Uncategorized
Orthodox prospect Jacob Steinmetz shines for Team Israel in World Baseball Classic loss
MIAMI (JTA) — The final result wasn’t pretty for Israel, but it almost didn’t matter. This night belongs to Jacob Steinmetz.
The 19-year-old Woodmere, New York, native and the first Orthodox Jew to be drafted into Major League Baseball, Steinmetz took the ball for Israel against the Dominican Republic Tuesday in a 10-0 loss in the World Baseball Classic.
The Dominican lineup features big league superstars like Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Rafael Devers and others. Steinmetz entered the game with only 25.1 innings of experience in professional baseball, all in the Arizona Complex League with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He became the fourth youngest player to start a WBC game.
You wouldn’t know it. Steinmetz struck out three batters, including Machado, a six-time All-Star, and Jeremy Peña, the 2022 World Series most valuable player. He gave up two hits and one run in an inning and a third while facing the Dominicans’ entire lineup.
19-year-old Jacob Steinmetz, the first known practicing Orthodox Jewish player drafted in MLB history, struck out 3 in his #WorldBaseballClassic debut. pic.twitter.com/s0HSjJceME
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 15, 2023
“It was awesome,” Steinmetz said 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.”
Steinmetz said he felt nerves while warming up and coming out to the field. But once he stepped onto the mound, “it’s just a regular baseball game.”
Steinmetz’s performance ignited Jewish baseball Twitter, with fans marveling at the opportunity to watch the Orthodox prospect on national television. The Israel Baseball Twitter account churned out post after post about the young pitcher.
here’s a full string of the Jacob Steinmetz highlights for your viewing pleasure pic.twitter.com/qSVNfUWs4h
— Israel Baseball (@ILBaseball) March 15, 2023
“It was just unbelievably surreal to watch a kid from our community pitching to those caliber of players on such a big stage,” said Simmy Cohen, an Orthodox sports fan from New Jersey. “I think a lot of the fans were more nervous than he was. But he kept his composure and showed excellent stuff. I was extremely impressed.”
Steinmetz said the support means a lot to him.
“Just seeing all that is awesome, knowing there will always be people behind me,” he said.
Israel manager Ian Kinsler said the start was an important confidence booster for Steinmetz.
“You saw the talent that he has tonight,” Kinsler said. “It’s a good experience for him, the loudest environment he’s ever going to pitch in.”
Tuesday was otherwise a forgettable night for Israel. Held to only one hit a day after being no-hit, Israel lost in seven innings in a second consecutive game ended early by the WBC mercy rule. Israeli batters struck out 10 times.
Israel will face Venezuela tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET in its final WBC game, with Robert Stock starting.
With Nicaragua’s loss earlier Tuesday, Israel will officially finish above last place in Pool D, meaning it won’t advance in this year’s tournament but will automatically qualify for the 2026 WBC.
“That’s big for the organization,” Kinsler said.
—
The post Orthodox prospect Jacob Steinmetz shines for Team Israel in World Baseball Classic loss appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’
Rep Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, on Sunday likened the Trump administration’s immigration rhetoric to Nazi depictions of Jews.
“It reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany,” Omar said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, commenting on a social media post by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, in which he suggested that “migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” Miller, who is Jewish, is the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Omar called Miller’s comments “white supremist rhetoric” and also drew parallels between his characterization of migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. to how Jews were demonized and treated when they fled Nazi-era Germany. “As we know, there have been many immigrants who have tried to come to the United States who have turned back, you know, one of them being Jewish immigrants,” she said.
Now serving as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller is central to the White House’s plans for mass deportations and expanded barriers to asylum. During Trump’s first term, Miller led the implementation of the so-called Muslim travel ban in 2017, which barred entry to the U.S. for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and pushed to further reduce a longtime refugee program.
Rep. Ilhan Omar: “When I think about Stephen Miller and his white supremacist rhetoric, it reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany.” pic.twitter.com/GAjIMqFq26
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2025
Miller’s comments echoed similar rhetoric by Trump after an Afghan refugee was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one.
Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting last week that Somali immigrants are “garbage” and that he wanted them to be sent “back to where they came from.” The president also singled out Omar, a Somali native who represents Minnesota’s large Somali-American community. “She should be thrown the hell out of our country,” Trump said.
In the Sunday interview, Omar called Trump’s remarks “completely disgusting” and accused him of having “an unhealthy obsession” with her and the Somali community. “This kind of hateful rhetoric and this level of dehumanizing can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president,” she said.
The post Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’ appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Nigeria Seeks French Help to Combat Insecurity, Macron Says
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
Uncategorized
Netanyahu Says He Will Not Quit Politics if He Receives a Pardon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the country’s president in his years-long corruption trial.
Asked by a reporter if planned on retiring from political life if he receives a pardon, Netanyahu replied: “no”.
Netanyahu last month asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, with lawyers for the prime minister arguing that frequent court appearances were hindering Netanyahu’s ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for the country.
Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in response to the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his lawyers have said that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings, if concluded, would result in a complete acquittal.
US President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog, before Netanyahu made his request, urging the Israeli president to consider granting the prime minister a pardon.
Some Israeli opposition politicians have argued that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026.
