Jewish athletes and coaches honored at Temple Israel in Lawrence

Overcoming obstacles, excelling beyond their dreams and remaining humble are the shared common denominators among six of the 12 people honored by the Jewish Sports Heritage Association and who attended the induction ceremony at Temple Israel of Lawrence on April 28.

Jeff Bukantz, president of Maccabi USA, received the Dr. Bruno Lambert Good Guy in Sports Award. Spencer Freedman from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., was one of two Michael Freedman Outstanding Jewish High School Athletes of the Year. Leah Goldstein was inducted based on her champion cycling. Mark Greenberg because of his lacrosse prowess, Josh Pastner and Long Islander Marty Riger have both had success as basketball coaches.

Craig Breslow, the Chicago Cubs’ director of Strategic Initiatives and Olympic swimmer Anthony Ervin were also inducted. Breslow’s parents attended in his absence. Rachel Goldstein, no relation to Leah, and Commack’s Joey Slackman were the other Michael Freedman Outstanding Jewish High School Athletes of the Year. Remy Borinsky, a Dartmouth soccer player and Eli Dershwitz, a fencer for Harvard were the Jay Fielder Outstanding Jewish College Athletes of the Year.

The association chronicles and celebrates Jewish involvement in sports. MaryAnn Price, president of Temple Israel, recalled the scene in the movie “Airplane” when a passenger asked for light reading and was given a pamphlet listing Jewish athletes. “And what better way to celebrate the true ideals of sport than to celebrate Jewish athletes,” she said, adding that these athletes and other are proving that scene inaccurate.

The association also aims to generate cultural self-esteem. A mission that Maccabi, the global sporting competition, is in tune with, Bukantz said: “Maccabi promotes Jewish pride and exposes kids to their heritage, and its very special.”

His freshman year at Harvard nearly complete, Freedman noted that no one succeeds by himself or herself alone and provided a shout-out to his support system. “My parents have always had my back, they really are behind me every step of the way.”

Goldstein won a world kickboxing title at 17 after being bullied as a child. The native British Columbian was living in Israel and joined the Israel Defense Forces. She was the first woman elite commando instructor and then became a member of a special forces unit.

“To be recognized as a Jewish athlete is the ultimate honor because a lot of sacrifice and a lot of work goes into what you do, so the recognition means the world,” she said. “It was kind of my dream when I was a little girl, I knew I was going to be something James Bondish.” After a 2005 cycling accident where Goldstein’s body was severely injured. She healed and retrained to win the grueling 3,000-Mile Race Across America.

Greenberg, considered one of the greatest defensemen in Johns Hopkins’ lacrosse history, noted that it was his father’s work ethic, “the other Hank Greenberg,” that propelled him to succeed. “Take advantage of all your circumstanceas, you don’t know where the opportunities will come from,” he said.

Having the passion to coach early on pushed Pastner to write letters to coaches, getting him on the University of Arizona 1997 NCAA title team, to finish college in five semesters, earn a master’s in two and succeed John Calipari at Memphis. “I knew I wanted to coach and I knew there so many great coaches and few opportunities,” Pastner said, explaining why he pushed himself.

After all the championships and awards, Riger, who coached a combined 27 years at Brentwood High School and Maccabi teams, said one thing remains. “When it’s over you have the relationships,” he said.