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The Jewish Sport Report: Why there are so many Jewish sports halls of fame
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Happy Friday, sports fans!
The International Chess Federation Championship is underway in Kazakhstan, and Russian-Jewish grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi is currently leading in a best of 14 tournament.
With Yom Hashoah earlier this week, chess.com shared the remarkable story of Holocaust survivor Isabelle Choko, who would go on to win the 1956 French Women’s Chess Championship.
Why there are so many Jewish sports halls of fame
The St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, located at the St. Louis JCC. (Courtesy)
From Philadelphia to Southern California, Oregon to St. Louis, and many more locations around the United States, there are walls, halls and exhibits celebrating Jewish athletes and industry executives.
As I discovered more and more of these organizations, I was curious: why are there so many?
When I spoke to leaders and members of numerous halls around the country, a few themes emerged. One was the notion of celebrating Jewish success in sports as a way to combat antisemitism and negative stereotypes.
“We want to call attention to that because of the antisemitic trope that Jews are not good soldiers, farmers or athletes. We need to overcome that,” said Jed Margolis, who runs the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Israel.
Check out my full deep-dive into Jewish sports halls of fame right here.
Halftime report
MARCHING ON. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft led a delegation at this week’s March of the Living in Poland, the annual program that commemorates the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Kraft was joined by rapper Meek Mill, who Kraft has befriended after advocating for his release from prison in 2018.
PROMOTED. Orthodox MLB prospect Jacob Steinmetz was promoted to Single-A this week, where he made his official minor league debut as a member of the Visalia Rawhide, an Arizona Diamondbacks’ affiliate. Steinmetz struck out four across three innings, allowing one run on three hits.
SHE ISRAELI FAST. Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter came in third place in the Boston Marathon women’s race on Monday. Salpeter finished with a time of 2:21:55 — 17 seconds behind the winner but an improvement over her performance in last fall’s New York Marathon, where she finished in second.
MAY HIS MEMORY BE A BLESSING. Eli Wolff, a former Paralympic soccer player and respected disability rights advocate, made an impact across the sports world. Wolff helped push the MLB to rename its “disabled list” to the “injured list,” and he is credited with creating the annual award for best male and female athlete with a disability at ESPN’s ESPY Awards. Wolff died earlier this month at 45.
OPPORTUNITY ALERT. Maccabi USA is accepting applications through April 30 for its next Maccabi Media cohort, a program for college students and recent grads who are interested in sports media. (You may remember that some of their fellows contributed to the Jewish Sport Report during last year’s Maccabiah Games.) The next group will travel to Argentina for the 2023 Pan American Maccabi Games. Learn more information and apply here.
Harrison Bader visits an iconic Jewish deli in NYC
New York Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader, left, and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson at Liebman’s Deli in the Bronx. (E.H. Wallop/YES Network)
New York Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader recently stopped by Liebman’s Deli in the Bronx, joining celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson for an episode of Samuelsson’s “Home Plate: New York” program on the YES Network.
Bader helps season the brisket, enjoys a piping hot bowl of matzah ball soup and sits down to a classic Jewish deli meal with Samuelsson to talk baseball and his upbringing in New York.
“Obviously my father was my first coach,” Bader told Samuelsson. “Without my dad pitching to me every day, since I was 5 years old, I would be nowhere.”
Read more about the episode here.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend
IN HOCKEY…
Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight at 10 p.m. ET in Game 3 of the first round of the NHL playoffs, which is currently tied 1-1; Game 4 is Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. Jack and Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils face Adam Fox and the New York Rangers Saturday at 8 p.m. ET in Game 3. The Rangers are up 2-0 in the series.
IN BASKETBALL…
Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and the Sacramento Kings are up 2-1 against the Golden State Warriors. Sabonis scored 15 points in Game 3 on Thursday after suffering a sternum injury in Game 2, when he was stomped on by Draymond Green, who was suspended over the incident. Game 4 is Sunday at 3:30 p.m ET on ABC.
IN BASEBALL…
Max Fried, who earned his first win of the season on Monday, starts for the Atlanta Braves Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET against Alex Bregman and the defending champion Houston Astros. Richard Bleier and the Boston Red Sox face Rowdy Tellez and the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game set this weekend.
IN SOCCER…
Manor Solomon and Fulham F.C. play Leeds United in a Premier League matchup Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET.
A very Jewish NHL playoff matchup
The NHL playoff series between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers features three Jewish players, not to mention a classic tri-state rivalry. One Twitter user suggested it may even be the first time a playoff series in one of the major sports has featured two teams whose best player is Jewish, with Adam Fox for the Rangers and Jack Hughes on the Devils. Can you think of another example? Reply to this email or join the conversation on Twitter!
This is a fantastic point. Alex Bregman/Max Fried comes close in the 2021 World Series.
Any other Jewish postseason matchups come to mind? https://t.co/UHKrwvCtR8
— The Jewish Sport Report (@JTASportReport) April 20, 2023
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The post The Jewish Sport Report: Why there are so many Jewish sports halls of fame appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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A chat in Yiddish with filmmaker Pearl Gluck
וואָס געשעט ווען אַ יונגע פֿרוי פֿאָרט זוכן אַ פֿאַרלוירענע געבענטשטע חסידישע סאָפֿע אין אונגערן, און געפֿינט דווקא אַ נײַעם קונסטוועג וואָס ברענגט ייִדיש אין קינאָ אַרײַן און דערבײַ הייבט זי אָן אַ הצלחהדיקע פֿילם־קאַריערע?
באַקענט זיך אויף אַ זומישן שמועס אויף ייִדיש מיט פּראָפֿ׳ פּערל גליק — אַ פֿילמאָגראַפֿקע וואָס איז דערצויגן געוואָרן בײַ אַ חסידישער משפּחה — זונטיק, דעם 23סטן נאָוועמבער, 1:30 נאָך מיטאָג ניו־יאָרקער צײַט.
הײַנט איז גליק אַ פּראָפֿעסאָרין פֿון פֿילם־פּראָדוקציע בײַ פּען־סטייט־אוניווערסיטעט, און די גרינדערין פֿון Palinka Pictures. זי שאַפֿט דאָקומענטאַלע און נאַראַטיווע פֿילמען, אין וועלכע זי וועבט צונויף ייִדיש־לשון מיט די טעמעס זכּרון, משפּחה און דאָס דערציילן פּערזענלעכע געשיכטעס.
דער אינטערוויו, וואָס וועט געפֿירט ווערן דורך אלי בענעדיקט, ווערט געשטיצט פֿון דער ייִדיש־ליגע.
גליקס פֿילמען האָט מען שוין געוויזן אינעם Film Forum און אויף PBS, ווי אויך אין פּראָגראַמען פֿאַרבונדן מיט דעם „קאַן־קינאָ־פֿעסטיוואַל“. צווישן אירע באַקאַנטסטע פֿילמען זענען: „דיוואַן“, Where is Joel Baum און „שלעסער אינעם הימל“.
בענעדיקט וועט שמועסן מיט איר וועגן איר שאַפֿערישן פּראָצעס, ווי ייִדיש שפּילט אַ ראָלע אין אירע פֿילמען, און די געשיכטע הינטער געוויסע סצענעס. מע וועט אויך ווײַזן קורצע אויסצוגן צו פֿאַרטיפֿן דעם שמועס.
כּדי זיך צו פֿאַרשרײַבן אויף דער פּראָגראַם, גיט אַ קוועטש דאָ.
The post A chat in Yiddish with filmmaker Pearl Gluck appeared first on The Forward.
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UN Says Israeli Wall Crosses Lebanon Border
The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York, Aug. 15, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
A survey conducted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon last month found that a wall built by the Israeli military crosses the Blue Line, the de facto border, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday
The Blue Line is a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said the concrete T-wall erected by the IDF has made more than 4,000 square meters (nearly an acre) of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the local population.
A section of an additional wall, which has also crossed the Blue Line, is being erected southeast of Yaroun, he said, citing the peacekeepers.
Dujarric said UNIFIL informed the Israeli military of its findings and requested that the wall be removed.
“Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” UNIFIL said in a separate statement.
An Israeli military spokesperson denied the wall crossed the Blue Line.
“The wall is part of a broader IDF plan whose construction began in 2022. Since the start of the war, and as part of lessons learned from it, the IDF has been advancing a series of measures, including reinforcing the physical barrier along the northern border,” the spokesperson said.
UNIFIL, established in 1978, operates between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line in the south. The mission has more than 10,000 troops from 50 countries and about 800 civilian staff, according to its website.
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Hamas Quietly Reasserts Control in Gaza as Post-War Talks Grind On
Palestinians buy vegetables at a market in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, November 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
From regulating the price of chicken to levying fees on cigarettes, Hamas is seeking to widen control over Gaza as US plans for its future slowly take shape, Gazans say, adding to rivals’ doubts over whether it will cede authority as promised.
After a ceasefire began last month, Hamas swiftly reestablished its hold over areas from which Israel withdrew, killing dozens of Palestinians it accused of collaborating with Israel, theft or other crimes. Foreign powers demand the group disarm and leave government but have yet to agree who will replace them.
Now, a dozen Gazans say they are increasingly feeling Hamas control in other ways. Authorities monitor everything coming into areas of Gaza held by Hamas, levying fees on some privately imported goods including fuel as well as cigarettes and fining merchants seen to be overcharging for goods, according to 10 of the Gazans, three of them merchants with direct knowledge.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the media office of the Hamas government, said accounts of Hamas taxing cigarettes and fuel were inaccurate, denying the government was raising any taxes.
ANALYST SEES HAMAS ENTRENCHING
The authorities were only carrying out urgent humanitarian and administrative tasks whilst making “strenuous efforts” to control prices, Thawabta said. He reiterated Hamas’ readiness to hand over to a new technocratic administration, saying it aimed to avoid chaos in Gaza: “Our goal is for the transition to proceed smoothly.”
Hatem Abu Dalal, owner of a Gaza mall, said prices were high because not enough goods were coming into Gaza. Government representatives were trying to bring order to the economy – touring around, checking goods and setting prices, he said.
Mohammed Khalifa, shopping in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area, said prices were constantly changing despite attempts to regulate them. “It’s like a stock exchange,” he said.
“The prices are high. There’s no income, circumstances are difficult, life is hard, and winter is coming,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan secured a ceasefire on October 10 and the release of the last living hostages seized during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
The plan calls for the establishment of a transitional authority, the deployment of a multinational security force, Hamas’ disarmament, and the start of reconstruction.
But Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported this week that Gaza’s de facto partition appeared increasingly likely, with Israeli forces still deployed in more than half the territory and efforts to advance the plan faltering.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million people live in areas controlled by Hamas, which seized control of the territory from President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) and his Fatah Movement in 2007.
Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute think-tank, said Hamas’ actions aimed to show Gazans and foreign powers alike that it cannot be bypassed.
“The longer that the international community waits, the more entrenched Hamas becomes,” Omari said.
US STATE DEPARTMENT: HAMAS ‘WILL NOT GOVERN’
Asked for comment on Gazans’ accounts of Hamas levying fees on some goods, among other reported activities, a US State Department spokesperson said: “This is why Hamas cannot and will not govern in Gaza.”
A new Gaza government can be formed once the United Nations approves Trump’s plan, the spokesperson said, adding that progress has been made towards forming the multinational force.
The PA is pressing for a say in Gaza’s new government, though Israel rejects the idea of it running Gaza again. Fatah and Hamas are at odds over how the new governing body should be formed.
Munther al-Hayek, a Fatah spokesperson in Gaza, said Hamas actions “give a clear indication that Hamas wants to continue to govern.”
In the areas held by Israel, small Palestinian groups that oppose Hamas have a foothold, a lingering challenge to it.
Gazans continue to endure dire conditions, though more aid has entered since the ceasefire.
THEY ‘RECORD EVERYTHING’
A senior Gazan food importer said Hamas hadn’t returned to a full taxation policy, but they “see and record everything.”
They monitor everything that enters, with checkpoints along routes, and stop trucks and question drivers, he said, declining to be identified. Price manipulators are fined, which helps reduce some prices, but they are still much higher than before the war began and people complain they have no money.
Hamas’ Gaza government employed up to 50,000 people, including policemen, before the war. Thawabta said that thousands of them were killed, and those remaining were ready to continue working under a new administration.
Hamas authorities continued paying them salaries during the war, though it cut the highest, standardizing wages to 1,500 shekels ($470) a month, Hamas sources and economists familiar with the matter said. It is believed that Hamas drew on stockpiled cash to pay the wages, a diplomat said.
The Hamas government replaced four regional governors who were killed, sources close to Hamas said. A Hamas official said the group also replaced 11 members of its Gaza politburo who died.
Gaza City activist and commentator Mustafa Ibrahim said Hamas was exploiting delays in the Trump plan “to bolster its rule.” “Will it be allowed to continue doing so? I think it will continue until an alternative government is in place,” he said.
