this without Nefesh B’Nefesh. They’ve been incredible, guiding me every step of the way from start to finish.”