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The top 10 Jewish sports moments of 2023, from Israel to the NFL

(JTA) — For Jews around the world, this year will be remembered for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The fallout has reshaped nearly every aspect of Jewish life in Israel, the United States and beyond — and the sports world is no exception.

The conflict has permeated pro sports, with many teams and athletes showing public support for Israel in the process.

But even before October, many of the top Jewish sports moments of the year concerned Israel — and unprecedented Israeli success on the international stage in baseball, soccer, gymnastics, football, lacrosse and other sports.

Here are the Jewish Sport Report’s top 10 Jewish sports moments of 2023, presented chronologically.

1. Jacob Steinmetz strikes out three MLB stars at the World Baseball Classic

Jacob Steinmetz pitched for Team Israel against the Dominican Republic, March 14, 2023, in Miami. (Dan Passner)

In March, Israel competed in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami with its most talented roster yet. A number of MLB players joined the squad, including Joc Pederson and Dean Kremer.

Though Israel won just one of its four games — a 3-1 comeback victory over Nicaragua — it was an exciting week. Off the field, Israel’s Twitter account went viral, while Israel and the Dominican Republic codified their friendship. And Jewish fans showed up loud and proud.

But the most notable moment on the diamond came during a 10-0 loss against the Dominican team, when 19-year-old Orthodox prospect Jacob Steinmetz struck out three MLB players: superstar Manny Machado, 2022 World Series Most Valuable Player Jeremy Peña and two-time All-Star Gary Sánchez. Steinmetz began the 2023 season in the Arizona Complex League, one of the lowest tiers in minor league baseball.

“It was awesome,” said Steinmetz, the first Orthodox Jew drafted into the MLB, after the game. “Coming out here in front of a sold-out stadium, with all the Dominican fans and the Israel fans, was something that I’ll never forget.”

2. Domantas Sabonis is joining the tribe

Rabbi Mendy Cohen is dwarfed by 7-foot-1 Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who attended Chabad of Sacramento’s Purim party on March 7. (Courtesy of Chabad of Sacramento)

In April, we learned that NBA star Domantas Sabonis had begun the process of converting to Judaism — which will make the 6-foot-10 three-time All-Star the best Jewish player in professional basketball.

“He loves [Judaism] and really wants to be a part of it,” said Sabonis’ wife Shashana Sabonis (née Rosen), who is Jewish.

Sabonis regularly studies with Los Angeles Conservative rabbi Erez Sherman, who said the Sacramento Kings big man is serious about learning and keeps kosher. The Sabonis couple had a Jewish wedding in 2021.

“People that follow me [on social media] see how we do the holidays and Shabbat, and I think it’s really fun for the Jewish community to see that representation in basketball,” Shashana Sabonis said.

3. Israel makes a stunning run the FIFA U-20 World Cup

Israel’s under-20 men’s soccer teams celebrates winning third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in La Plata, Argentina, June 11, 2023. (Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Israel’s first-ever appearance in the FIFA U-20 World Cup got off to a rocky start, even before its players took the field. In March, FIFA revoked hosting rights from Indonesia after the country objected to Israel’s participation.

But when the tournament kicked off May 20 in Argentina with 24 teams from around the world, Israel went on a miraculous run that included wins over Uzbekistan, Japan and powerhouse Brazil. Israel lost 1-0 in the semifinals to the eventual tournament winner Uruguay but beat South Korea to capture third place.

“We are not players, we are a family with an amazing coach,” midfielder Roy Navi said after the victory. “I feel on the top of the world now.”

Less than a month after Israel’s third-place finish, Israel’s under-21 team made it to the semifinals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship — earning the squad a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

4. Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon joins the “Jewish” Premier League club

Manor Solomon during the Premier League match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, England, Sept. 2, 2023. (Will Palmer/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

It was a big summer for Israeli soccer. The news continued when Israeli star winger Manor Solomon signed a five-year contract with the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club — the London-based Premier League club with a rich (and at-times controversial) Jewish history.

Tottenham fans — who include many Jews — have for decades called themselves “Yids” and the “Yid army” in an affectionate way, but last year, the club asked fans to stop using the term, which many consider an antisemitic slur. The Athletic reported that London’s Jewish community was a plus for Solomon and that Tottenham has a following in Israel.

Solomon, who plays for Israel’s overall national team (he’s too old for the U19 and U21 teams), had enjoyed a breakout first year in the prestigious Premier League with Fulham last season, scoring in five straight games from Feb. 11 through March 6. He was the first Israeli player to ever achieve the feat, and the Kfar Saba native’s success on the pitch drew interest from powerhouse clubs across Europe.

While Solomon suffered a knee injury in October that has kept him sidelined, other Jews made headlines in pro soccer around the world. Goalkeeper Matt Turner has become a starter for his Premier League club Nottingham Forest and for the U.S. Men’s National Team; goalie Daniel Peretz became the first Israeli to join the German powerhouse Bayern Munich; and New York Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman has blossomed into a star in the MLS.

On the women’s side, there were no Jewish players in this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the ascendant National Women’s Soccer League is led by Jewish commissioner Jessica Berman.

5. Zack Gelof becomes the 18th Jewish player in the MLB in 2023, a likely record

Zack Gelof bats during a World Baseball Classic game between Team Venezuela and Team Israel in Miami, March 15, 2023. (Rob Tringali/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

When Team Israel player Zack Gelof made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics on July 14, he became the 18th Jewish player to appear in the big leagues in the 2023 season — a moment that carried multiple layers of significance.

For one thing, 18 Jewish players in one MLB season is believed to be the all-time record, according to information compiled by the Jewish Baseball News, a site that tracks Jewish baseball players. And secondly, the record-setting number is symbolic in Judaism.

Once Gelof debuted, he didn’t disappoint. The Delaware native hit 14 home runs with 72 hits and 14 stolen bases in 69 games and broke multiple franchise records for a rookie. He was named the American League Rookie of the Month in August.

The number stretched to 19 when reliever Kenny Rosenberg, who made his MLB debut in 2022, was called up to the big leagues in August.

6. Eli Dershwitz makes US fencing history 

Eli Dershwitz celebrates after winning the sabre men’s senior individual semifinal during the Fencing World Championships in Milan, Italy, July 25, 2023. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Eli Dershwitz, a two-time Olympian and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, became the first American man to win an individual world championship in sabre fencing at the World Fencing Championships in Milan in July.

Dershwitz defeated No. 1-ranked Sandro Bazadze 15-6 in the sabre final, but his semifinal win was even more notable: facing Áron Szilágyi, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the reigning world champion, Dershwitz came back from a 10-4 deficit to advance to the final round.

Dershwitz — who celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Conservative Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts, and fenced at Harvard University — won two gold medals at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel. He represented the United States in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but failed to medal in either appearance.

7. Israel wins its first-ever gold medals at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships

Israeli gymnasts compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Valencia, Spain, Aug. 27, 2023. (Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images)

In a banner year for Israel on the international stage, perhaps the biggest accomplishment came in August at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Valencia, Spain, when Israel won its first-ever gold medals at the annual competition.

Israel’s team topped China and Spain to take gold in the all-around group category and also won gold in the combined exercise, beating out China and Ukraine. The team also finished fifth in the hoop final.

“We are really happy that we managed to get this medal and that we got the chance to scream out the anthem from the podium,” said Romi Paritzki, the team’s captain, according to Haaretz. “It’s the best feeling any athlete can have.”

Israel has emerged as a global powerhouse in rhythmic gymnastics. Retired Olympian Linoy Ashram, who served as an assistant trainer to the team, became the first Israeli woman to win an Olympic gold medal with her rhythmic gymnastics victory at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Israel has already qualified for group competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

8. Israel wins a flag football European championship after a Shabbat forfeit

Israel won a gold medal at the 2023 European Junior Flag Football Championships in Italy. (Giulio Busi)

Just days after Israel’s big wins at the gymnastics tournament, the country’s under-17 men’s flag football team won its first-ever gold medal at the International Federation of American Football’s European Junior Flag Football Championships hosted in Grosseto, Italy.

Israel beat Serbia 34-14 in the championship game after defeating Italy in the semifinals.  Israel’s under-17 women’s team and under-15 coed team both finished fifth in their respective competitions.

The journey to gold wasn’t easy: despite appeals from the Israeli players — a majority of whom are Orthodox — Israel was scheduled to play games on Shabbat. All three teams had to forfeit, resulting in 35-0 losses.

“Our first gold after decades of trying,” Steve Leibowitz, president of American Football in Israel, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Tough young Israeli players against the best young players in Europe. The moment the whistle blew… I knew we had finally arrived. Next thought, first we conquer Europe, the Worlds are next.”

American football is on the rise in Israel, where approximately 2,000 players, coaches and referees are now involved in the league throughout the country, including many native-born Israelis.

9. Jewish MLB players speak out in support of Israel after Oct. 7

Alex Bregman drew a Star of David on his hat during Game 3 of the Division Series between the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins, Oct. 10, 2023. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, several current and former Jewish MLB players and coaches spoke out in support of Israel, both on and off the field.

As Dean Kremer became the first Israeli to start an MLB playoff game just days after Oct. 7, he opened up about how the war was affecting him and his family. Houston Astros star Alex Bregman drew a Star of David on his hat during a playoff win. Ian Kinsler wore his Team Israel jersey when he threw out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers playoff game. The Philadelphia Phillies held a moment of silence for Israel before a game.

Players showed their support off the field and on social media, too. A group of 19 current and former players released a video urging fans to support Israel and combat antisemitism. And Team Israel captain Ryan Lavarnway spoke to JTA about his Israel advocacy, which has made the retired World Series champion a sought-after speaker at Jewish events.

10. Greg Joseph kicks game-winning field goal after wearing Israel cleats

The cleats worn by Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph as part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings)

As NFL players wore cleats this month in support of various causes, Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph chose a particularly personal one.

Joseph, one of only a handful of Jewish players in the league, wore cleats covered in Stars of David with the phrases “I Stand with Israel” and “Am Yisrael Chai,” or “the Jewish people lives.” He picked Leket Israel, the country’s national food bank, as the organization he wanted to promote and support.

The Vikings would go on to win just 3-0 — an extremely rare score in the NFL — on a 36-yard field goal from Joseph, a number that also happens to have meaning in Judaism. (Joseph did not wear his special cleats during the game itself.)

“We were honored to be able to participate in the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats program to call for the end to antisemitism and hate in all forms along with the urgent plea to bring home the remaining hostages,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Honorable mentions

From left to right: Luke, Quinn and Jack Hughes pose for a photo before their NHL game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Dec. 5, 2023. (Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

There were plenty of other notable Jewish sports stories from 2023 that are worth revisiting.

Throughout the year, a number of Jewish athletes were drafted into professional leagues: five players in the MLB, Amari Bailey in the NBA, Abby Meyers in the WNBA and Andrew Cristall in the NHL. Speaking of promising Jewish athletes, we published our first-ever list of 36 Jewish Student Athletes to Watch, an impressive and inspiring group of high school and college athletes with bright futures ahead.
Orthodox athlete Michael Neuman competed on NBC’s obstacle course competition show “American Ninja Warrior” in March and brought with him three young people from his Jewish Inspiration Foundation, which uses sports to support Jewish youth with physical challenges. Neuman had initially qualified for the semifinals — after sharing an emotional on-set moment with Ari Cohen, who has a rare chromosomal disorder. But when Neuman ultimately chose to forfeit his spot because filming for the semifinals fell on Shabbat, NBC decided to cut his entire story from the show and declined to share any of Neuman’s footage — including the clips of his cohort — with their families. Then came the unexpected: two weeks after JTA’s article on Neuman and his foundation, NBC reversed course and shared a clip with Neuman.
Earlier this month, Jewish brothers Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes made history when they became the first trio of Jewish brothers to play in the same NHL game.

Lastly, the Jewish sports community honored a handful of icons who died this year: Alan Sherman, a champion of Jewish sports and US-Israeli relations; Holocaust survivor and Olympian Ben Helfgott; tennis champion Dick Savitt; and Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner.


The post The top 10 Jewish sports moments of 2023, from Israel to the NFL appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Brooklyn Woman Denied Bail, Claims She Didn’t Kill Anyone in Car Crash That Killed Jewish Mother, Two Daughters

An overturned auto in a car crash flipped on its roof landing on a mother and her three children, killing two children on March 29, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

A Brooklyn woman denied killing anyone when she appeared in court on Thursday, less than a week after a Jewish woman and her two daughters died when she crashed her car into them at a crosswalk.

Miriam Yarimi, 32, appeared in Brooklyn Criminal Court via a video stream from her room in NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News. She is undergoing a psychological evaluation at the hospital following Saturday’s deadly car crash.

After the crash, Yarimi told first responders she was “possessed” and believed the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was following her. She has made similar claims about being pursued by the CIA on social media several times in the past, The Algemeiner previously reported.

Yamini, who is also Jewish, faces a slew of charges that include three counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of criminal negligent homicide, and four counts of second-degree assault.

“The devil is in my eyes. I am haunted inside. I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t hurt anyone. Prove it. Show me the proof. You have no proof,” Yarimi said in a statement after Saturday’s crash, according to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nocella. “I need CT scans in my eyes. I need to get the scanning done now … Where’s my daughter? My daughter’s always in my heart.”

“People are out to get me,” added the single mother. “I need CT scans on my entire body. F— you. I need a whole work up to get whatever is in my body out of it. I did not hurt anyone. All the evidence is on my phone.”

Nocella called Yamini a flight risk and asked the judge that she be held without bail due to the “nature and severity” of the allegations, as reported by the Daily News. Judge Jevet Johnson agreed with Nocella and ordered Yamini to be held without bail. Nocella said prosecutors are prepared to present grand jury indictment on the manslaughter charges.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his administration is “committed” to taking more action to prevent traffic violence and deaths following the fatal car crash that killed Natasha Saada, 35, along with her daughters Diana, 8, and Deborah, 5. Saada’s 4-year-old son Philip was injured in the crash and is still being hospitalized in critical condition.

Adams’ office announced on Wednesday that there were 41 traffic deaths during the first three months of 2025 — 24 fewer than last year and the second fewest since they started being recorded by the city. Despite the decline in traffic deaths, Adams admitted that more work needs to be done to keep New Yorkers safe on the streets, as evident by Saturday’s deadly car crash.

“In order to make New York City the best place to raise a family, we need to be safer at every level — including on our streets,” he said in a released statement on Wednesday. “Our administration’s investments in intersection safety improvements, treating traffic violence as the serious crime that it is, and our expanding automated camera enforcement are all helping ensure we’re leading the way toward a safer future for all New Yorkers — whether they are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorists.”

“We understand there is more work to do, as evidenced this past weekend’s tragic crash in Brooklyn because one lift [sic] lost to traffic violence is one life too many, but our administration remains committed to reducing traffic violence as much as any other form of violence,” Adams added.

On Saturday afternoon, Yarimi crashed her car into an Uber and then slammed into four members of the Saada family as they were trying to walk across the street at an intersection on Ocean Parkway in Midwood.

Yarimi was speeding at the time of the incident, “probably doing close to twice the speed limit,” and “ran a red light” just before the crash, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez revealed on Wednesday while speaking to Eyewitness News. Yamini was also driving on a suspended license and has accumulated almost 100 parking and camera violations, including 21 speed camera tickets and five red light tickets.

“It actually exceeds just being reckless, it’s almost being wanton, we’re not going to tolerate that,” Gonzalez told Eyewitness News. “Her vehicle had been ticketed many times by red light cameras and speed cameras, that car was a frequent violator of both speed laws and red-light laws, and there is no excuse for running a red light.”

Saada and her daughters were buried in Israel this week. Four-year-old Philip remains at the hospital for his injuries and is facing “tough straights,” Gonzalez said. “We expect him to make some kind of recovery, but it’s going to be a long road for him.”

The boy lost one of his kidneys during treatment at Maimonides Medical Center, according to New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “It’s heartbreaking,” Lander said after he visited the home of the Saada family, according to the New York Post. “He’s still in critical condition. He lost one kidney but they are hopeful about his prognosis.”

Five people in the Uber hit by Yarimi’s car suffered minor injuries.

Supporters of a proposed state law that would stop repeat super speeders in New York have rallied together since the car accident on Saturday, calling for the passage of the bill that they said could have prevented the crash. The legislation would require speed limiters to be installed on vehicles owned by repeat reckless drivers, like Yarimi. The device automatically limits the vehicles to within 5 mph of the legal speed of the road. The “Stop Super Speeders” bill was sponsored by New York State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher and Senator Andrew Gounardes.

The New York City Comptroller, Brad Lander, supports the bill and criticized Adams for not already implementing such measures.

The post Brooklyn Woman Denied Bail, Claims She Didn’t Kill Anyone in Car Crash That Killed Jewish Mother, Two Daughters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hungary Announces Withdrawal From ‘Political’ ICC as Netanyahu Visits Country, Defying Arrest Warrant

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks to the media next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Hungary on Thursday announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the country welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the capital city of Budapest, defying an ICC arrest warrant against him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

Despite Hungary’s status as a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, Netanyahu was not taken into custody upon his arrival in Budapest. Instead, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed his Israeli counterpart with full military honors.

Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, is his first trip to Europe since the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him last year. In February, he made his first foreign trip altogether since the ICC’s decision to the United States, where he met with US President Donald Trump.

As Orban and Netanyahu met to discuss regional developments and bilateral cooperation, Hungarian Minister Gergely Gulyas released a statement announcing that “the government will initiate the withdrawal procedure” from the ICC, which could take a year or more to complete.

After their meeting, Orban said he believes the ICC is “no longer an impartial court, not a court of law, but a political court.”

“I am convinced that this otherwise important international judicial forum has been degraded into a political tool, with which we cannot and do not want to engage,” Orban said during a press conference.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised Budapest’s decision to withdraw from the international court, highlighting the country’s “strong moral stance alongside Israel and the principles of justice and sovereignty.”

“I commend Hungary’s important decision to withdraw from the ICC,” Saar wrote in a post on X. “The so-called ‘International Criminal Court’ lost its moral authority after trampling the fundamental principles of international law in its zest for harming Israel’s right to self-defense.”

In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and now-deceased Hamas terror leader Ibrahim al-Masri (better known as Mohammed Deif) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for starvation in Gaza and the persecution of Palestinians — charges vehemently denied by Israel, which until a recently imposed blockade had provided significant humanitarian aid into the enclave throughout the war. Israel also says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s widely acknowledged military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.

After the court issued the warrant against Netanyahu, Orban rejected the decision by inviting the Israeli leader to Budapest and accusing the court of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes.”

During Thursday’s news conference, Netanyahu commended Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC, calling it a “bold and principled action” as “the first state that walks out of this corruption and this rottenness.”

“The ICC directs its actions against us fighting a just war with just means,” Netanyahu said. “I think [this decision will] be deeply appreciated, not only in Israel but in many, many countries around the world.”

After the Israeli leader was welcomed in Budapest, Hamas issued a statement calling on the Hungarian government to reverse its decision and extradite Netanyahu to the ICC to stand trial, calling the decision an “immoral stance that shows collusion with a war criminal who is running away from justice.”

In a post on X, Israel’s top diplomat reiterated his support for Hungary’s decision, arguing that Hamas’s statement only proves the country is taking the correct stance in this matter.

“Whoever needed further proof as to how justified, moral and necessary Hungary’s decision to withdraw from the ICC is: Hamas just condemned it,” Saar wrote.

“Hamas is defending the politicized and twisted so-called ‘International Criminal Court.’ And that’s the whole story.”

After the ICC’s decision to issue the warrants, several countries, including Hungary, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, France, and Italy, have said they would not arrest Netanyahu if he visited.

US and Israeli officials issued blistering condemnations of the ICC move, decrying the court for drawing a moral equivalence between Israel’s democratically elected leaders and the heads of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2o23.

The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. Other countries including the US have similarly not signed the ICC charter. However, the ICC has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, despite no such state being recognized under international law.

The post Hungary Announces Withdrawal From ‘Political’ ICC as Netanyahu Visits Country, Defying Arrest Warrant first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Jewish Individualism Will Not Work, But Solidarity Must

The Western Wall and Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

During the events of Purim, Haman approached King Xerxes I and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So, it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.”

Queen Esther’s solidarity with her dispersed people in Persia, and her profound loyalty to her Jewish identity, saved them from Haman’s genocide and secured their self-defense when she courageously revealed her heritage to Xerxes I.

Today, Israeli Jews are once again fighting for their Jewish and Zionist survival. Since Oct. 7, 2023, this Jewish Armageddon has extended anew to Diaspora Jews, who have felt the past’s chilling draft. Antisemitism has reawakened, infecting non-Jews and Jews alike. Few people contribute to antisemitic attitudes more than “self-loathing” Jews. These “self-loathing” Jews, who cynically reveal only the negative aspects of their Jewishness, believe they can avoid antisemitic attacks if they condemn Israel. But they achieve only self-betrayal, gaining neither acceptance nor respect from those who hate all Jews. Jews are a nation of people who question, not people who answer.

Questions pervade the Jewish mind to such a degree that the adage, “two Jews, three opinions,” has become a common characteristic of Jewish identity. Moreover, the pursuit of an answer often serves as a springboard for further inquiry. For us, as Jews, the ultimate answer, akin to the messianic ideal, remains a distant, undefined future. This traditional perspective has granted Jews a sort of perpetual license to disagree. Jews enjoy engaging in debate with others, but they sometimes find particular delight in debating amongst themselves, which allows their intellects to roam and their sardonic wit to playfully engage with each other’s vulnerabilities, finding humor without causing offense.

This love for discourse, for questioning everything in sight, including Hashem himself, is by no means the only puzzle that makes up our Jewish identity. Another crucial element of our makeup is solidarity. In times of major upheavals, we have always stood together against the masses who rose against us. To our enemies, we Jews — atheists, nihilists, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Haredi, religious Zionists, non-religious Zionists, or undecided — look, taste, and feel the same. They care nothing for our ingrained liberalism. Our enemies seek cracks within our communities in order to break us apart and cause irreparable damage.

Years of relative peace and prosperity since the Holocaust have allowed us to gather again and engage in countless polemics over the fate of Israel, Jews, Judaism, and Zionism. However, we have failed to notice that we are at war again, and that our enemies eagerly exploit the divisions within a nation that comprises only 0.2% of the world’s population. These enemies — radical Islamists and progressive Western leftists who view Jews and Israel as white oppressors and colonizers — avidly listen to Jewish internal squabbles and criticisms of the Israeli government.

Despite the significant progress the Shin Bet and IDF have made in dismantling much of Hamas’s leadership and terrorist infrastructure, destroying its complex network of tunnels and command centers, and weakening Hezbollah, in addition to eliminating tens of thousands of Hamas terrorists, many Jews remain critical of, and disagree with, what Israel represents today. Aware of government problems, Israelis desire improvement. However, their rage and almost addictive pattern of anti-government protests have provided their adversaries with more opportunities to exploit perceived weaknesses.

This has resonated with some Jews worldwide. In New York, some Jewish intellectuals have defended “free-Palestine” and pro-Hamas protesters harassing Jewish students, invoking freedom of speech. They appear to have fallen prey to what they perceive as the lies of progressive anti-Zionist media, which systemically omits crucial facts about Israel. This includes the IDF’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties, and its role in eliminating thousands of Hamas terrorists and dismantling their terror network, which posed a significant threat to Israel (and innocent Palestinians themselves).

These “romantic” progressive Jews also forget that no matter how critical they are of that “brutal” IDF, it is still fighting on their behalf, because it is fighting on behalf of every Jew. Civilian deaths do occur, but they are either unfortunate incidents of war or, more often, a direct result of Hamas’s cruelty, as Hamas terrorists purposefully embed themselves within the civilian population. I once sat at dinner in Israel with a wealthy American Jewish couple who came on a sympathy tour a few months after Oct. 7. Nevertheless, the husband was convinced that the IDF was deliberately killing Palestinian children.

Those were wealthy, educated American Jews who thought they were charitable because they donated to Jewish causes, and therefore, believed they had the right to express their views on everything. This is where I, a Soviet Jew who grew up deprived of Judaism yet targeted by antisemitism, felt differently. To begin with, the husband was completely wrong. Second, in times of existential crisis, we, as Jewish people, must set aside our irresistible urge to disagree and criticize Israel on basic premises such as Israel’s fight to ensure Jews don’t live through a second genocide. The freedom to speak our minds has been ours for thousands of years. We conversed with Hashem, we obeyed Him, we sacrificed for Him, and then we quickly learned to disobey and question Him, even before we began arguing amongst ourselves.

Still, throughout our dotted and punctured history, it wasn’t our tongues or our disagreeable minds that kept our small nation together; it was our solidarity. In solidarity, we walked out of Egypt. In solidarity, tens of thousands of Eastern European Jews came to their promised land as early as the 1920s and began to build from nothing. In solidarity with his orphans, Dr. Janusz Korczak, despite being given the chance to save himself, chose to march with them, hand in hand, through the ghetto to the deportation point, on their way to Treblinka, where they met their final hour. In solidarity with other Jews across the Soviet Empire, Soviet Jews secretly tried to remember who they were, despite years of persecutions and purges.

In solidarity with their Soviet brethren, powerful American Jewry fought for Russian Jews to be able to emigrate to Israel and the United States. One of the main reasons our small nation has not disappeared into the abyss is because, in Diaspora, across oceans, and through impenetrable iron curtains, we never ceased to support one another. We knew we could not afford the luxury of neglecting our faith, traditions, and, most importantly, we could never abandon defending ourselves against our enemies.

Caesar’s “Divide et impera” (“Divide and Conquer”), though a cliché, is particularly relevant here. Seeing fractures within our communities, our enemies have intensified these divisions through incessant anti-Zionist and antisemitic propaganda and violence. Therefore, only as an undivided people, united by a single purpose — eradicating our enemies and protecting our promised land — do we stand a chance of survival. Perhaps only then will the day come when Jewish people gather on virtual street corners to argue and ask questions to which they seek no answers.

Anya Gillinson is an immigration lawyer and author of the new memoir Dreaming in Russian. She lives in New York City. More at www.anyagillinson.com.

The post Jewish Individualism Will Not Work, But Solidarity Must first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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