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The Jewish Sport Report: Why Kyrie Irving is making Jewish headlines again
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(JTA) — Hello and happy New Year! I think we’re still allowed to say that, right, Larry David?
This is sure to be an exciting year in the world of sports, from the Pan American Maccabi Games this week to the Paris Olympics this summer and beyond. What sports happenings are you most looking forward to in 2024? Let us know by dropping us a line at sports@jta.org!
Chabad rabbis in Utah brought Jewish pride signs to an NBA game. Kyrie Irving (allegedly) didn’t appreciate it.
Kyrie Irving speaks during a postgame press conference, Jan. 1, 2024. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Rabbi Avremi Zippel, who works at the Chabad Hasidic movement’s Salt Lake City outpost, is a big Utah Jazz fan. When the Dallas Mavericks and their controversial star Kyrie Irving came to town on Monday, Zippel wanted to be there.
Zippel and three other rabbis — including his brother and father — brought signs reading “I’m a Jew and I’m proud” to the game, where they sat courtside.
When Irving saw the signs, according to Zippel, he pointed out his Star of David tattoo and told the rabbis he was Jewish, too. But then a few minutes later, arena security told the group they had to remove the signs, citing a complaint from Irving.
Irving disputes that any of this happened. Zippel told me Irving’s denial is “a lie.” The Jazz issued a statement saying the issue was “the disruptive interaction caused by usage of the signs, not the content of the signs.” When reached by JTA, the Mavericks declined to comment.
Read about the whole saga here.
Halftime report
NOT A GAME. Police in Argentina arrested three men on suspicion of planning a terror attack amid the Maccabi Games, which have brought more than 4,000 Jewish athletes to Buenos Aires. Argentine President Javier Milei spoke at the tournament’s opening ceremony last week.
BRONX → QUEENS. Jewish outfielder and defensive whiz Harrison Bader has signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the New York Mets. Bader, who had committed to playing for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic before an injury derailed his plans, joins the Mets after spending most of the last two seasons with the Yankees.
A PIECE OF PEACE. A new mural was painted this week in Brooklyn depicting an Israeli and a Palestinian boy with their arms wrapped around each other, accompanied by the message, “Love’s resilience can rebuild bridges that war has burned.” They’re dressed in the soccer jerseys of global stars Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, whose numbers are 10 and 7 — an unintended reference to Oct. 7.
DRINK RESPONSIBLY. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was fined $300,000 this week after he was caught on camera throwing his drink on fans at last week’s game between the Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tepper, whose net worth is north of $20 billion, said he regretted his actions and accepted the league’s disciplinary measure.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija, who turned 23 on Wednesday, and his Washington Wizards face the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and host the New York Knicks Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and the Sacramento Kings host the Toronto Raptors tonight at 10 p.m. ET, and the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. In the G League, Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise play the Texas Legends tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. ET, while Amari Bailey and the Greensboro Swarm take on the Wisconsin Herd today and tomorrow, both at 8 p.m. ET. Despite Bailey’s 27 points, Turell and the Cruise defeated the Swarm 127-109 on Tuesday.
IN HOCKEY…
Jack and Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils host Cole Guttman and the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Tomorrow at the same time, in a repeat of last month’s so-called “Hughes Bowl,” the Devils face Quinn Hughes and his Vancouver Canucks. Jack and Quinn were just named All-Stars for this season. Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers host Jakob Chychrun and the Ottawa Senators.
IN FOOTBALL…
It’s the final week of the NFL regular season, and it’s coming down to the wire. Michael Dunn’s Cleveland Browns have clinched a playoff berth, while A.J. Dillon’s Green Bay Packers, Greg Joseph’s Minnesota Vikings and Jake Curhan’s Seattle Seahawks are all fighting to make the postseason. Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, the Vikings play the Detroit Lions and the Browns play the Cincinnati Bengals. Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, the Packers host the Chicago Bears while the Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals.
IN SOCCER…
Goalkeeper Matt Turner and his Premier League club Nottingham Forest face Blackpool F.C. Sunday at 9 a.m. ET in the third round of the annual British FA Cup tournament. Blackpool play in the third tier of English football.
New year, new sports league
The Professional Women’s Hockey League officially launched its inaugural season this week with six teams: Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto. The league has two known Jewish players: goaltenders Aerin Frankel, 24, who plays for Boston, and Abigail Levy, 23, who plays for New York
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Why Kyrie Irving is making Jewish headlines again appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
TRUMP THREAT
Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
The post Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.