Battling anti-Semitism through sports

Last year in New York City there were 428 felony level hate crimes and more than half of that number – 242 – targeted Jewish people, according to NYPD official crime statistics. Anti-Semitism has risen in the past few years because of a few reasons ranging from an increase of anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses to social media giving voice to much hate speech.

Anti-Semitism, like any ethnic or racial hatred, most likely will not be eradicated. However, there is one place that makes an attempt to at least reduce the hate: the world of sports. Through the Jewish Sports Heritage Association’s summer 2020 journal – a collection of articles on Jews in athletics and how they have comported themselves – the idea is to continue a dialogue that began at a 2019 Fordham University symposium said Alan Freedman, the association’s director.

Growing up in Mount Vernon, which at the time was heavily Italian, Freedman said that he and other Jewish boys were not expected to excel in sports. “We took a lot of flack as Jewish kids don’t play sports,” he said. “Then we went out and played as well or better. I think that with more and more people becoming educated Jewish guys and gals face less anti-Semitism.” He noted the concept behind the association: “We use sports as the way to show all people, religious and ethnic groups we that are all similar,” adding the hope is to break down stereotypes.

The journal was unveiled on the heels of a few very publicized incidents, including NFL player DeSean Jackson sharing a series of anti-Semitic Instagram posts. Jackson was fined by his team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and issued an apology. Freedman noted that it is incidents like this that could be a teaching moment, especially as Black voices such as Jemele Hill and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took Jackson to task.

History professor Jeffrey Gurock, wrote the article “Sports As A Safe Place for American Jews” pointed to the NCAA Division III Skyline Conference that shows tolerance for the needs of Yeshiva University, where Gurock teaches and served as an assistant men’s basketball coach. Sports teams at Yeshiva, especially the basketball teams, are not scheduled for Friday night or Saturday day games because of Shabbos. He noted that when Hatikvah, the Israel national anthem is played in addition to the U.S. anthem both teams and the referees stand at attention. 

“Unfortunately, the tolerance officially mandated by the NCAA and locally by Skyline cannot be duplicated internationally,” Gurock said, adding that the NCAA at D-1, also makes religious exceptions for the Mormons attending Brigham Young University, while pointing to the intolerance shown to Israel by the global sports associations. “For all of the problems around us Jews should fight against anti-Semitism, the fact is that at the end we are blessed to live in a culturally pluralistic society,” he added.

In “Sticking It to Anti-Semitism,” Robert Wechsler, a retired sports editor, recounts the story of Larry Zeidel, at one time the only Jewish player in the NHL and his battle for respect as both a player and a person. “Jewish participation in the NHL didn't pick up until the late 1980s, so I’s difficult to gauge if Zeidel’s toughness earned him the respect of other players,” Wechsler said.

He said that compared to years ago there is much less anti-Semitism in contemporary team sports. “With the diversity of players on modern-day teams, anti-Semitism from opposing players doesn’t seem to be much of a problem, at least according to the players I’ve talked to or read about,” he said. “Of course, there will probably always be a Billy Martin or two to deal with.” Martin, a major league baseball player and manager, supposedly told racist jokes.