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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Sports

From sportswriter to playwright, Ben Hochman's 'The Game’s Afoot' takes St. Louis soccer history center stage

From sportswriter to playwright, Ben Hochman’s ‘The Game’s Afoot’ takes St. Louis soccer history center stage

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 11, 2023

Before Ben Hochman, the award-winning (and Jewish) St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist, ever penned a word about the Cardinals or the Blues, he was a budding creator of musical theater. “It was my senior year, 1998 at Clayton High School and...

Alexander Zverev. Credit: François Goglins via Wikimedia Commons.

German player stops match after Nazi slogan yelled at US Open

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished September 6, 2023
A spectator was ejected from a U.S. Open tennis match early Tuesday morning after allegedly chanting a Nazi anthem at German player Alexander Zverev.
Jake Curhan of the Seattle Seahawks looks on before the game against the Chicago Bears in Seattle, Dec. 26, 2021.

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

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished August 31, 2023

(JTA) — As the calendar turns to September, many Jews eagerly await an annual fall tradition that signals a new beginning: Week 1 of the NFL season. This year, the season begins on Sept. 7, just about 10 days before Rosh Hashanah. Read on for our...

Aug 30, 2023; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves to Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain on day three of the 2023 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Jewish tennis champ explains why announcers say ‘bagels’ so often at U.S. Open

Beth Harpaz, The ForwardPublished August 30, 2023

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. The U.S. Open tennis championship is underway in New York, and if you’re paying even casual attention, you can’t help...

Iran's athlete delegation at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Iran banned a weightlifter for life after he took a photo with an Israeli opponent

Published August 30, 2023

(JTA) — Iran’s weightlifting federation banned one of its athletes for life after he shook hands and posed for a photo with an Israeli athlete at an international competition in Poland. Mostafa Rajaei finished second in his category at the 2023...

Rob Friedman, left, interviews three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw at MLB's 2023 All-Star Weekend in Seattle.

How ‘Pitching Ninja’ Rob Friedman accidentally became one of the most popular Jewish personalities in baseball

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished August 24, 2023

(JTA) — It’s safe to say that few people watch more baseball than Rob Friedman. During the MLB season — which features 30 teams playing 162 games each from April through October — Friedman spends countless hours every day watching as much of...

Daniel Peretz looks on during the UEFA Under-21 Euro 2023 match between Germany and Israel, June 22, 2023.

Israeli soccer star signs with German powerhouse Bayern Munich

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished August 24, 2023

(JTA) — Israeli soccer player Daniel Peretz has reportedly agreed to a long-term contract to join F.C. Bayern Munich, the powerhouse soccer club in Germany’s top-tier Bundesliga. According to multiple news reporters, he will become the first Israeli...

Israeli UFC fighter Natan Levy during his fight with an online troll in Las Vegas. (Screenshot from YouTube)

Jewish UFC fighter flattens a Neo-Nazi, white supremacist in sparring match

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished August 18, 2023

(JTA) — As only the third Israeli to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, Natan Levy is not afraid to showcase his Jewish identity in and out of the ring. He gave himself the chance to do just that as he invited a follower of white...

For this Jewish surf camp in Virginia, the beach is their sanctuary

Published August 18, 2023

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (JTA) — On a recent morning at Sandbridge Beach, just a short drive down the coast from the city of Virginia Beach, an unexpected fog disrupted beachgoers’ otherwise picturesque summer setting. So thick that even the water...

St. Louis hockey player Dahlia Goldstein.

Skating her own path, Dahlia Goldstein hits the ice with the boys at Maccabi ’23

Daniel Shanker, Junior, Epstein Hebrew Academy Yeshivat Kadimah High SchoolPublished August 10, 2023

Thousands of athletes and coaches convened August 6-11 at the David Posnack JCC in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where temperatures reached the 90s, and the intensity even higher. But for all the fanfare and amenities, the one thing Maccabi didn’t have...

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)

Arizona and Kansas State men’s basketball teams are headed to Israel

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished August 8, 2023

(JTA) — When Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl disembarks his flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi next week, he said he will be kissing the ground of the Emirati capital. Pearl, one of the more outspokenly Jewish and pro-Israel coaches...

The entire Hakoah Vienna Soccer team  prior to their match with the St. Louis All-Stars, on May 15th, 1926.  Courtesy of St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, Jewish Community Archives.

How a 1926 soccer match divided the St. Louis Jewish community

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished August 3, 2023

On April 1, 1926, the Jewish Daily Bulletin, a precursor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) published the following information, and it was no joke. "A game between the Hakoah Jewish soccer team of Vienna, and an all-star St. Louis soccer team...

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