It has been a difficult time for Jewish New Yorkers, with an anti-Zionist candidate running for our next mayor, antisemites shooting and firebombing Jews in American streets, and Israelis continuing to lose their lives in their nation’s version of the eternal battle. However, an unexpected source has provided respite from this depressing pounding.
The Brooklyn Nets selected two Israeli basketball players in the first round of the just concluded NBA draft. Since he was sixteen years old, Ben Saraf, a 6-foot-6 point guard with a reputation for being a good passer, has played professionally in Germany and Israel.
While a standout player at Yale and the University of Michigan, 7-footer Danny Wolf, who was born in Illinois, demonstrated remarkable ball handling, passing, and rebounding abilities. In order to compete in the U20 European competition, he became an Israeli citizen and maintains kosher.
As we fate-obsessed Jews like to remark, it seems bershert that Saraf and Wolf would land in Brooklyn. Basketball’s evolution was so heavily influenced by Jews on the city’s asphalt playgrounds that it was formerly referred to as “The Jewish Game.”
Jewish players played for schools in the era of collegiate basketball in New York City. With an all-Jewish and African-American-led team, CCNY won the NIT and NCAA titles in 1950. Jewish players in the early NBA included Brooklyn’s Rudy LaRusso and Max Zaslofsky, as well as the Bronx’s Dolph Schayes.
In the 1970s, I was a benchwarming player at a city high school. I had few Jewish basketball role models to aspire to by that point.
Nat Holman, the Mr. Basketball of the 1920s, introduced me to the heyday of Jewish basketball. I was enthralled with his tales of the rough and tumble playgrounds of the Lower East Side during the summer camp he ran.
The Jewish-hoops connection resonates with my numerous Israeli cousins. During my vacation with my nephews, I was inundated with inquiries concerning the NBA.
Have you witnessed a live game of LeBron James? With excitement, they inquired.
How is the experience of attending a game at the Garden?
On one of my excursions, I went to a game at Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 10,383-seat arena, which is home to a thriving professional league in Israel. The supporters were as fervent as any NBA crowd, despite the fact that the majority of the players were African-Americans from the US. The all-Israeli Maccabi squad that won the European Championship in 1977 is still mentioned among Israelis.
Ten years ago, my Israeli relatives came to Brooklyn for my wedding. My nephews took me to a Nets game at Barclays Center for my bachelor party.
In Hebrew and English, they expressively shared their thoughts on double teams and back door plays. The fact that they knew more about the game than I did made me feel ashamed.
The nephews who took me to the Nets game have been serving as reservists in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank for several hundred days apiece since October 7. Since the horrific attack, I have been to Israel twice, and neither time have we discussed the NBA or the European Championships.
In my Park Slope neighborhood, the Free Palestine signs and people wearing keffiyehs serve as daily reminders of Israel. Seeing displays of hostility for the nation my nephews are putting their lives in to protect is very taxing.
Regarding Israel’s battle against Hamas, I have conflicting opinions. The main reasons I want the violence to stop are so that my nephews are safe, the suffering Gazan civilians can receive the aid they need, and Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers can start a constructive conversation about how 9/11 and its aftermath have affected our communities.
I can’t wait to support the newest Nets. An interest in Israel that isn’t centered around college dorms, missiles, or the anxiety of seeing a name on the IDF casualty lists will be welcome.
It’s possible that some Brooklynites might object to Israelis on the hardwood. However, my outlook on the future is more optimistic.
Saraf and Wolf, in my opinion, are members of a diversified basketball squad that is committed to playing a selfless style of the game that emphasizes switching, passing, and picking on defense. I envision myself supporting them with Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Deists, and all other basketball enthusiasts who are united as New Yorkers, in our love of roundball, and in our admiration of cooperation.
Krull writes and practices law.
