Donald H. Harrison, JNS.org In front of Hank Greenberg is the pitcher, menacing, mean, wanting to strike him out and make him look like a fool. Behind him, what seems like a stadium full of anti-Semites. This is Detroit in the 1930s, home of Henry Ford, who churns anti-Jewish hatred in his Dearborn Independent newspaper with the same kind of assembly-line speed that has made his automobile factories famous. Adding to the feeling of discomfort for Greenberg, Detroit is also the home of the Jew baiter and hater of …More

Moviegoers who head this weekend to the AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 for the opening of “42” will see the story of how Jackie Robinson displayed legendary courage, class and talent in the face of immense pressure and racial hatred as he broke down baseball’s color barrier. Less well known is Robinson’s role in a controversy that erupted just a few blocks away, at Harlem’s most famous theater, and underscored his commitment to fighting all bigotry, including prejudice emanating from his …More

Coalition talks between Israel's major parties resulted not in a government, but an agreement to raise the threshold for Knesset representation from two to four percent, potentially eliminating minor parties from holding seats in the future. [Times of Israel] Western Cape’s leader faces backlash from the Jewish Board after making suggestions of Jewish businessmen being favored over their Muslim counterparts. [Times Live] Further protection is demanded for Israel’s Mount of Olives Cemetery, whose …More

There are probably a lot of men going batty now that Jamie-Lynn Sigler announced her engagement to professional baseball player Cutter Dykstra. Sigler, a 2008 birthright Israel alumna best known for her portrayal of Meadow in “The Sopranos,” made it official on Twitter. “So this just happened,” Sigler, 31, tweeted earlier this week, with a picture of the engagement ring. “She said yes!!” the 23-year-old Dykstra tweeted back. So, the next question is: who is this Dykstra kid? …More

Attention religious sports fans! No more homemade kippahs! A new company has started to produce official kippahs for the MLB and NBA. After the Emblem Source’s founder Brian Rutt saw fellow Jewish sports fans attending games clad in homemade team kippahs, he decided to produce official versions. The company, based in Dallas, Texas, manufactures the new kippahs, though no players in either league wear one. But the official kippahs are a huge hit in Jewish meccas like Brooklyn, New York, where the newly …More

“That Babe Ruth was an icon is not news.” Thus begins the commentary from Linda Ruth Tosetti, granddaughter of the Bambino himself, in a new documentary on the life and times of baseball’s greatest treasure. The film, “Ultimate Babe,” was released in limited screening this past fall, with a wider release expected for later this year. The documentary is the creation of filmmaker Byron Hunter and Tosetti, who worked to bring to light some of Ruth’s most influential, but under …More

Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, who is out for the rest of the season, has been turning to Twitter to update her fans during her absence from the courts. This week, she posted a picture of herself enjoying her time away from training, with her guilty pleasure: sweets. But then, just this morning, she posted another picture – proving she isn’t letting go of her training altogether. [Twitter] Adam Greenberg, a member of Israel’s national baseball team, was so excited to appear with the …More

Adam Greenberg gets a long awaited second chance in the MLB, and credits Team Israel. The Jewish-American baseball player has signed a one-day contract with the Miami Marlins, and will play next week on October 2nd against the NY Mets. Greenberg’s debut appearance in the majors was on July 9, 2005, playing for the Chicago Cubs, against the Marlins. He faced a single pitch, with one plate appearance, but not an official at-bat, because a 92 MPH fastball hit him in the head – and changed his life …More

Even the pros can’t change Team Israel’s fate. As of today, the only Israeli national team that has succeeded to achieve its goals regarding international tournaments and cups is the men’s basketball team and the Paralympic team. The latter returned home with medals, and the basketball team, featuring NBA player Omri Casspi, has progressed to the next stages of the Euro Cup. Apparently, creating two separate Israeli baseball teams makes no difference whatsoever to the results. One team is the …More

Israel’s National Baseball team has started their way through the early qualification stages of the MLB World Baseball Classics Cup. The team is looking to finish the first round in the number one spot (out of four), and set another record in the team’s first year – starting the World Cup from first place in their group. At the moment, Team Israel is ranked in 57th place in the world. Didn’t realize Israel had a national baseball team, or even a local league? Baseball is fairly young in …More

The High Holy Days offer a chance to view world events through the Torah. [Washington Post] Repenting for slavery--on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation's 150th anniversary--this Yom Kippur. [Huffington Post] Jews and Israelis lead the World Baseball Classic. [AP] A Cornell student receives an anti-Semitic e-mail from an individual posing as a professor. [Cornell Daily Sun] The Jewish community in East Brunswick, NJ, mourns a couple killed by a car on Shabbat. [New Jersey Jewish News] A rabbi in …More

This week, Israeli sports media seemed to be all about bad news. National teams lost crucial games in qualification stages of major international tournaments – from men’s soccer to women’s and men’s volleyball. It appears as if the media and the fans have become somewhat aloof to the situation, as coaches and players as one spoke about the unrealistic expectations from the teams in white and blue. Bloggers, sports writers, and commentators alike were talking about the lack of proper …More