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Israeli and Dominican teams host a ceremony to promote friendship at the World Baseball Classic
MIAMI (JTA) — Hours before Israel and the Dominican Republic were to take the field as competitors in the World Baseball Classic, players and management gathered at a local park to promote friendship between the two countries and to raise awareness for the common fight against hatred and antisemitism.
Hosted by the Israel Association of Baseball and the Philos Project — a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that promotes Christian relations with Israel — the ceremony brought together players and coaches representing both countries, along with a group of local teen baseball players, including from the nearby David Posnack Jewish Day School.
Earlier in the day, Israel and the Dominican Republic also signed a memorandum of understanding to emphasize the friendship between the two countries.
The event was a follow-up to an Israel trip a number of Dominican players took last fall, with the Philos Project. And later this year, there will be a charity softball game in the Dominican Republic between Dominican and Jewish-American players.
“We are unfortunately living in a time when antisemitism and racism are still in vogue, perhaps more popular now than ever in the U.S.,” IAB president Jordy Alter said in his remarks. “It is imperative that young individuals such as yourselves internalize the message you hear today and create your own nonviolent resistance against all forms of hate and racism.”
Alter said the gathering was inspired by the White Rose Holocaust resistance movement, a group of non-Jewish German medical students who spoke out against the Nazi regime. The leaders were eventually executed by the Nazis. Organizers of Tuesday’s event handed out white roses.
The crowd heard from Alter, Philos’ director of Hispanic affairs Jesse Rojo, as well as Israel manager Ian Kinsler, Israel player Dean Kremer, the Dominican team’s general manager, MLB star Nelson Cruz and Dominican player Jeimer Candelario.
Israel manager Ian Kinsler and Dominican players Jeimer Candelario and Nelson Cruz answer questions from local teens. (Jacob Gurvis)
Rojo, who grew up in New York’s Washington Heights, spoke about the historic relationship between the Jewish and Dominican communities, from his neighborhood in Manhattan all the way back to 1938, when the Dominican Republic was the only country to welcome in Jewish refugees fleeing Europe.
“Today more than ever, we need to bring that back,” Rojo told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “When there’s so much hate, so much polarization. Where we already have the historical heritage, and take that from our ancestors and take it to the next generation.”
For Kremer, the first Israeli player drafted into Major League Baseball, the event was a sign of baseball’s power as a platform for unity.
“It represents a lot for both sides, between the peace and the growing of the game, and antisemitism and all of it together,” Kremer told JTA. “It means a lot having another ally. That, I think, is the biggest thing, in not only growing the game but also making friends with countries that may not know about our history.”
Cruz, an 18-year MLB veteran with almost 500 career home runs, spoke about the importance of spreading love.
“Right now, what’s connecting us is baseball, and a love of baseball,” he said, addressing the teens. “God created us all equal, it doesn’t matter what color, what gender you’re coming from. We should all stay together.”
Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Israel’s consul general in Miami, has been supporting Team Israel throughout the WBC, and was also at this morning’s ceremony.
“Israel is a leading country in technology and agriculture and security, but now to learn from [the Dominican Republic] about baseball, and certainly to work here with kids on fighting racism, antisemitism, all the virtues that sports brings — tolerance, sportsmanship — that’s a great event,” Elbaz-Starinsky told JTA.
After the opening remarks, the teens had a chance to ask questions — mostly about baseball.
Baltimore Orioles and Team Israel pitcher Dean Kremer signs an autograph for a player from the David Posnak Jewish Day School. (Jacob Gurvis)
“I think it’s really meaningful to see Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic,” said Ryan Novick, a 17-year-old player on the Posnack School’s varsity baseball team.
Novick, who works in data analytics with the Miami Dolphins and will soon attend Vanderbilt University, added that it’s great “to see that Israel’s relations across the world are starting to flourish,” and that it’s an added bonus when baseball can serve as a vehicle to that end.
Wayne Stofsky, the athletic director at the Posnack school, and a gold medal-winning Maccabiah baseball coach, highlighted how special it is for his players to meet Jewish players like Kremer and Kinsler.
“It’s not every day they get the opportunity to see professional athletes, and athletes that are Jewish, just like them,” Stofsky told JTA.
Following the Q&A, the entire group gathered on the field to take photos, pose with the two countries’ flags and hear the national anthems for Israel, the Dominican Republic, and the United States.
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The post Israeli and Dominican teams host a ceremony to promote friendship at the World Baseball Classic appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Turkey’s Fidan: Gaza Governance Must Precede Hamas Disarmament in Ceasefire Deal
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2025. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday that not advancing the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan to its next stage would be a “huge failure” for the world and Washington, noting that President Donald Trump had personally led the push.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan said a credible Palestinian civil administration and a vetted, trained police force needed to be in place to allow Hamas to disarm, and that the group was prepared to hand over control of the enclave.
“First of all, we need to see that the Palestinian committee of technical people are taking over the administration of Gaza, then we need to see that the police force is being formed to police Gaza – again, by the Palestinians, not Hamas.”
NATO member Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It played a key role in brokering the ceasefire deal, signing the agreement as a guarantor. It has repeatedly expressed its willingness to join efforts to monitor the accord’s implementation, a move Israel strongly opposes.
Talks to advance the next phase of President Trump’s plan to end the two-year conflict in Gaza are continuing.
The plan envisages an interim technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave, overseen by an international “board of peace” and supported by a multinational security force. Negotiations over the composition and mandate of that force have proven particularly difficult.
Fidan said the Gaza police force would be backed by the international stabilisation force. He added that Washington was pressing Israel over Turkey’s bid to join the force, to which it has voiced readiness to deploy troops if needed.
FIDAN SAYS KURDISH SDF IN SYRIA NOT WILLING TO INTEGRATE
Asked about a landmark deal in March in which the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus agreed that the SDF would be integrated into Syria’s state structures, Fidan said signals from the SDF showed it had “no intention” of honouring the accord, and was instead seeking to sidestep it.
Ankara, which considers the SDF a terrorist organisation, has threatened military action if it does not comply, setting a deadline of the end of the year.
“I think they (SDF) should understand that the command and control should come from one place,” Fidan added. “There can be no two armies in any given country. So there can only be one army, one command structure … But in local administration, they can reach a different settlement and different understandings.”
Almost a year after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, Fidan said some issues of minority rights were unresolved, insisting that Turkey’s backing of the new Syrian government was not a “blank cheque” to oppress any groups.
He said Damascus was taking steps toward national unity, but that Israeli “destabilisation policies” were the chief obstacle.
Israel has frequently struck southwestern Syria this year, citing threats from militant groups and the need to protect the Druze community near the frontier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he expected Syria to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to the border.
TURKEY: U.S. COULD REMOVE SANCTIONS ‘VERY SOON’
Fidan also said Washington’s initial 28-point plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war was just a “starting point,” and that it was now evolving in a new format. He said mediation by US officials was “on the right path.”
“I just hope that nobody leaves the table and the Americans are not frustrated, because sometimes the mediators can be frustrated if they don’t see enough encouragement from both sides.”
Asked about efforts to lift US sanctions imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, he said both sides were working on it, adding: “I believe we’ll soon find a way to remove that obstacle.”
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German-Israeli Ties Are on the Upward Trend, Says FM Sa’ar Welcoming Chancellor Merz on First State Visit
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends celebrations of the newly completed renovation of Reichenbach Strasse synagogue in Munich, Germany, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
i24 News – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz landed in Israel on Saturday for his first visit since taking office, aiming to reaffirm traditionally solid ties that took a hit during the Gaza war.
“Relations between the countries are on an upward trend,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar pointed out welcoming Merz at the Ben Gurion airport.
The ties were shaken during the Gaza war set off by the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre, the deadliest antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust. Merz, who took office in May this year, has repeatedly criticized Israel’s military campaign.
“This trend is reflected in the removal of the partial embargo, Germany’s clear opposition to all types of boycotts against Israel, and its abstention at the UN from supporting the extension of UNRWA’s mandate. Last week, an Israeli Arrow battery for defense against ballistic missiles was deployed in Germany for the first time,” Sa’ar further added.
The $4.5 billion deal represents the largest arms export agreement in Israeli history, and Berlin has also turned to Israeli firms for help in drone defense.
“Germany is an important friend, and I am convinced that the Chancellor’s visit will contribute to the strengthening of the special relations between the countries.”
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Gaza Talks at Critical Moment, Ceasefire Not Complete, Qatar’s Prime Minister Says
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Negotiations on consolidating the US-backed truce in the war in Gaza are at a “critical” moment, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Saturday.
Mediators are working to force the next phase of the ceasefire forward, al-Thani, whose country has been a key mediator in the war, said during a panel discussion at the Doha Forum conference in Qatar.
Violence has subsided but not stopped since the Gaza truce took effect on October 10, and at least seven people were reported killed on Saturday.
“We are at a critical moment. It’s not yet there. So what we have just done is a pause,” al-Thani said.
“We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire. A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces – (until) there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out – which is not the case today.”
TALKS ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY FORCE
Negotiations on the next stages of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the two-year war in the Palestinian enclave have been continuing.
On Thursday, an Israeli delegation held talks in Cairo with mediators on the return of the last hostage held in Gaza, which would complete an initial part of Trump’s plan.
Since the truce started, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages and 27 bodies in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners.
Israel said this week it would open the Rafah Crossing for exit through Egypt soon, and that it would allow entry through Rafah into Gaza once the last remaining deceased hostage was returned.
Trump’s plan calls for an interim technocratic Palestinian government in Gaza, overseen by an international “board of peace” and backed by an international security force. Agreeing on the makeup and mandate of that force has been particularly challenging.
Although fighting has diminished, Israel has continued to attack Gaza and demolish what it says is Hamas infrastructure. Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violations.
The Israeli military said that in two separate incidents on Saturday, forces deployed in northern Gaza behind the so-called yellow line of withdrawal agreed in the ceasefire had fired on Palestinian terrorists who crossed the line, killing three.
The military was unaware of any drone strike, a spokesperson said.