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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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Antisemitic Incidents at Argentina Local Soccer Match Spark Official Investigations, Condemnations

Fans of Argentinian soccer club All Boys marched through the streets before their match against Atlanta soccer club, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags. Photo: Screenshot
Argentinian authorities and soccer officials have launched investigations following antisemitic incidents by Club Atlético All Boys fans during Sunday’s local match against Atlanta.
Atlanta, a soccer team based in the Villa Crespo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, has deep historical ties to Argentina’s Jewish community, which has long been a significant presence in the area.
This latest antisemitic incident took place outside the stadium before the game had even started.
All Boys fans were seen waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, carrying a coffin draped with an Israeli flag, and handing out flyers bearing messages like “Free Palestine” and “Israel and Atlanta are the same crap.”
Before a football match today against the Argentine sports club Atlanta, which is closely associated with the Jewish community, fans of the opposing team, All Boys, waved Islamic Republic and Palestinian flags while parading a coffin draped in an Israeli flag through the streets.… pic.twitter.com/IQs4v6eoFz
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 29, 2025
Then, during the match — which ended in a 0-0 draw — a drone carrying a Palestinian flag flew over the stadium, while some fans reportedly chanted anti-Israel slogans.
Local police confirmed they have issued citations to individuals accused of inciting public disorder and related offenses.
On Monday, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) condemned the incidents as “abhorrent” and confirmed the organization has opened a formal inquiry into the events.
“This is not folklore. This is discrimination,” the statement reads.
Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich also announced that a criminal complaint has been filed, citing “acts of violence, expressions of racial and religious hatred, and public intimidation.”
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, condemned the incidents and called on both local authorities and the soccer officials to “take firm action against these acts of hatred.”
“We urge the authorities to take all necessary actions and apply the full force of the law,” the statement reads. “Violence and discrimination must have no place in our society.”
Repudiamos enérgicamente las expresiones antisemitas ocurridas hoy en las inmediaciones del estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
Exigimos a las autoridades correspondientes, a la AFA y al Club All Boys que actúen con firmeza ante estos hechos de odio.
La violencia y la discriminación no… pic.twitter.com/3AmY7IQscY— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) June 29, 2025
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Argentina has experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes.
According to a recent report by DAIA, Argentina experienced a 15 percent increase in antisemitic activity last year, with 687 anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded — up from 598 incidents in 2023 — marking a significant rise nationwide.
The study indicates that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories, but there was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.
The post Antisemitic Incidents at Argentina Local Soccer Match Spark Official Investigations, Condemnations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says

A satellite image of Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. Photo: File.
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, offered the figure at a briefing to reporters, adding that the official estimate was “probably closer to two years.” Parnell did not provide evidence to back up his assessment.
“We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department [of Defense] assess that,” Parnell told a news briefing.
U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22 using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
The evolving U.S. intelligence about the impact of the strikes is being closely watched, after President Donald Trump said almost immediately after they took place that Iran’s program had been obliterated, language echoed by Parnell at Wednesday’s briefing.
Such conclusions often take the U.S. intelligence community weeks or more to determine.
“All of the intelligence that we’ve seen [has] led us to believe that Iran’s — those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated,” Parnell said.
Over the weekend, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program have been.
Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes and could be hiding it.
But US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week he was unaware of intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes.
A preliminary assessment last week from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggested that the strikes may have only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months. But Trump administration officials said that assessment was low confidence and had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran’s nuclear program was severely damaged.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the strikes on the Fordow nuclear site caused severe damage.
“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Araqchi said in the interview broadcast by CBS News on Tuesday.
The post Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities

Palestinians carry aid supplies received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Switzerland has moved to shut down the Geneva office of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, citing legal irregularities in its establishment.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
With a subsidiary registered in Geneva, the GHF — headquartered in Delaware — reports having delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
According to a regulatory announcement published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) may order the dissolution of the GHF if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Swiss decision to shut down its Geneva office.
“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered branch,” the ESA said in a statement.
Last week, Geneva authorities gave the GHF a 30-day deadline to address legal shortcomings or risk facing enforcement measures.
Under local laws and regulations, the foundation failed to meet several requirements: it did not appoint a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland, did not have the minimum three board members, lacked a Swiss bank account and valid address, and operated without an auditing body.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these vehicles are more neutral.
Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort.
The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
The post Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.