When Orthodox Jewish All Star Estee Ackerman was an 11-years-old, she sat out her final match at the 2012 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships because the game was scheduled for Shabbos, and they wouldn’t accommodate her. She made international news from that decision. Throughout her career, including missing out on Olympics trials, Estee has always […]
The Paris Olympics have featured several Israeli winners, but what about observant Jews? How many Orthodox Jews have reached the planet’s most competitive sports competition? The world of sports usually does not accommodate Jewish observance, which has hindered the professional success of some of the top athletes from the observant Jewish world. And yet, they […]
In the 1960s, New York-born secular Jew Sam Zeitlin loved cycling and wanted to follow his passion all the way to the Olympics. He trained incredibly hard and even earned himself the nickname, “Brooklyn Lightning.” He made it all the way to the U.S. Pan American Cycling Team and attended the 1967 U.S. Olympic Pre-Trials, […]
Sammy Horowitz, also known as “Russian Concussion” and “Bear Jew,” was expelled from Hebrew School. Today he trains yeshiva boys in self-defense. On his Instagram page, you can find videos of young men in their tzitzit throwing punches in a boxing ring. Since October 7th, the world has been less safe for Jews, who were […]
The Orthodox Jewish community can check off another box when it comes to representation in sports. Sam Salz just became the first kippah-wearing competitor in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) football season as running back of the Texas A&M Aggies. Originally from Philadelphia and an alum of the Kohelet Yeshiva High School in Merion, PA, Salz […]
While Ryan Turell is stirring up a lot of excitement for his draft to the G League, NBA’s minor league organization, playing his first game last night, it turns out another Orthodox Jew had already been drafted to the NBA 42 years earlier. In 1980, David Kufeld was the first Orthodox Jew to be drafted […]
