Sports

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.

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.
OSHAE BRISSETT has been rising to the moment, delivering several clutch performances to keep Maccabi Tel Aviv firmly in the Euroleague Play-In race.

Maccabi Tel Aviv keeps Play-In hopes alive

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

Israeli national soccer team draws at Georgia in friendly

MACCABI TEL AVIV.

Maccabi Tel Aviv keeps Euroleague Playoff hopes alive with win over Fenerbahce


Prince of Tbilisi: Teen Izhak Ashpiz’s impressively stoic rise to Israeli judo royalty

Winning gold here as an outsider is akin to winning a high-stakes poker game in a room full of professionals who own the house. Ashpiz didn’t just win; he dictated the terms of the engagement.

IN THE world rankings published this week, 18-year-old Israeli judoka Izhak Ashpiz was No. 14 in the under-60 kg weight class.

Sporting bodies failing Iran's athletes, fmr. head coach of Iran’s national wrestling team says

“Saleh was not guilty. He went to the street alongside 1000s of other young protesters. This is a circus of the regime," Pashaei asserted.

 Former Iranian national wrestling team head coach Sardar Pashaei.

Both Tel Aviv clubs stay in Euroleague hunt: Hapoel dominates, Maccabi rallies

Hapoel Tel Aviv crushed Bologna 109-91 as five players scored in double digits to help the Reds cruise to a decisive win.

 VASILIJE MICIC (22) Hapoel Tel Aviv seemed to have recovered from a midseason swoon and are heading toward the Euroleague playoffs in good form.

Hapoel Tel Aviv downs Paris; Jerusalem eliminated by Turk Telekom

The win moved Hapoel’s record to 19-11 as it remained in fifth place ahead of a duel with Bologna late Thursday night back in Sofia.

ANTONION BLAKENEY (left) and Elijah Bryant helped lead Hapoel Tel Aviv to a 93-82 Euroleague victory over Paris this week

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.

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.

Blueprint under fire: David Pisonero’s bid to rebuild Israeli handball from ground up

David Pisonero is 4,200 kilometers away from his home in Valladolid, Spain, but his mind is occupied by a singular, complex mission: leading the Israeli National Handball team.

ISRAEL HANDBALL coach David Pisonero (left) confers with his assistant coach Chen Pomeranz (right) as the blue-and-white prepares for a pivotal two-leg World Cup qualifying clash against Georgia in Tbilisi.

How sports betting is growing all over the world

“A sports wager now travels with the same ease as a score alert.”

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.

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.

THE ISRAELI WOMEN'S National Team improved to 5-0 in European Championship qualifying by overcoming Luxembourg over the weekend.

Yeshiva University fans gear up for Sweet Sixteen run, Shabbat in Atlanta

Yeshiva University’s men’s basketball team will be playing in the Sweet Sixteen round of March Madness, a first in the program's history.

Zevi Samet is a star of the Yeshiva University Maccabees men's basketball team.