JERUSALEM, Israel | Five Jewish and Israeli athletes competing at the highest levels of basketball, hockey and soccer have been recognized for their growing global influence, highlighting an increasingly visible Jewish and Israeli presence across major international sports.
NBA star Deni Avdija, NHL standout Zach Hyman, U.S. national team goalkeeper Matt Turner, Israeli soccer midfielder Oscar Gloukh and goalkeeper Daniel Peretz were grouped together at No. 50 in The Jerusalem Postโs 2026 ranking of the 50 Most Influential Jews.
The newspaper described the five as athletes carrying โJewish and Israeli pride onto the world stage,โ citing both their sporting achievements and the different ways they represent Jewish or Israeli identity before international audiences.
Their inclusion illustrates how professional sports have become another arena in which Jewish and Israeli figures are increasingly visible, not simply as representatives of their communities, but as established competitors at the highest levels of their respective games.
Deni Avdija Makes Israeli NBA History
Few Israeli athletes currently command more international attention than Deni Avdija.
The Portland Trail Blazers forward became the first Israeli selected to an NBA All-Star Game in 2026 after a breakthrough season in which he averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game.
That accomplishment marked a new milestone for Israeli basketball.
Avdija has developed from a highly regarded Maccabi Tel Aviv prospect into one of the most prominent Israeli athletes competing anywhere in the world.
His importance has increasingly extended beyond statistics.
Avdija has spoken publicly about antisemitism and his commitment to representing Israel, including after criticism surrounding his absence from recent national-team qualifying games because of injury and restrictions imposed by Portland.
โI wonโt allow anyone to question my commitment to the national team and the country,โ Avdija said earlier this month.
In March, he also participated in an NBA game featuring three Israeli players, alongside Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, another significant moment for Israeli basketball.
Zach Hyman Makes Jewish Identity Visible in the NHL
Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman represents a different form of Jewish sporting visibility.
Born in Toronto, Hyman attended a Jewish high school and represented Canada at the 2013 Maccabiah Games before becoming one of the NHLโs leading Jewish players.
His No. 18 jersey carries particular meaning.
Hyman has said the number reflects chai, the Hebrew word for life, whose letters have the numerical value of 18 in Jewish tradition.
He has not kept his Jewish identity separate from his professional career.
Hyman has participated in Jewish community events and spoken publicly against antisemitism. The Jerusalem Post also noted that his grandparents were Holocaust survivors, giving his public advocacy a deeply personal connection.
On the ice, he remained a significant offensive player for Edmonton during the 2025-26 season, recording 31 goals and 52 points in 58 games.
Matt Turner Reconnects With Jewish Heritage
U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner came to his Jewish identity through a different path.
The New Jersey-born soccer player was already an established international when he learned more about his paternal great-grandmotherโs escape from Lithuania during the Holocaust.
That discovery led him to explore his Jewish heritage more closely.
Turner entered the 2026 World Cup as the only Jewish player on the United States roster, according to The Jerusalem Post.
He had already accumulated 53 appearances for the U.S. national team and 27 international clean sheets after previously representing his country at the 2022 World Cup.
His inclusion among the five athletes reflects a broader conception of Jewish identity in sport, one that includes athletes whose relationship with Judaism may have developed later in life but who increasingly identify publicly with that heritage.
Oscar Gloukh Continues Rise in European Soccer
Oscar Gloukh represents one of Israelโs brightest young soccer prospects.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder, born in Rehovot, developed through Israelโs soccer system before moving to Europe.
After playing for Red Bull Salzburg, Gloukh joined Ajax, one of Europeโs most historically significant clubs.
During the 2025-26 Dutch league season, he scored six goals and provided six assists, and added three goals in Champions League competition.
Gloukhโs progress matters for Israeli soccer because relatively few Israeli players establish themselves at clubs with Ajax’s international profile and development history.
At 22, he remains early in his career, but his combination of technical skill and experience in elite European competition has made him one of Israelโs most closely watched young players.
Daniel Peretz Builds European Career
Goalkeeper Daniel Peretz has taken a different path in European soccer.
The Israeli international joined Bayern Munich from Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2023, placing him inside one of the worldโs most successful soccer organizations.
Playing opportunities were limited in Germany, but Peretz later moved on loan to Southampton during the second half of the 2025-26 season.
He established himself as the English clubโs first-choice goalkeeper, making 26 appearances before completing a permanent transfer in June.
His development demonstrates another reality of elite professional sport: reaching a major club is only part of the challenge.
Players must also find opportunities to compete consistently and develop.
Peretzโs move to England has given him that opportunity while keeping him firmly within the European soccer system and continuing his role with Israelโs national team.
Jewish Athletes Increasingly Visible
What connects the five athletes is not a single background or approach to Jewish identity.
Avdija, Gloukh and Peretz are Israelis competing internationally.
Hyman is a Canadian athlete whose Jewish identity has long been integrated into his sporting career.
Turner is an American who strengthened his connection to Judaism after learning more about his family history.
They also compete in very different sporting environments.
Avdija represents Israel in the NBA.
Hyman plays in one of North Americaโs major professional leagues.
Turner has represented the United States at the World Cup.
Gloukh and Peretz compete within European soccer.
Together, however, they offer a picture of increasing Jewish and Israeli visibility across international sport.
The Jerusalem Postโs recognition also builds on its 2025 ranking, when Avdija, Gloukh and Peretz were similarly highlighted as Israeli sports figures whose international careers carried significance beyond their individual performances.
For Jewish and Israeli sports fans, that representation matters.
Elite sport reaches audiences far beyond political or communal institutions. Athletes can become some of the most recognizable representatives of their countries and communities, particularly among younger audiences.
The significance of these five athletes is therefore not simply that they are Jewish or Israeli.
It is that they are competing while millions of people watch.
Avdija is making Israeli history in the NBA. Hyman is openly displaying Jewish pride in the NHL. Turner has brought a rediscovered Jewish identity onto the international soccer stage. Gloukh is developing at Ajax. Peretz is building a career in English soccer after reaching Bayern Munich.
Their careers remain unfinished.
But collectively, they demonstrate something increasingly visible across the sporting world: Jewish and Israeli athletes are not simply appearing on major international stages. They are becoming established figures on them.
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