Uncategorized
Team Israel exits World Baseball Classic with 5-1 loss to Venezuela
MIAMI (JTA) — They didn’t call it the “Pool of Death” for nothing.
After a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Nicaragua on Sunday, Israel finished the World Baseball Classic with only one additional run over the next three games. Israel lost 10-0 to both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, recording only one hit across the two games, both of which were cut short by the WBC mercy rule.
On Wednesday, Israel’s bats came alive in the final game, with nine hits, including three for Noah Mendlinger and two for Michael Wielansky. But Israel lost 5-1 to Venezuela, which swept the fearsome Pool D where Israel played this week.
Israel scored its lone run with a trio of singles by Mendlinger, Wielansky and Jakob Goldfarb in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“It was nice to have a little action out there, and score one run,” Israel manager Ian Kinsler said after the game. “The guys really battled today and put up some tough at-bats, so it was a lot more exciting for us.”
With the loss, Israel exits the WBC in fourth place in Pool D with a 1-3 record, but will automatically qualify for the 2026 tournament.
Israel switched up its lineup on Wednesday, inserting Goldfarb, an Arizona Diamondbacks minor leaguer, into center field for star Joc Pederson — who helped recruit fellow big leaguers for the team — and Wielansky, a former Houston Astros draft pick, at shortstop.
Jake Fishman, who made his major league debut for the Miami Marlins in 2022, pitched the fourth inning for Israel, becoming the final member of the Israeli roster to appear in the tournament.
Jake Fishman (@swedishfishman1) in to pitch here to round out our entire roster making appearances in this WBC! pic.twitter.com/PpUwd29Ue8
— Israel Baseball (@ILBaseball) March 15, 2023
Mendlinger and outfielder Alex Dickerson led the team with three hits each in the WBC. Israel’s four total runs were driven in by Garrett Stubbs, Goldfarb and Spencer Horwitz.
Other notable moments for Israel included a gutsy performance by 19-year-old Orthodox prospect Jacob Steinmetz, who struck out three Dominican All-Stars on Tuesday, and earlier that day, a joint ceremony between the Israeli and the Dominican teams to promote friendship between the two countries.
And what was Kinsler’s highlight for this WBC? Two words: Jacob Steinmetz.
“He threw well for a young player, an inexperienced player,” Kinsler said. “To come into this environment and control his emotions, control himself and fill up the strike zone was pretty impressive.”
Kinsler, who had never managed prior to this tournament, said he learned a lot about coaching. He added that Brad Ausmus, who was his manager when Kinsler was a player on the Detroit Tigers and served as a coach for Israel, was a helpful resource as he learned on the job.
Fans traveled from near and far to cheer on Team Israel. Lloyd Kaplan, who visited Miami from Long Island, called it a “once in a lifetime experience.” Israel’s fans may have been far outnumbered by the four Latin countries, but Israel’s players still appreciated the support.
“Just seeing all that is awesome, knowing there will always be people behind me,” Steinmetz said after his start.
—
The post Team Israel exits World Baseball Classic with 5-1 loss to Venezuela appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
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.
Uncategorized
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.
Uncategorized
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.