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The Jewish Sport Report: Why the Von Erichs, wrestling family in the new movie ‘The Iron Claw,’ were so big in Israel

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(JTA) — Happy Friday, Jewish sports fans!
Before we get into the news, one quick pitch: JTA is hosting an end-of-year online benefit featuring die-hard Philly sports fan (and CNN anchor) Jake Tapper, who will be in conversation with JTA editor-in-chief Philissa Cramer. While they might not have time to discuss the Phillies bullpen, it’s sure to be an exciting evening. If you’d like to support JTA and the work we do, please check out the benefit page here for information and to make a donation. Thank you!
The Israeli angle to ‘The Iron Claw’
From left to right: Mike, Kerry, Fritz and Kevin Von Erich. (Wikimedia Commons and Getty Images; Design by Grace Yagel)
If you’re looking for a movie to see after having your Chinese food on Christmas, you may want to check out “The Iron Claw,” the wrestling movie that hits theaters next Friday.
The film — which has gotten strong reviews so far — features a star-studded cast including Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White (star of “The Bear”) and even the real Jewish wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The movie tells the tragic story of the Von Erich family, the first family of professional wrestling in Texas.
The Von Erichs weren’t just legends in the Lone Star state. At one time they were a super heavyweight-sized deal in the Jewish state as well.
“Anyone who grew up in Israel in the 1980s would be a major fan of the Von Erich brothers — David, Kevin, Kerry and Mike,” said one Jewish federation CEO. “They were icons in Israel as their faces were seen weekly on televisions across the Middle East on Saturday nights.”
Read more about the Von Erichs and their connections to Israel right here.
Halftime report
TAKING A STAND. When Jewish teenager David Teeger, the captain of South Africa’s under-19 cricket team, won a “rising star” award in October, he dedicated the honor to Israel and its soldiers. After a local Palestinian group filed a complaint, Teeger was briefly suspended from the sport and investigated for hate speech. The judge cleared him of any wrongdoing.
MAGIC CLEATS. Last week, we showed you the Israel-themed cleats Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph would wear on Sunday as part of the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” program. We didn’t anticipate what would come next: the Vikings won 3-0 on a 36-yard field goal from Joseph.
FAR FROM HOME. The Forward profiles Israeli Ofri Naveh, a freshman forward who was recruited to play basketball at the University of West Virginia. Naveh shares his experience playing in the states while his country is at war.
BALLIN. As the Oakland Athletics prepare to move to Las Vegas, the city has a new independent baseball team to root for: the Oakland Ballers. Meet their new manager: Micah Franklin, a Jewish former big leaguer who also played professionally in Japan and Korea.
CHANGE OF PLANS. Starting in 2024, sportswear giant Puma will no longer sponsor Israel’s national soccer team. The decision was made in 2022 and is unrelated to the ongoing war.
AL IS OUT. Speaking of lineup changes, broadcasting legend Al Michaels is not included in NBC’s NFL Playoffs coverage plan, which reportedly came as a surprise to him. Michaels is tied with Pat Summerall with a record 11 Super Bowl TV broadcasts.
A JEWISH PIRATE. It’s been a slow MLB offseason for most players not named Shohei Ohtani, but one Jewish free agent is officially off the board: slugger Rowdy Tellez has signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates — which, yes, means Tellez’s salary for the 2024 season is technically higher than Ohtani’s.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN BASKETBALL…
Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards host the Indiana Pacers tonight at 7 p.m. ET and face the Phoenix Suns Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Domantas Sabonis (who is converting to Judaism) and the Sacramento Kings host the Utah Jazz tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET. In the G League, Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise play the Indiana Mad Ants (fantastic name, by the way) today at 12:30 p.m. ET and the Windy City Bulls Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. And across the pond in the British Women’s Basketball League, former WNBA player Abby Meyers and her London Lions host the Durham Palatinates tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET. Meyers enjoyed her best performance of the season so far last Sunday, dropping 28 points.
IN HOCKEY…
Adam Fox and the first-place New York Rangers host the last-place Anaheim Ducks tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Jason Zucker and the Arizona Coyotes host Luke Kunin and the San Jose Sharks tonight at 9 p.m. ET and Devon Levi’s Buffalo Sabres tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. Cole Guttman and the Chicago Blackhawks host Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
IN FOOTBALL…
Greg Joseph and the Minnesota Vikings face the Cincinnati Bengals Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. On Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, catch Michael Dunn and the Cleveland Browns hosting the Chicago Bears, while A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jake Curhan and the Seattle Seahawks wrap up Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET on “Monday Night Football.”
IN SOCCER…
Matt Turner and Nottingham Forest take on Tottenham today at 3 p.m. ET. Nottingham Forest haven’t won a match since Nov. 5, and Tottenham, who are currently fifth in the Premier League standings, are still without Israeli star Manor Solomon, who had knee surgery in October.
A hefty price tag
The news of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s mind-boggling 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers elicited plenty of clever reactions to the historic amount of money involved. This was our favorite:
$700 million is nuts. That’s like almost enough to feed a family of four at the Yankee Stadium Kosher stand
— Max Mannis (@MaxMannis) December 9, 2023
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Why the Von Erichs, wrestling family in the new movie ‘The Iron Claw,’ were so big in Israel appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Examining Three Remarkable Women From Jewish History in These Turbulent Times
Anyone interested in history will know that the Yalta Conference was a meeting between the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union that took place in February 1945 towards the end of the Second World War. There is a famous photograph of Roosevelt and Stalin sitting next to an unhappy Winston Churchill, who realized he was being marginalized. As we now know, Stalin suckered Roosevelt into believing him to be someone that could be worked with, when he was actually a murderous fanatic. And it seems so far that Putin is going to sucker Trump over Ukraine, and I fear Iran will too.
Like Roosevelt, Trump wants a deal. But as Barack Obama has shown, naive appeasement is the road to disaster. Only time will tell if the case with Iran is going to be another example.
But here, by way of distraction, I am writing about a person. This Yalta was a distinguished lady from a noble and wealthy family who lived in Babylon between the end of the Second and the Third centuries. She had a strong sense of self-worth, and self-confidence in an era of almost total male dominance. She was, according to Rashi, the daughter of the Exilarch, the head of the Jewish community in Babylon. She was familiar with Jewish law. But she had a temper. When she thought she was being slighted, she smashed four hundred barrels of wine after a guest offended her and women in general (TB Brachot 51b.)
Yalta showed her expertise in kashrut matters. In a debate that hinted at current questions of what constitutes meat if it is produced artificially, she asked her husband about kosher food that would taste like meat cooked in milk. She argued the halachic case expertly. And he accepted the argument (TB Chullin 109b). She also argued the law in other matters such as purity.
Yalta was a doctor too. She personally took Rav Amram to the bathhouse to soak in hot water for a cure when he was stricken with an unknown disease (TB Gittin 67b). And she offered her husband counsel on how to deal with someone who was arguing with him disrespectfully (TB Kidushin 70b). Perhaps these were not in themselves major issues — but they were indicative of her importance in that society, where the only chance women had beyond the home depended either on independent wealth or a compliant husband.
The more famous Talmudic woman however, was Bruria, the daughter of the saintly Chaninah Ben Teradion (an outstanding scholar, from a very wealthy family and martyred by the Romans). She was the wife of Rebbi Meir, who lived in Israel during the second century CE. He is the third most frequently mentioned rabbi in the Mishnah.
She was admired for her breadth of knowledge. She was said to have learned 300 laws from the rabbis on a single cloudy day (TB Pesachim 62b) and was happy to challenge rabbis she thought less knowledgeable than she was. She was also renowned for her sharp wit and often caustic jibes, attacking males for underestimating women. Rebbi Meir was sorely troubled by local louts and prayed that they should die. Bruria argued that he should rather pray that evil disappear. Not people.
The third important woman is Rav Chisda’s daughter. Her actual name is never mentioned. She was gifted with the power of prophecy. She predicted her marriage to her father’s two students (consecutively). First, she was the wife of the Rami Bar Chama, and after his death she married Rava (both were Amoraim of the third generation). She is mentioned many times in the Talmud and commentaries in the Talmud and its commentaries only as “the daughter of Rav Chisda.” The Talmud (TB Bava Batra 12b) says she sat on her father’s lap as he taught Torah in the academy and taught her and her sisters Torah and laws, personally. There were rabbis in those days and later who recognized the value of female scholarship and empowerment — even in times when the rest of the world resolutely refused to encourage it.
Right now, we need people who demonstrate leadership through creativity and flexibility. Most are being silenced by the plague of conformity and the fear of stepping out of line. But the reality is that more and more women within the Orthodox world are studying to the highest levels and making their mark. There are signs of their campaigning to achieve political power too. More power to their elbows (so long as they are covered of course)! You can’t keep a good woman down forever. And more young men are volunteering to serve in the army.
Trump seems to have learnt the lesson of Yalta. But will his natural desire for a long-term deal end up with his being suckered by Iran’s ideology of deceit to achieve victory? Time will tell. Meanwhile, I pray Israel will take a long hard look at its divisive politics.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post Examining Three Remarkable Women From Jewish History in These Turbulent Times first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Battling to Survive, Hamas Faces Defiant Clans and Doubts Over Iran

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Short of commanders, deprived of much of its tunnel network, and unsure of support from its ally Iran, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is battling to survive in Gaza in the face of rebellious local clans and relentless Israeli military pressure.
Hamas fighters are operating autonomously under orders to hold out as long as possible, but the Islamist group is struggling to maintain its grip as Israel openly backs tribes opposing it, three sources close to Hamas said.
With a humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifying international pressure for a ceasefire, Hamas badly needs a pause in the fighting, one of the people said.
Not only would a ceasefire offer respite to weary Gazans, who are growing increasingly critical of Hamas, but it would also allow the Islamist group to crush rogue elements, including some clans and looters who have been stealing aid, the person said.
To counter the immediate threat, Hamas has sent some of its top fighters to kill one rebellious leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, but so far he has remained beyond their reach in the Rafah area held by Israeli troops, according to two Hamas sources and two other sources familiar with the situation.
Reuters spoke to 16 sources including people close to Hamas, Israeli security sources, and diplomats who painted a picture of a severely weakened group, retaining some sway and operational capacity in Gaza despite its setbacks, but facing stiff challenges.
Hamas is still capable of landing blows: it killed seven Israeli soldiers in an attack in southern Gaza on Tuesday. But three diplomats in the Middle East said intelligence assessments showed it had lost its centralized command and control and was reduced to limited, surprise attacks.
An Israeli military official estimated Israel had killed 20,000 or more Hamas fighters and destroyed or rendered unusable hundreds of miles of tunnels under the coastal strip. Much of Gaza has been turned to rubble in 20 months of conflict.
One Israeli security source said the average age of Hamas fighters was “getting lower by the day.” Israeli security sources say Hamas is recruiting from hundreds of thousands of impoverished, unemployed, displaced young men.
Hamas does not disclose how many of its fighters have died.
“They’re hiding because they are being instantly hit by planes, but they appear here and there, organizing queues in front of bakeries, protecting aid trucks, or punishing criminals,” said Essam, 57 a construction worker in Gaza City.
“They’re not like before the war, but they exist.”
Asked for comment for this story, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the group was working for an agreement to end the war with Israel but “surrender is not an option.”
Hamas remained committed to negotiations and was “ready to release all prisoners at once,” he said, referring to Israeli hostages, but it wanted the killing to stop and Israel to withdraw.
‘IT DOESN’T LOOK GOOD’
Hamas is a shadow of the group that attacked Israel in 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas.
The damage inflicted by Israel is unlike anything Hamas has suffered since its creation, with most of its top military commanders in Gaza killed. Founded in 1987, Hamas had gradually established itself as the main rival of the Fatah faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas and finally seized Gaza from his control in 2007.
With a US-brokered truce in the Iran-Israel war holding, attention has switched back to the possibility of a Gaza deal that might end the conflict and release the remaining hostages.
One of the people close to Hamas told Reuters it would welcome a truce, even for a couple of months, to confront the local clans that are gaining influence.
But he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s terms for ending the war – including Hamas leaders leaving Gaza – would amount to total defeat, and Hamas would never surrender.
“We keep the faith, but in reality it doesn’t look good,” the source said.
Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said he believed Hamas was simply trying to survive. That was not just a physical challenge of holding out militarily, he said, but above all a political one.
“They face being eliminated on the ground in Gaza if the war doesn’t stop, but they also face being erased from any governing formula that ends the war in Gaza (if such a thing can be found),” he wrote in response to Reuters’ questions.
Palestinian tribes have emerged as part of Israel’s strategy to counter Hamas. Netanyahu has said publicly that Israel has been arming clans that oppose Hamas, but has not said which.
One of the most prominent challenges has come from Abu Shabab, a Palestinian Bedouin based in the Rafah area, which is under Israeli control.
Hamas wants Abu Shabab captured, dead or alive, accusing him of collaboration with Israel and planning attacks on the terrorist group, three Hamas sources told Reuters.
Abu Shabab controls eastern Rafah and his group is believed to have freedom of movement in the wider Rafah area. Images on their Facebook page show their armed men organizing the entry of aid trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Announcements by his group indicate that it is trying to build an independent administration in the area, though they deny trying to become a governing authority. The group has called on people from Rafah now in other areas of Gaza to return home, promising food and shelter.
In response to Reuters’ questions, Abu Shabab’s group denied getting support from Israel or contacts with the Israeli army, describing itself as a popular force protecting humanitarian aid from looting by escorting aid trucks.
It accused Hamas of violence and muzzling dissent.
A Hamas security official said the Palestinian security services would “strike with an iron fist to uproot the gangs of the collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab,” saying they would show no mercy or hesitation and accusing him of being part of “an effort to create chaos and lawlessness.”
Not all of Gaza’s clans are at odds with Hamas, however.
On Thursday, a tribal alliance said its men had protected aid trucks from looters in northern Gaza. Sources close to Hamas said the group had approved of the alliance’s involvement.
Israel said Hamas fighters had in fact commandeered the trucks, which both the clans and Hamas denied.
IRAN UNCERTAINTY
Palestinian analyst Akram Attallah said the emergence of Abu Shabab was a result of the weakness of Hamas, though he expected him to fail ultimately because Palestinians broadly reject any hint of collaboration with Israel.
Nevertheless, regardless of how small Abu Shabab’s group is, the fact Hamas has an enemy from the same culture was dangerous, he said. “It remains a threat until it is dealt with.”
Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran has added to the uncertainties facing Hamas. Tehran’s backing for Hamas played a big part in developing its armed wing into a force capable of shooting missiles deep into Israel.
While both Iran and Israel have claimed victory, Netanyahu on Sunday indicated the Israeli campaign against Tehran had further strengthened his hand in Gaza, saying it would “help us expedite our victory and the release of all our hostages.”
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that great progress was being made on Gaza, adding that the strike on Iran would help get the hostages released.
A Palestinian official close to Hamas said the group was weighing the risk of diminished Iranian backing, anticipating “the impact will be on the shape of funding and the expertise Iran used to give to the resistance and Hamas.”
One target of Israel’s campaign in Iran was a Revolutionary Guards officer who oversaw coordination with Hamas. Israel said Saeed Izadi, whose death it announced on Saturday, was the driving force behind the Iran–Hamas axis.
Hamas extended condolences to Iran on Thursday, calling Izadi a friend who was directly responsible for ties with “the leadership of the Palestinian resistance.”
A source from an Iran-backed group in the region said Izadi helped develop Hamas capabilities, including how to carry out complex attacks, including rocket launches, infiltration operations, and drones.
Asked about how the Israeli campaign against Iran might affect its support for Hamas, Abu Zuhri said Iran was a large and powerful country that would not be defeated.
The post Battling to Survive, Hamas Faces Defiant Clans and Doubts Over Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Strikes Targeting Hezbollah Pummel South Lebanon Hilltops

Smoke billows from the Nabatieh district, following Israeli strikes, as seen from Marjayoun, in southern Lebanon, June 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
More than a dozen Israeli air strikes battered a row of hilltops in southern Lebanon on Friday, security sources said, with the Israeli military saying it had attacked a damaged military site that terrorist group Hezbollah was seeking to restore.
The simultaneous strikes hit a mountainous strip near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, according to the Lebanese security sources, who said Iran-backed Hezbollah likely still had arms depots there. There was no immediate comment from the Islamist group.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets had attacked a site used to manage Hezbollah’s “fire and defense system.” It said the site was destroyed in last year’s war but that Hezbollah was attempting to resume activities there in breach of the November truce that ended the conflict.
Lebanon‘s President Joseph Aoun on Friday fired the same accusation back at Israel, saying it was continually violating the US-brokered ceasefire deal by keeping up strikes on Lebanon.
The ceasefire deal stipulates that southern Lebanon must be free of any non-state arms or fighters, Israeli troops must leave southern Lebanon as Lebanese troops deploy there. and all fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border must stop.
Israeli troops remain in at least five posts within Lebanese territory and its air force regularly kills rank-and-file Hezbollah members or people affiliated with the group.
The post Israeli Strikes Targeting Hezbollah Pummel South Lebanon Hilltops first appeared on Algemeiner.com.