Israel sports

Hapoel Tel Aviv dominates Beitar Jerusalem as Barda’s squad earns Premier League home victory

Beitar owner Barak Abramov acknowledged that his club has endured a difficult opening to the season but said there would be no panic following the defeat.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
HAPOEL TEL AVIV players celebrate their 3-0 victory over Beitar Jerusalem at Bloomfield as the Reds continue to roll early on in the Premier League season.
MACCABI TEL AVIV players celebrate their third goal in the yellow-and-blue’s 3-1 home Premier League victory over Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield Stadium.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s beats Maccabi Haifa 3-1 in Clasico, Maccabi Netanya crushes Beitar Jerusalem

"We could have pressed more and been more aggressive, we could have done a better job against a team like Maccabi Tel Aviv who were coming off a tough loss," Haifa coach Barak Bachar said.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
Young Israeli baseball players take part in a practice session as the sport continues to grow, with youth programs expanding into communities across the country.

From Little League to Team Israel: Baseball takes root across the Holy Land

The number of teams and players gathered in Tel Aviv on that sunny Friday was a testament to just how far baseball has come in Israel. It was not always this way.

|ByHOWARD BLAS
YAM MADAR scored 15 points for Israel in a 85-70 loss to Latvia in World Cup qualifying on Sunday night.

Israel’s World Cup basketball hopes dashed with loss to Latvia

The blue-and-white ended the August window with two losses, having fallen to Poland 106-86 last week in the first game, and have been officially eliminated from World Cup qualifying.

|ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN

Hanochi brings power and purpose as Israel fights to keep hoops World Cup hopes alive

This summer, Jerusalem signed one of Europe’s top coaches, Serbian Sasa Obradovic, who previously led Monaco to the EuroLeague Final Four.

AUGUST 28, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
YOTAM HANOCHI will look to help Israel keep its World Cup hopes alive as it opens the second stage of qualifying against Poland and Latvia.

Jerusalem Jane: When a soccer league honors ‘martyrs,’ the world should stop turning a blind eye

Soccer is rarely something that we connect with terrorists, hatred, or incitement, unless it comes to the Palestinians. 

AUGUST 26, 2026ByJANE KIEL
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Semi Final - England v Argentina - Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US - July 15, 2026 Argentina's Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul celebrate after the match.

Israeli basketball legend Mickey Berkowitz’s severe dementia diagnosis revealed in documentary

Berkowitz has been living in a care facility away from his home in recent months, and the film documents his family’s efforts to cope with his condition.

AUGUST 25, 2026ByOR SHAKEDI
Mickey Berkowitz on his 70th birthday

Toto Cup semifinals set as Kiryat Shmona, Maccabi Tel Aviv eye preseason title

Petah Tikva will face Bnei Sakhnin, while Jerusalem will play Maccabi Haifa in Toto Cup placement games next weekend.

AUGUST 10, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
ISRAEL DAPPA (center) vies for the ball during Hapoel Jerusalem’s 3-1 Toto Cup victory this week over Hapoel Petah Tikva, in which the Israeli forward scored two goals.

Mixed results for Israeli clubs in European soccer qualifying, Hapoel Tel Aviv achieve valuable win

Beitar Jerusalem came up short against Austria Wien 2-1 in the first leg of their Conference League third-round qualifying tie, while Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered a 3-0 defeat to CSKA Sofia.

AUGUST 10, 2026ByJOSHUA HALICKMAN
Hapoel Tel Aviv players celebrate after the Reds earned a 2-0 first-leg victory over Katowice in Conference League qualifying.

Israel wraps up successful World Jiu-Jitsu Championships with multiple medals

Israel’s younger athletes also excelled, with Guy Torres crowned under-18 world champion in the No-Gi competition.

AUGUST 9, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
ISRAELI JIU-JITSU medalist Maya Bachar celebrates her successful World Championships campaign in Abu Dhabi, where the Israel delegation won medals across multiple age groups and weight categories.

More than a transfer: Ben Lederman becomes part of Kraków’s Jewish soccer heritage

Ben Lederman, who was born in Los Angeles to Israeli expatriates of Polish-Jewish descent, is proof that, in soccer, the most improbable stories sometimes become reality.

AUGUST 3, 2026ByWOJCIECH BERGIER
BEN LEDERMAN (left) – pictured during UEFA Europa League action with Maccabi Tel Aviv last season.

Israel’s unbeaten U18 run ends against Slovenia, but World Cup hopes remain alive

Despite the defeat, coach Nadav Zilberstein’s team still has plenty to play for, as it will now battle for fifth place, with a win in its next game securing a berth at next year’s FIBA U19 World Cup.

JULY 31, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
ISRAEL FORWARD David Moses follows through on a shot during the blue-and-white's 95-87 loss to Slovenia in the quarterfinals of the FIBA U18 European Championship.

Israel women’s lacrosse team reaches World Championship semifinals

The blue-and-white continued its remarkable World Championship run, defeating Australia 12-11 to reach the semifinals and remain unbeaten at the tournament.

JULY 29, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
ISRAEL WOMEN'S lacrosse team celebrates after beating Australia to advance to the World Championship semifinals in Japan.

Hapoel Jerusalem adds NBA talent and Chinese League MVP to its lineup

former NBA forward David Roddy and Chinese Basketball League MVP Kenneth “Kenny” Lofton Jr. are the clubs latest ambitious roster additions.

JULY 26, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
DAVID RODDY brings four seasons of NBA experience, physicality and versatility to Hapoel Jerusalem as the club continues to assemble an ambitious roster for the upcoming season.