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Manischewitz is taking suggestions for its next matzo-box cover athlete
(JTA) — Manischewitz is thinking outside the box — literally.
The iconic Jewish food company has it all figured out when it comes to things like making matzo and selling kosher wine. Now, it’s asking America to help solve a different, non-food-related mystery: Who is the best Jewish college athlete in the country?
The company is calling it the quest for the “L’Cheisman” trophy, a play on NCAA football’s Heisman Trophy. And the two winners of the quest will receive a distinctly Jewish honor: their photograph displayed on boxes of Manischewitz matzah.
“This is the official SEARCH FOR THE BEST JEWISH COLLEGE ATHLETEs IN AMERICA, a national competition celebrating the grit, talent, spirit, and pride amongst Jewish NCAA athletes across the country,” the quest’s website reads.
Manischewitz, which was founded in Cincinnati in 1888 before relocating to the New York metropolitan area, first dipped its toes in student athlete partnerships last year, when then-Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff (the “B-Y-Jew”) was featured on a set of matzo boxes. (Retzlaff has since transferred to Tulane University.)
Student athlete deals had previously been off the table until 2021, when the NCAA implemented new rules allowing players to profit off their name, image and likeness. Seidman said the success of last year’s promotion convinced Manischewitz to expand the process.
“We knew we tapped into something big, and we wanted to continue,” Shani Seidman, Manischewitz’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview.
Now, throughout December and January, Manischewitz has an open nomination form to which anybody can submit their choice, for both a men’s and women’s division. The form asks not only what sport and school the athlete participates in, but also the question, “Why are they a great representative of the Jewish community?”
In February, finalists will be revealed and the decision will be put to a vote on social media; the voting results will be decided by the general public, as well as a weighted vote by a “team of experts” on the Manischewitz side, and the winner announced in March.
Seidman said the voting criteria include how much the nominee “excels” in their sport, as well as what Manischewitz is calling their “mensch meter.”
That “mensch meter” means looking for a winner “who is part of the community, has a strong Jewish identity, and contributes to their community,” Seidman said. “We want to spotlight Jewish excellence in all of these areas.”
Seidman said last year’s Retzlaff matzo boxes sparked an “outpouring” of excitement, with numerous Jewish athletes and teams reaching out about potential partnerships. Manischewitz sponsored and designed the bright orange jerseys of a Jewish youth Idaho ice hockey team called the Flying Latkes, Seidman said.
This coming spring, the two winners of Manischewitz’s search will be awarded by having their face printed on limited-edition matzo boxes, as well as with a $10,000 cash prize and recognition from the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
While the winners will come away from the search with unleavened glory, the social media voting process itself will be “a great platform to celebrate” and introduce Jewish student athletes from around the country to a larger, more national audience, Seidman said.
In a release about the initiative, Manischewitz pointed to Jewish student athletes as not only high achievers, but also some of the most visible Jewish figures on campus.
“For years, Jewish college athletes have been breaking stereotypes, smashing expectations, and dominating across every sport in the NCAA. What people don’t realize is that these athletes are often the most prominent Jewish representatives on campus,” the press release reads.
“Manischewitz wants to give these athletes the recognition they deserve.”
The post Manischewitz is taking suggestions for its next matzo-box cover athlete appeared first on The Forward.
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Tucker’s Ideas About Jews Come from Darkest Corners of the Internet, Says Huckabee After Combative Interview
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a combative interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, right-wing firebrand Tucker Carlson made a host of contentious and often demonstrably false claims that quickly went viral online. Huckabee, who repeatedly challenged the former Fox News star during the interview, subsequently made a long post on X, identifying a pattern of bad-faith arguments, distortions and conspiracies in Carlson’s rhetorical style.
Huckabee pointed out his words were not accorded by Carlson the same degree of attention and curiosity the anchor evinced toward such unsavory characters as “the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good guy and Churchill the bad guy.”
“What I wasn’t anticipating was a lengthy series of questions where he seemed to be insinuating that the Jews of today aren’t really same people as the Jews of the Bible,” Huckabee wrote, adding that Tucker’s obsession with conspiracies regarding the provenance of Ashkenazi Jews obscured the fact that most Israeli Jews were refugees from the Arab and Muslim world.
The idea that Ashkenazi Jews are an Asiatic tribe who invented a false ancestry “gained traction in the 80’s and 90’s with David Duke and other Klansmen and neo-Nazis,” Huckabee wrote. “It has really caught fire in recent years on the Internet and social media, mostly from some of the most overt antisemites and Jew haters you can find.”
Carlson branded Israel “probably the most violent country on earth” and cited the false claim that Israel President Isaac Herzog had visited the infamous island of the late, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The current president of Israel, whom I know you know, apparently was at ‘pedo island.’ That’s what it says,” Carlson said, citing a debunked claim made by The Times reporter Gabrielle Weiniger. “Still-living, high-level Israeli officials are directly implicated in Epstein’s life, if not his crimes, so I think you’d be following this.”
Another misleading claim made by Carlson was that there were more Christians in Qatar than in Israel.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Will Not Bow to Pressure Amid US Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
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Italy’s RAI Apologizes after Latest Gaffe Targets Israeli Bobsleigh Team
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Bobsleigh – 4-man Heat 1 – Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – February 21, 2026. Adam Edelman of Israel, Menachem Chen of Israel, Uri Zisman of Israel, Omer Katz of Israel in action during Heat 1. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Italy’s state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologize to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI’s sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one” and then “no, because …” before the sound was cut off.
RAI CEO Giampaolo Rossi said the incident represented a “serious” breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster.
He added that RAI had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement RAI’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable.”
The board apologized to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
RAI is the country’s largest media organization and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing RAI journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility.
His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticized.