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The Jewish Sport Report: A Jewish guide to the 2023 MLB season

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Good morning! 

The men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments are both in the Sweet 16 round, and there’s one Jewish star on each side that you should know about.

Abby Meyers, who I profiled earlier this month, is a guard at No. 2 Maryland, helping the Terps win their first two games comfortably, knocking off No. 15 Holy Cross and No. 7 Arizona. Meyers grew up at a Reform synagogue in Washington, D.C., and has been involved with Jewish life on campus.

Over on the men’s side, No. 15 Princeton is perhaps the biggest surprise in either tournament. The Tigers stunned No. 2 Arizona in the opening round, and crushed No. 7 Missouri in the second round.

Sophomore guard Blake Peters, who dropped 17 points in the win over Missouri, and assistant coach Skye Ettin, both represented Team USA at the Maccabiah Games last summer. NJ.com called Peters “the most interesting man in the NCAA Tournament.”

And congrats to Jewish Sport Report follower (and my 2008 summer camp bunkmate) Josh Hurwitz, who is currently leading our reader bracket tournament!

All the Jewish players to watch in MLB this year

From left to right: Rowdy Tellez, Alex Bregman, Harrison Bader, Max Fried, Joc Pederson, Garrett Stubbs. (Getty Images; design by Mollie Suss)

Last season was a banner year for Jews in baseball — and this season could be even better.

From stars like Max Fried and Alex Bregman to rising talent like Harrison Bader and Dean Kremer — not to mention an impressive group of prospects on the verge of making their debuts — the current crop of Jewish MLB talent is unprecedented.

Team Israel’s roster in the World Baseball Classic this month also offered fans a preview of the next wave of Jewish stars — players such as Matt Mervis, Zack Gelof and Spencer Horwitz. Atlanta Braves top prospect Jared Shuster, who did not play for Team Israel, is having a stellar Spring Training and could emerge as a major league fixture this year. In fact, the Braves may begin the year with three Jews on the roster. Dayenu!

So with Opening Day approaching on Thursday, we’ve got you covered with a full Jewish preview of the 2023 MLB season.

Halftime report

CATCH YOU LATER. Team Israel leader and veteran catcher Ryan Lavarnway officially announced his retirement from baseball this week, ending a journeyman career that included multiple stints with Israel and a World Series championship with the 2013 Boston Red Sox. (After meeting Ryan down in Miami, I can confirm he is a certified mensch.)

LEVIATHAN IN GOAL. The Buffalo Sabres signed 21-year-old goalie Devon Levi to a three-year entry-level contract. Levi just wrapped up an impressive run at Northeastern, where he won the Mike Richter Award for best collegiate goalie last season — and is a finalist again this year. Levi hails from the Dollard-des-Ormeaux suburb of Montreal, where he attended a Modern Orthodox school.

KICKIN’ IT. Obed Hrangchal won Israel’s kickboxing title last week. Hrangchal immigrated to Israel as part of India’s Bnei Menashe community — a group who claims descent from one of the lost tribes of Israel.

YOU ASK, WE ANSWER. Mikaela Shiffrin won her record 21st giant slalom this week, and her 88th career win overall, cementing her legacy as the greatest alpine skier ever. Every time Shiffrin is in the news, fans wonder whether she’s Jewish. The answer: not really. Shiffrin’s paternal grandfather was Jewish, but the tradition wasn’t passed down.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING. Speaking of Israeli victories, Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee became the first-ever Israelis to win a gold medal at the Artistic Swimming World Cup in Canada.

RED FLAG. A Jewish fan brought an Israeli flag and a sign with words of encouragement for Australian Football League Jewish player Harry Sheezel to a game — and was told his flag should have been confiscated. The fan says he was granted permission prior to the game, and accused the AFL of antisemitism.

Team Israel’s Twitter account was the real winner at the WBC

Avi Miller, right, ran Israel Baseball’s Twitter account during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. (Left: Screenshot from Twitter, Right: Courtesy)

Israel didn’t have much success at the World Baseball Classic this month in Miami, but off the field, the team’s Twitter account was a hit. From joking about storing a cooler of Manischewitz in the dugout to leaning into the “nice Jewish boy” vibe of the team, the account’s sense of humor seemed to resonate.

I spoke to Avi Miller, a marketing veteran and the man behind the puns. His goal for the account was aligned with that of the WBC itself: to grow the game.

“Of course virality is nice, because it creates more of a following. But then once you have a following, what are you doing with it?” Miller said. “So for me, and it’s even continued through today, and it will tomorrow and so on, is to create engagement with people, create interest in it, help to create and raise the fundraising efforts, help to create awareness of these programs.”

Bill Shaikin, an award-winning baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times, called the @ILBaseball page “the best social media account in the tournament.”

Read more about the Twitter account — and see some of its best jokes — right here.

Jews in sports to watch this weekend

IN BASKETBALL…

Blake Peters and Princeton face Creighton tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Abby Meyers and Maryland play Notre Dame tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET. Over in the NBA, Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards host the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 7 p.m. ET and face the Toronto Raptors Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Ryan Turell and the Motor City Cruise host the Cleveland Charge tonight at 7 p.m. ET. The Cruise have won five straight and 12 of their last 15 games.

IN BASEBALL…

With Opening Day on Thursday, Max Fried is likely to get one more Spring Training start in this weekend. The Braves face the Minnesota Twins tomorrow and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, both at 1:05 p.m. ET. Tonight at 9:05 p.m. ET, reliever Eli Morgan and the Cleveland Guardians face Joc Pederson and the San Francisco Giants.

IN HOCKEY…

Jakob Chychrun and the Ottawa Senators face off against Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET. It is unclear when Devon Levi will make his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres, but one possibility is Monday, when his new team hosts his hometown Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET.

IN GOLF…

Max Homa is in Austin, Texas, this weekend for the World Golf Championships Dell Technologies Match Play. Homa seems locked in.

Schepping naches

Last but not least, mazel tov to Denver Jewish Day School for winning a basketball state championship earlier this month — becoming likely the third Jewish school in the United States to win a basketball state title, according to the Intermountain Jewish News. Well done!


The post The Jewish Sport Report: A Jewish guide to the 2023 MLB season appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Jon Stewart, Here Is Your Chance to Be a Mensch

Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” on April 8, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

There is no doubt that Jon Stewart has great comedic ability and the gift of gab. In a sneak attack many years ago, he had a mic drop moment where he destroyed Tucker Carlson’s show CrossFire, telling him to stop hurting America. At that time, all Carlson did was have an aggressive political debate show — he wasn’t spewing Jew-hatred and conspiracy theories.

Stewart, who must know something about antisemitism because he felt a need to change his name from Leibowitz to Stewart, raised The Daily Show to great heights and came out of retirement ostensibly to try to make sure that President Trump is lampooned.

I know Jon Stewart is a person who cares about justice, because he fought very hard for the rights of 9/11 firefighters. The passion Stewart showed and his ability to speak truth to power was unrivaled. Some even thought he even had the potential to be a president one day. If Ukraine can have a president that was a comedian, why not America?

Of course, Stewart would be good if his focus was justice. It isn’t always. Sometimes, it’s only about haranguing Trump, no matter what. How about a few shows against antisemitism. He took on Tucker Carlson once. Why not do it again? While Tucker’s no longer wearing a bowtie, he’s saying he was attacked by a demon and Candace Owens is making claims about time machines. What about a one-hour Netflix or Apple TV+ show lambasting them both. It would be monumental.

But Stewart is hoping that Carlson and Owens continue to wreak havoc, and benefit the Democratic Party. And with only a few more years of Trump, those who want to vilify him want to get their last shots in and may not want to divert to something else. I believe that Stewart is against antisemitism. But he should call it out on all sides, and not mock Israel, a country that faced genocidal terrorists who would kill every Jew if they had the weapons to do so.

Jon Stewart is 63 and mentally sharp. He is capable of much better jokes than about physical appearance, which he recently used to attack Sid Rosenberg. Stewart would be better off criticizing Rosenberg’s positions, or perhaps that’s a bit more difficult these days.

If Stewart really wants to advance justice, he could start by attacking antisemites and racists, on both the right and left. He has the rare talent to do it in an impressive way.

Jon Stewart was the greatest mensch when he fought for firefighters. This is his time to do it again.

The author is a writer based in New York.

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Fatah Glorified Munich Olympics Massacre Ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics

An image of one of the Palestinian terrorists who took part in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

While the world was preparing to celebrate the Olympic Games in Italy, Fatah celebrated Olympic blood in Munich.

Just two weeks before the opening of this year’s Winter Olympics, Fatah — the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s ruling party — chose to revive and celebrate the most infamous act of Olympic terrorism in history: the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered.

On its Facebook page, Fatah’s Commission of Information and Culture posted a segment from its Awdah TV channel, glorifying the massacre as “a surprise Israel had not experienced before” and recounting how terrorists, whom she called “self-sacrificing fighters,” infiltrated the Olympic Village, seized Israeli hostages, and issued demands.

Responsibility for the murders was subtly shifted away from the terrorists, while the operation was presented as daring and historic:

Fatah-run Awdah TV host:“In September 1972, Israel was about to receive a surprise it had not experienced before. Eight self-sacrificing fighters [i.e., terrorists] invaded the quarters of the Israeli sports delegation that was participating in the Olympic Games in the German city of Munich. They captured nine Israelis and demanded to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners [i.e., terrorists] who were in the Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of the hostages. Israel refused to negotiate, and the hostages were killed.”

[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Jan. 22, 2026]

On the same day, Fatah’s Commission of Information and Culture also lionized the architect of the Munich massacre, Ali Hassan Salameh, as “The Red Prince.”

Fatah described him as a brilliant “security mind” and strategic genius whose operations allegedly “embarrassed Israel:”

Text on screen: “The Red Prince, the commander whom the Mossad pursued for years. Ali Hassan Salameh was not a shadowy figure, but rather a security mind who created a secret battle …

He joined Fatah in the mid-1960s and was among its first security personnel. He quickly stood out for his organizational wisdom and ability, and sensitive missions were entrusted to him … He led the security activity of the revolution outside Palestine and built a complex defense network that embarrassed Israel. He became a central target of the Mossad, and his name topped the assassination lists.

[Then Israeli Prime Minister] Golda Meir gave the order to eliminate him, and the pursuit after him crossed continents … On Jan. 22, 1979, the Mossad assassinated him in Beirut using a car bomb. His assassination did not put an end to his presence, rather it established his status as one of the most dangerous minds of the revolution. Ali Hassan Salameh, a security commander and one of the symbols of the hidden strugglewith the occupation.” [emphasis added]

Posted text:“The Red Prince Ali Hassan Salameh, the commander whom the Mossad pursued for years”

[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Jan. 22, 2026]

Even more than 54 years later, the PA’s ruling party still treats the Munich Olympics massacre as a legacy to be celebrated.

By deliberately highlighting this massacre just before the Milano Winter Olympics, Fatah yet again shows how it is proud to promote terrorists and terrorism.

Ephraim D. Tepler is a researcher at Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), where a version of this article first appeared.

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How NPR Whitewashes the Palestinian Authority’s ‘Pay-for-Slay’ Program

Stuart and Robbi Force (left), parents of Taylor Force, with Reps. Doug Lamborn and Lee Zeldin. Taylor Force was killed by a Palestinian terrorist while visiting Israel. Photo: Algemeiner.

Even for NPR, the latest segment on its popular “All Things Considered” program crossed the line.

Headlined “Palestinian Authority tries to reform, but one measure is sparking a backlash,” the segment focused on the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s controversial “pay-for-slay” program, where imprisoned Palestinian terrorists and their families, or the families of Palestinians who were killed while committing acts of terrorism or trying to harm Israeli security forces, receive financial stipends.

However, instead of taking a critical look at “pay-for-slay,” NPR provided cover for the insidious PA program.

To begin, NPR immediately whitewashed the program in the subheading, referring to it merely as “payments to families whose relatives are killed or jailed by Israel.”

There was zero mention of the fact that this program incentivizes violence and terrorism by paying out more to families of terrorists than the PA’s regular social welfare pay-outs. In addition, there was no mention that these payments are based on the length of prison sentences rather than actual financial need.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Throughout the story, NPR’s Emily Feng downplayed the vile nature of “pay-for-slay.”

“Pay-for-slay” wasn’t presented as a dangerous incentive for the murder of innocent Israelis, which was the target of American legislation (The Taylor Force Act).

Instead, the program was merely characterized as “controversial.” But using public funds to incentivize terrorism is something much more grave and consequential.

Along with this false characterization, NPR also portrayed the truth about the program as Israeli criticisms that “the PA pushes back against.”

It would be hard to find a more watered-down depiction of “pay-for-slay.”

Further on in the segment, Feng interviewed a Palestinian woman named Inaan who was receiving a monthly payment of 1,400 shekels ($440) since her son had been killed by the IDF.

This doesn’t seem like a lot of money. However, Feng failed to inform her audience that this is only the payment for family members of those killed by Israeli security forces (after a one-time payment of 6,000 shekels).

Terrorists in Israeli prisons can receive up to 12,000 shekels (roughly $3,900) per month.

This presentation of the monthly payments being inconsequential and of limited value is further emphasized by Feng’s next interviewee, Qadura Fares, who is quoted as saying, “The money — it’s mean [sic] nothing for those have believed [sic] that this occupation should be ended and to fight the occupation.”

Fares is the former head of the PA’s prisoners’ affairs commission. In passing, NPR also informed its audience that Fares served time in Israeli prison for “trying to kill Israeli soldiers.”

That’s right, NPR platformed a convicted terrorist.

Perhaps the words of someone who used to target Israelis should be taken with a grain of salt when discussing payments for imprisoned terrorists.

Fares resigned from his position after PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced an end to the “pay-for-slay” policy, stating that the only recipients would now be those who require economic assistance. Many groups, including Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), have provided documentation that the PA is still continuing “pay-for-slay” — though the PA is trying to hide the payments.

Along with Fares, Feng interviewed a couple of other Palestinians who were upset with this alleged reform and complained that the new system is not working properly.

What Feng failed to inform her audience is that this “reform” is alleged by analysts like PMW to be a ruse, with Abbas promising a Palestinian audience that imprisoned terrorists and the families of “martyrs” would continue to receive funds, and that the “reform” is more of a restructuring than an outright end to “pay-for-slay.”

Nearly a year after this “reform” was announced, many beneficiaries were still reportedly receiving their payments.

Perhaps the cherry on top is when Feng referred to the alleged reform as “trying to please outside powers.” As if the program didn’t require serious reform, but rather that the PA capitulated to foreign interference.

A whitewash indeed.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

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