jacob gurvis

Hank Greenberg scores after hitting a home run to give the Detroit Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox, September 10, 1934. (UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images via JTA)

September 16, 2023, 3:13 am

Remembering Jewish baseball legend Hank Greenberg’s 1934 Rosh Hashanah dilemma

With the Detroit Tigers nearly neck-and-neck with the New York Yankees in the pennant race, the future Hall of Fame slugger had a tough choice to make on the Jewish new year

By jacob gurvis

The expansive interior of the Chicago Loop Synagogue is conducive to social distancing. (Paul Harding/FAIA via JTA)

September 15, 2023, 9:09 am

Some US synagogues adopt COVID measures for holidays, but ‘business as usual’ for most

Precautions range from provision of masks for congregants who want them to requiring they be worn; several rabbis say rising cases won’t change their Rosh Hashanah plans

By jacob gurvis

FILE - Boston Red Sox baseball executive Chaim Bloom is shown before a baseball game between the Red Sox and New York Yankees, June 16, 2023, at Fenway Park in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)

September 15, 2023, 7:40 am

Boston Red Sox fire executive Chaim Bloom, once seen as Jewish baseball wunderkind

Team cans Shabbat-observant chief baseball officer as it appears set to miss playoffs for third time in four seasons

By jacob gurvis

Police stationed outside a synagogue after threats to the Jewish community, in New York City, November 4, 2022. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

September 15, 2023, 3:36 am

‘A little more alert than usual’: Dogs, security checks at US synagogues for festivals

Precautions reflect heightened readiness since 2018 Pittsburgh massacre and other violent antisemitic incidents, and current spate of false bomb threats

By Ron Kampeas and jacob gurvis

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman holds the trophy during NWSL Cup Final game between Kansas City Current and Portland Thorns FC at Audi Field on October 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

September 11, 2023, 2:23 am

US Women’s Soccer League head Jessica Berman draws on her Judaism to level the field

As she works to grow her sport, the Jewish day school alum from Brooklyn is racking up victories in her battle for unity and equality — starting with equal pay for female players

By jacob gurvis

From left: Michael Dunn, Jake Curhan, Greg Joseph and A.J. Dillon. (Getty Images/Design by Mollie Suss via JTA)

September 1, 2023, 4:39 am

All the Jewish NFL players to watch in the 2023-2024 season

Shortly before Rosh Hashanah comes another opportunity for new beginnings — football’s opening week. Here’s a list of athletes who might be coming fresh from the synagogue

By jacob gurvis

Ryan Lavarnway goes to bat for Team Israel in this undated photo. (Courtesy IAB)

August 31, 2023, 3:15 pm

MLB catcher Ryan Lavarnway pens kid’s book about Team Israel

In ‘Baseball and Belonging,’ the athlete chronicles his life and sports career, telling how a call from Israel’s burgeoning baseball program helped him find his Judaism

By jacob gurvis

Sababa Beachaway director Danny Mishkin, standing in center, begins the morning by leading a moment of meditation. (Jacob Gurvis/ JTA)

August 30, 2023, 7:47 pm

At this Jewish surf camp in Virginia, the beach is a sanctuary

Sababa Beachaway focuses on surfing, sailing, scuba diving and ocean education through a Jewish lens with a curriculum that includes Judaic programming and prayer

By jacob gurvis

Jared Armstrong, right, playing professional basketball in Israel. (Courtesy of Armstrong via JTA)

August 26, 2023, 3:53 pm

Basketball player who fought for Israeli citizenship promotes Black-Jewish ties

Among his efforts, Jared Armstrong will run a free basketball clinic for middle schoolers in Philadelphia on Sunday that has Black and Jewish kids coming from as far as Connecticut

By jacob gurvis

Illustrative: Empty desks at a junior high school in California, October 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

August 26, 2023, 8:44 am

Jewish groups praise California mandate barring ‘bigotry’ in ethnic studies classes

State education official calls anti-discrimination requirements ‘an important guardrail,’ after concerns raised that some courses teach antisemitic and anti-Israel content

By jacob gurvis

The site of a former synagogue in Chmielnik, Poland. (Wojciech Domagała/Wikimedia Commons)

August 23, 2023, 4:30 pm

Owner of former nightclub in Poland discovers mikveh in basement

Marian Zwolski, a businessman from the Polish town of Chmielnik, says he hopes to turn the discovery into a tourist attraction or a museum

By jacob gurvis

Israeli UFC fighter Natan Levy during his fight with an online troll in Las Vegas in August 2023. (Screen capture/YouTube)

August 18, 2023, 11:28 pm

Israeli UFC fighter pummels online troll who supports Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes

‘I’m not gonna hurt him too bad, but a lesson has to be taught about trolling,’ Natan Levy says before pinning Ben twice; at end of 2nd bout, man can be heard saying, ‘I’m sorry’

By jacob gurvis

Leonard Fournette visits Camp Simcha in Glen Sprey, New York, August 13, 2023. (Courtesy of Camp Simcha)

August 18, 2023, 9:00 pm

Super Bowl champ Leonard Fournette visits Jewish summer camp for children with cancer

Running back emerges from under fake tiger head to cheering campers at New York’s Camp Simcha before running football drills, signing autographs and dancing with them

By jacob gurvis

Illustrative: The Arizona Wildcats celebrate during the semifinal PAC-12 conference tournament game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, March 11, 2022. (AAron Ontiveroz/ MediaNews Group/ The Denver Post via Getty Images via JTA)

August 13, 2023, 6:52 am

Abraham Accords inspire Arizona, Kansas State basketball teams to visit Israel, UAE

Organized by Athletes for Israel, the trip runs Aug. 9-20 and will cover tourist sites in both countries, including the Western Wall, Yad Vashem and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

By jacob gurvis

Mamu Noam of Israel, Jakub Dudycha of the Czech Republic and Davide De Rosa of Italy celebrate after the men's 800 meter event during the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships at Givat-Ram Stadium in Jerusalem, July 7, 2022. (Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images for European Athletics via JTA)

August 9, 2023, 9:19 am

Israel flexes as an up-and-coming U20 sport host with Euro tourney in Jerusalem

Israeli Athletics Association hosts almost 2,000 athletes and officials from 48 countries from August 7-10, improving the Jewish state’s track record as a center for competitions

By jacob gurvis