Israel sports

Maccabi Tel Aviv downs Haifa in Classico to reach State Cup final

The Israeli Classico, one of the biggest matches that the Holy Land can offer between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa, is always an anticipated clash.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
MACCABI TEL AVIV players celebrate their 3-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa in the State Cup semifinal at Teddy Stadium.
VASILIJE MICIC and Hapoel Tel Aviv are headed to the Euroleague playoffs in their first season in the competition, while Maccabi Tel Aviv’s continental campaign is over.

Blueprint vs breakdown: Hapoel Tel Aviv’s plan delivers, while Maccabi pays the price

As EuroCup champs, Hapoel was given a one-year temporary license, so to speak, to the Euroleague, and anything after that was not guaranteed unless the Reds advanced to the playoffs.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
THE ISRAEL national team celebrates on the ice in Sofia, Bulgaria, after beating Iceland for the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship Division II Group B tournament over the weekend.

Blue-and-white skates to hockey gold in Bulgaria

Israel finished the 2026 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B with a flawless 5-0 record.

|ByITAY GODER
ISH WAINRIGHT (left) and Hapoel Tel Aviv overpowered Maccabi Tel Aviv 99-88 in the displaced Euroleague derby between the clubs in Belgrade.

Hapoel Tel Aviv clinches Euroleague playoff berth with derby W over Maccabi in Serbia

Antonio Blakeney started to find the bottom of the basket, while Lonnie Walker responded to keep the yellow-and-blue close, but Collin Malcolm was unstoppable down the stretch as Hapoel took the win.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN

Israeli Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik on failure, pain, comeback, ahead of Jerusalem Marathon

Former Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik opens up about the lowest points of his career, his Olympic journey, and how mental strength shaped his path to success, ahead of the Jerusalem Marathon.

APRIL 12, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
Israeli Judoka and Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik.

Israel’s ‘ice orphans’: Survival, legacy, and the battle for hockey gold in Sofia

For the small, bruised, and fiercely dedicated community of Israeli hockey, this tournament is absolutely everything.

APRIL 9, 2026ByITAY GODER
Team Israel gathers on the ice at their last practice before the tournament.

Sounds of silence: Israeli sports return, but minus fans who define them

As the Israel Soccer League resumed play across the country this week, the atmosphere was eerie. It evoked the empty-stadium days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

APRIL 9, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
BEITAR JERUSALEM players celebrate a dramatic late winner at Teddy Stadium – their joy echoing through empty stands as fans cheer from afar in homes and shelters across Israel.

Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Tel Aviv make crucial Euroleague wins ahead of derby

Hapoel up to 4th place in Euroleague with win over Panathinaikos • Maccabi continues late-season push for Play-In.

APRIL 6, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
MACCABI TEL AVIV guard Lonnie Walker found his form to score a game-high 25 points in the yellow-and-blue’s 103-89 Euroleague win over Anadolu EFES.

Desert diamond: Or Divan and the new dawn of Israeli women’s soccer

Divan is a rare talent in the local landscape, her superb aerial game making her a constant threat on high balls, completing the profile of a truly modern and well-rounded player.

MARCH 31, 2026ByITAY GODER
AT JUST 16, Or Divan has skipped the natural order of Israeli soccer. From scoring over 100 goals in a season to her time in the World Cup qualifiers, the striker is proving that greatness doesn’t wait for age.

Israeli national soccer team draws at Georgia in friendly

Ahead of the Nations League matches coming up in the fall, Israel played Georgia to a 2-2 draw in friendly action over the weekend at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi.

MARCH 30, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
OMRI GANDELMAN (with ball) celebrates after scoring the equalizing goal in Israel’s 2-2 friendly draw with Georgia in Tbilisi over the weekend.

From Bayern’s bench to Southampton’s savior: Daniel Peretz and the rise of the ‘Iron Dome’

Daniel Peretz was the “Golden Boy” of Israeli soccer, a player who had famously stared down German strikers at the U-21 Euros and won.

MARCH 19, 2026ByITAY GODER
ISRAELI GOALKEEPER Daniel Peretz commands his box with authority, delivering another match-saving performance as Southampton’s ‘Iron Dome’ continues to fuel the club’s promotion charge from English soccer’s second tier.

Jerusalem eyes EuroCup semis as ‘Triple J’ finds his groove

Josiah-Jordan James has emerged as a key contributor for Hapoel Jerusalem as the Reds chase a EuroCup semifinal berth from their temporary home in Belgrade.

MARCH 18, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
Josiah-Jordan James has emerged as a key contributor for Hapoel Jerusalem as the Reds chase a EuroCup semifinal berth from their temporary home in Belgrade.

The road warriors of Israeli beach volleyball: Elazar, Cuzmiciov, and the calculus of resilience

Modern beach volleyball is a game of brutal physical metrics and psychological endurance in which a two-centimeter error can result in a lost set and where the wind is a third player on the court.

MARCH 16, 2026ByITAY GODER
EYON ELAZAR(right) and Kevin Cuzmiciov (left) celebrated an historic bronze medal at the Beach Pro Tour Challenge in Bhubaneswar, India, the latest milestone in their climb toward the sport’s world elite.

Israeli women's basketball team secures top spot, beats Luxembourg

So far this window, the blue-and-white has defeated Bosnia 94-71 and now with the victory over Luxembourg, Israel will have a chance to go a perfect 6-0 in the first stage of qualifying.

MARCH 16, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
THE ISRAELI WOMEN'S National Team improved to 5-0 in European Championship qualifying by overcoming Luxembourg over the weekend.