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Orthodox NBA prospect Ryan Turell returns to New York for a game on Purim
(New York Jewish Week) — The Jewish month of Adar has, in recent years, been a time of excitement for fans of Yeshiva University’s basketball team, when its supporters fill the bleachers and sing a traditional Jewish song at the tops of their lungs.
In addition to being the month of Purim, the Jewish festival that concluded yesterday, Adar usually coincides with March and the NCAA basketball tournament. And until this past year, Y.U. fans enjoyed an added treat for what they called “Adar Madness”: Watching their standout small forward, Ryan Turell, dominate the court.
This year, Turell, 24, is out of college and playing professionally, and on Tuesday, his New York-area fans once again had an opportunity to watch him play during Adar — though relatively few Orthodox Jewish fans made it to the game.
Instead of starting for the Yeshiva Maccabees at their athletic complex in Washington Heights, Turell is a reserve player for the Motor City Cruise, a Detroit team in the NBA’s minor league, the G League. The Cruise, who sit in the bottom half of their conference, faced the powerhouse Long Island Nets at a stadium in Uniondale, New York.
Ryan Turell played 16 minutes of the game on Tuesday, where his kippah could be seen on the court at all times. (Jacob Henry)
The stands at the 11 a.m. game were filled with screaming kids, but the 5,000 or so attendees were mostly not wearing kippahs. Speaking to the New York Jewish Week after Turell’s first game in Uniondale about a month ago, his father had hoped that there would be a sizeable Jewish turnout and said the timing of the Purim game showed that “Hashem was looking down upon this situation.”
Instead, the seats were largely populated by local students who arrived on dozens of school buses for the Long Island Nets’ “Education Day.” During a break in the game, the spectators answered a few trivia questions from the loudspeaker in the style of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
Turell did draw his share of fans, including a gaggle of about a dozen friends and family who sat courtside. “My friends and family, and the Jewish community as a whole, have been amazing,” he told the New York Jewish Week.
Turell played 16 minutes, mostly in the second half, ending with four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. The score was tight between the two teams for most of the game, with the Cruise trailing by three at the half, but the Nets pulled away in the fourth quarter, winning the game 114 to 102.
“It’s nerve-racking because you want Ryan to do great,” said Turell’s father, Brad. “I think he’s proven that he can play at this level, and he’ll do even better next year, with more playing time and more experience.”
The fans who traveled to Uniondale also included Turell’s former Y.U. coach, Elliot Steinmetz, who said that “it’s awesome” watching Turell play in an NBA G League jersey.
“He increased his game dramatically,” Steinmetz said. “It was really on his own. We’re getting to see it at the next level.”
Ben Hamer, one of Turell’s friends from Valley Torah High School in Los Angeles, told the New York Jewish Week that “it’s definitely a good feeling to see someone who put in so much effort as a kid.”
“He still has a way to go, but to see the milestones every year is very cool from the perspective of someone who’s been there from the beginning,” Hamer said.
Ryan Turell is getting rebounds and taking shots on Purim at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. pic.twitter.com/uzWLrVKbmk
— Jacob Henry (@jhenrynews) March 7, 2023
One kippah that remained prominently visible throughout the game was Turell’s red one, pinned onto his shaggy curls. Turell’s father sees the head covering as a statement and a source of pride.
“He’s willing to wear a yarmulke and say: ‘I’m proudly Jewish,’” Brad Turell said. “Here’s a kid who doesn’t have to do this. There’s a lot of antisemitism and a lot of bad things going on, but he’s inspiring a lot of people. The symbol is the kippah and that makes a huge difference.”
Turell said wearing his kippah also makes the game more meaningful for him.
“It’s amazing to be able to inspire people through the game that I love, and show people it doesn’t matter where you come from,” Turell said. “What you believe in, you can succeed, as long as you put in the work.”
After the game, he said, he was headed to a Purim celebration — but not before taking some time to sign autographs for the handful of admirers who came out to see him.
“New York is his second home,” said Brad Turell, who is from Los Angeles. “It’s always wonderful to come back.”
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The post Orthodox NBA prospect Ryan Turell returns to New York for a game on Purim appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Some Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz Before Shots Fired, Ship-Tracking Data Shows
A satellite image shows the ship movement at the Strait of Hormuz on April 17, 2026, in Space. EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2/Handout via REUTERS
More than a dozen tankers, including three sanctioned vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after a 50-day blockade was lifted on Friday, shipping data showed, before Iran reimposed restrictions on Saturday and fired at some vessels.
Reopening the strait is key for Gulf producers to resume full oil and gas supplies to the world, and end what the International Energy Agency has called the worst-ever supply disruption.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday Iran had agreed to open the strait, while Iranian officials said they wanted the US to fully lift its blockade of Iranian tankers.
Western shipping companies cautiously welcomed the announcements but said more clarity was needed, including on the presence of sea mines, before their vessels could transit.
IRAN RESUMES RESTRICTIONS
The ships that passed through the strait on Friday and Saturday via Iranian waters south of Larak island were mainly older, non-Western-owned vessels and included four sanctioned ships, according to ship-tracking data.
Iran arranged passage for a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships following prior agreements in negotiations, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
Other ships have been seen approaching the strait and turning back as Iran said it would maintain strict controls as long as the US continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The UK Navy reported on Saturday that Iranian gunboats fired at some ships attempting to cross the strait.
Some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying the strait was shut again and that no ships were allowed to pass, shipping sources said on Saturday.
Ship-tracking data showed five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas from Ras Laffan in Qatar approaching the strait on Saturday morning.
No LNG cargoes have transited the waterway since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
Hundreds of ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the conflict started and Tehran closed the strait, forcing Gulf oil and gas producers to sharply cut production.
Top producers such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait say they need steady tanker flows and unrestricted passage through the strait to resume normal export operations.
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Trump Greenlights Russian Oil to Ease Strain on Global Markets After War with Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, DC, US, March 27, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
i24 News – The Trump administration has authorized a 30-day emergency waiver allowing the maritime purchase of Russian oil, reversing a hardline stance in an effort to stabilize skyrocketing global energy prices.
The Treasury Department announced Friday that the license for crude and petroleum products will remain in effect until May 16, 2026, responding to intense pressure from international partners struggling with the fallout of the war with Iran.
This policy pivot comes as a surprise after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier this week that no further exemptions would be granted:
“As negotiations with Iran accelerate, the administration seeks to ensure oil availability for those who need it most. We must prevent a total price collapse for consumers while the geopolitical situation remains volatile.”
Ensuring global oil availability is paramount for the US as over 80 energy facilities in the Middle East have been damaged by recent war with Iran. With the November midterm elections approaching, record-high fuel prices at the pump remain a primary vulnerability for the Republican party. By allowing Russian oil back into the maritime flow, the administration hopes to neutralize “pain at the pump” before voters head to the polls.
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UK: Islamist Group Claims to Attack Israeli Embassy with ‘Drones Carrying Radioactive, Carcinogenic Materials’
A UK man has been arrested for allegedly threatening a group of Jews while wielding an ax on Rosh Hashanah. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – British police officers in protective clothing were seen investigating a “security incident” near the Israeli embassy in London on Friday, after a jihadist group put out a video showing it launching two drones allegedly carrying radioactive and carcinogenic materials toward the embassy.
“There is an increased police presence in Kensington Gardens and officers are assessing a number of discarded items. As a precaution, some of the officers who have been deployed are wearing protective clothing. We recognize this may concern local residents and the wider public,” police said in a statement.
“Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of a video shared online overnight in which a group claims to have targeted the nearby embassy of Israel with drones carrying dangerous substances,” the statement further read. “While we can confirm that the embassy has not been attacked, we are carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens.”
The incident comes amid a steep hike in antisemitic attacks in Britain targeting Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions.
The group that released the video was identified as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, a shadowy entity with suspected ties to Iran. It has already claimed seven attacks against Jewish institutions, including an arson attack in London where four ambulances owned by the Hatzolah charity were torched.