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Jul 20, 2026, 6:49 PM

Israel now needs to stop hiding in European football

Israel continues to play in a European confederation where it is unwanted by a growing number of member associations, where its home matches have been moved to neutral venues due to security concerns, and where its presence increasingly feels less like integration than like asylum. (AI-generated).

I watched the World Cup final on Sunday evening – Spain suffocating Argentina 1-0 on a Ferran Torres strike deep into extra time, Messi ghosting through what was almost certainly his last major tournament, Emiliano Martínez making eleven saves...

Jul 16, 2026, 11:07 PM

A Sense of Where You Are

I have wandered all across the globe playing basketball, but as I prepared for the 22nd Maccabiah Games, my family and friends were terrified. Not because I was a fifty-two-year-old playing basketball. They worried about missiles, terrorism, and geopolitical...

Jul 13, 2026, 7:16 AM

More Than Basketball: What Israel’s FIBA Run Means to Me

Image via FIBA U20 Basketball official website

When Israel’s U20 women’s basketball team reached the FIBA European Championship Final, I was not just watching another basketball game. I was watching a moment that connected two of the biggest parts of my identity: being Jewish and being...

Jun 13, 2026, 1:30 PM

Saudi Arabia,Turkey: Battle Over IMEC,What It Means for Haifa, Piraeus and Eilat

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are advancing a new trade route that could redirect the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) away from Haifa and toward Turkey's Mediterranean ports. Indian media has already begun discussing the possible changes to the trade corridor....

May 30, 2026, 5:14 PM

Treasure Trove: About Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 1956 Soccer Match in Toronto

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow.

This June and July, Toronto will host six games in the FIFA World Cup. These are important, but Toronto is no stranger to important soccer matches. Seventy years ago, Maccabi Tel Aviv played the Ontario All Stars at Maple...

May 27, 2026, 9:44 PM

What Tottenham and Israel Taught Me About Contradictions

As a Tottenham fan, I have spent most of this season describing it as disastrous. And objectively, that makes sense. Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League – the lowest possible position without being relegated. Safety was only mathematically secured on...

Jose Lev Alvarez Gomez

May 27, 2026, 11:18 AM

Europe Needs Israel to Join the European Union

Europe is careening toward strategic irrelevance as Iranian proxies tighten their noose around its southern flank and radical Islam spreads through its streets and no-go zones. Israel is the hard-power partner the European Union can no longer afford to...

Apr 9, 2026, 10:01 PM

Memories of the 1970 World Cup

Israel National Team in 1970. (Wikimedia Commons)

The upcoming FIFA World Cup will be a record third time Mexico is hosting the showpiece event. The first time it hosted in 1970 coincides with the only time Israel has qualified for the World Cup. It was a different...

Mar 12, 2026, 6:25 PM

Game 4: Israel vs. The Kingdom of the Netherlands

Who is Team Netherlands? Similar to Israel, Team Netherlands draws heavily from players outside the European Netherlands— primarily from Curaçao and Aruba, two Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The roster is very top-loaded, led by stars like...

Jonathan Shavit

Mar 12, 2026, 3:08 PM

Extended stay in Israel: food, memory, and sports

My aunt dropped me off at my hotel adjacent to the Tel Aviv boardwalk – or tayelet in Hebrew. After checking in and disposing of my luggage, I took her to dinner, which was the least I could do. That...

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