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The Detroit Pistons have a message for Kyrie Irving after his antisemitism scandal: ‘Happy Hanukkah’
(JTA) — The Detroit Pistons wished Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving a happy Hanukkah Sunday night, the first night of the holiday.
The Pistons appeared to be trolling Irving, who recently shared an antisemitic film on Twitter and initially refused to apologize.
The scoreboard displayed both a spinning globe and a Hanukkah graphic with a menorah while he was at the free throw line.
The former is in reference to previous comments the controversial All-Star has made about the earth being flat. The latter appeared to be a pointed reference to the recent antisemitism scandal.
The Pistons’ scoreboard put up graphics during last night’s game against the Nets, aimed at Kyrie Irving.
It featured a spinning globe, followed by a Happy Hanukkah sign when Irving was shooting his free throws.
(: @RWoloshin, via @VinceGoodwill) pic.twitter.com/NAeb6xfqZM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 19, 2022
Irving was suspended for eight games in November after he tweeted an Amazon link to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” a documentary that promotes the false idea that Jews were heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade, denies the Holocaust and says Black people are the real Jews.
Irving initially refused to apologize, saying “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.” In addition to his suspension, Irving lost his deal with sportswear giant Nike.
Irving ultimately apologized, multiple times. As he returned to the Nets on Nov. 20, he said, “I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism.” That same day, a group of Black Hebrew Israelites rallied outside Barclays Center, echoing themes presented in the film.
Irving and the Nets got the last laugh Sunday, defeating the Pistons 124-121. Brooklyn has won nine of its past 10 games.
Also this season, the Pistons have helped celebrate the ascension of Orthodox Jewish prospect Ryan Turell, who plays for the organization’s minor league affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. The team has offered kosher hot dogs at the Cruise arena, hosted a Jewish Heritage Night and more. Turell, who has attracted dozens of Jewish fans to Cruise games, has been sporting a Pistons-branded yarmulke.
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The post The Detroit Pistons have a message for Kyrie Irving after his antisemitism scandal: ‘Happy Hanukkah’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
It’s not every day that a kosher dill pickle puppet gets a chance to learn some Yiddish.
Monty Pickle, star of the children’s series The Monty Pickle Show, recently joined Rukhl Schaechter, host of the Forward’s YouTube series Yiddish Word of the Day, for an episode teaching viewers the Yiddish words for various wild animals.
Or as they’re called in Yiddish: vilde khayes.
The Monty Pickle Show, a puppet comedy on YouTube and TikTok, aims to show young viewers what it means to be Jewish in a fun, lively way. The series was created by the Emmy Award-winning producers of Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.
So far, he’s met a number of Jewish personalities, including rabbis, musicians and chefs, and explored holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah and Passover.
Sitting alongside Rukhl during the lesson, Monty eagerly tries to guess what each word means, providing for some very funny moments.
The post Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’ appeared first on The Forward.
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IDF Nabs Islamic State Terror Suspect in Syria
Guns seized in the course of the operation. Photo: IDF Spokesperson via i24
i24 News – Israel Defense Forces soldiers conducted an operation on Wednesday in the area of Rafid in southern Syria to apprehend a suspected terrorist affiliated with ISIS, the military spokesperson said on Saturday.
The announcement comes as Washington announced a major operation to eliminated Islamic State terrorists in Syria after three Americans lost their lives in a jihadist attack in Palmyra.
The Israeli soldiers completed the operation in Syria “in cooperation with IDF intelligence,” the statement read, adding that “the suspect was transferred for further processing in Israeli territory.”
Additionally, during the operation, weapons were found and seized.
IDF troops “continue to remain deployed along the Golan Heights border in order to protect the State of Israel and its citizens,” the statement from the spokesperson concluded.
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Report: Trump Admin Envisions Transformation of Gaza into Chic High-Tech Metropolis
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – The US administration of President Trump vision for the future of Gaza has it transformed into a high-end high-tech hub of luxury and innovation, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
A team of officials understood to be led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff developed a draft proposal to convert the war-ravaged Palestinian territory into a glittering metropolis, propelling Gazans from poverty to prosperity.
US officials with familiarity with the plan—pitched to foreign governments and delegations as a PowerPoint presentation— are cited in the report as saying that, understandable open-endedness of a project in its early phase notwithstanding, the blueprint has many lacunae and leaves crucial questions unanswered.
Critics cite the plan’s silence on the thorny question of disarming Hamas, the Islamist terror group that ruled Gaza for the past 15 years, and initiated the cross-border incursion and massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023; the attack launched the devastating war that has left much of the coastal territory in ruins.
The plan’s projected cost is put at $112.1 billion over 10 years, with Washington prepared to commit support to the tune of some $60 billion in grants and guarantees on debt for “all the contemplated workstreams” in that time period.
The question of where two million Gazans would reside during the costly and lengthy rebuilding is also left unaddressed, it is understood.
Similar-sounding plans have been mooted by the Trump administration even before it managed to broker a ceasefire in October that paused the two year-long war.