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Ryan Lavarnway, a Team Israel veteran and World Series champ, retires from MLB
(JTA) — Veteran catcher Ryan Lavarnway announced his retirement from baseball Wednesday, ending a journeyman career that featured 10 seasons in the MLB and multiple appearances with Team Israel.
“I have played on eight big league teams and worn the uniform of 18 other clubs, mostly in the minors, concluding with a stint on Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic this month,” Lavarnway, 35, wrote in an essay announcing the decision in The Athletic. “An outsider might say there were more downs than ups, but I wouldn’t give back a single day.”
Lavarnway was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2008 after an impressive baseball career at Yale University. The California native was a member of the 2013 World Series championship team in Boston, and would go on to play in the big leagues for Baltimore, Atlanta, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Miami and Cleveland.
Lavarnway’s last MLB appearance came in September 2021 with the Cleveland Guardians. He ended his career with 165 career games, just over one full season. He hit nine career home runs.
But Lavarnway is perhaps best known for his time as a player and leader on Team Israel.
Lavarnway joined Israel for the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier and would play for the team in the 2017 tournament, where he was named Pool A most valuable player. He also played for the team at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 WBC. He obtained Israeli citizenship in 2019 ahead of the Olympics.
Lavarnway has been vocal about how much it means to him to play for Israel.
“Playing for this team is super meaningful to me,” Lavarnway told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after Israel’s exhibition game against the Miami Marlins prior to the WBC. “It’s been really life changing. And I hope that this next generation of players that are new to this team takes the baton, and it means as much to them as it’s meant to us.”
To the team’s general manager Peter Kurz, Lavarnway is “part of Team Israel for life.”
“All that I can say is that Ryan was the ultimate professional, going about his work in a joyful and experienced manner,” Kurz told JTA. “He was and is dedicated to Team Israel and was our ultimate warrior. But he was also warm and funny and emotional, and those are wonderful traits.”
Kurz also said he would gladly welcome Lavarnway back to the team as a coach.
In his Athletic piece, Lavarnway reflected on his rollercoaster of a career — during which he was demoted, traded or released 26 times.
“You don’t have to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest to accomplish your dreams,” Lavarnway wrote. “You don’t have to see the whole path on your way to success either. You can be better than you ever imagined, you just need to believe it’s possible and figure out the first step to start moving in that direction.”
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The post Ryan Lavarnway, a Team Israel veteran and World Series champ, retires from MLB appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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American Airlines to Resume Flights to Israel Amid Gaza Ceasefire
American Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City, U.S., July 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kylie Cooper.
American Airlines said on Sunday it would resume flights to Israel in March, after the US carrier halted the New York JFK to Tel Aviv route following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the two-year war in Gaza.
American said it would re-launch its flights from JFK on March 28.
US rivals Delta and United have already resumed flights to Israel.
Many foreign carriers halted flights to Tel Aviv after October 7 and stayed away for long stretches during the past two years due to intermittent missile fire from Iran and Yemen.
That largely left flag-carrier El Al Israel Airlines, and smaller Israeli airlines Arkia and Israir, operating international routes, but with demand far higher than supply, airfares soared.
In the wake of a US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, many foreign airlines have restarted flights to Tel Aviv. British Airways, SAS, Iberia and Swiss are slated to resume flights this week.
When American resumes flights, it will become the fifth carrier to fly nonstop to Israel from the United States, along with El Al, Arkia, Delta and United.
In addition to daily flights from Newark, United later is expected to also add flights to Tel Aviv from Washington (November 2) and Chicago (November 1).
Passenger traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was up 25% over the first nine months of 2025 to 13.6 million, according to the Israel Airports Authority. El Al’s market share dropped to 32.5% from 44% a year earlier.
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Israel Allows Red Cross, Egyptian Teams into Gaza as Search for Hostage Bodies Widens
Palestinians gather around a Red Cross vehicle transporting hostages as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 13. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Red Cross and Egyptian teams have been permitted to search for the bodies of deceased hostages beyond the “yellow line” demarcating the Israeli military’s pullback in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli government spokesperson said on Sunday.
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Abbas Names Hussein al-Sheikh as Temporary Successor for PA Presidency
Hussein Al-Sheikh, former Secretary General of the Executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), speaks during an interview with Reuters, in Ramallah in the West Bank December 16, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
i24 News – Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) issued a statement on Sunday outlining the succession process should the chairman’s position become vacant.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Deputy Chairman Hussein al-Sheikh will temporarily assume leadership of the PA in the absence of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The decree stipulates that al-Sheikh’s interim term would last up to 90 days, during which direct elections must be held to select a new chairman, in accordance with Palestinian election law.
If elections cannot be conducted within this period due to exceptional circumstances, the Palestinian Central Council may authorize a one-time extension.
Hussein al-Sheikh, born in 1960 in Ramallah, has a long history in Palestinian politics. As a teenager, he was sentenced to prison in Israel for terrorist activity and was incarcerated from age 18 until 1989. In the past year, he was appointed Deputy Chairman and designated successor by Abu Mazen after the Palestinian Central Council approved the creation of the position.
The announcement is seen as a move to formalize the line of succession and ensure stability within the PA amid ongoing political uncertainty and the absence of a functioning Legislative Council. Analysts say the decree clarifies leadership procedures in case of incapacity or vacancy, reflecting Abu Mazen’s efforts to maintain continuity and prevent a leadership vacuum in the Palestinian territories.