‘For the Jewish people’: Sweet 16 matchup in Atlanta goes beyond basketball
A playoff college basketball game broke out at Emory University on Friday. So did a Jewish pride festival.
The stands were packed with observant Jews wearing yarmulkes and tzitzit, children playing hooky from Hebrew school and New Yorkers who flew south for one of the biggest basketball games in Yeshiva University history.
“It’s a Jewish get-together with a basketball game in the background,” said Avery Simon, a 17-year-old high school student from the Bronx who came to Atlanta for the game. “There’s nothing like this.”
For many in attendance, the festive atmosphere felt like a release at a delicate moment for Jews in Atlanta and beyond.
Antisemitism has been rising across the country. Anti-Israel sentiment often spills into hostility toward Jewish communities. And attacks on Jewish institutions have rattled congregations nationwide — including a violent assault Thursday at a synagogue outside Detroit.
Overlaying it all are the tensions surrounding the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran — a conflict that polls show is deeply unpopular with Americans but remains widely supported among Israelis and many American Jews.
That was the backdrop for Friday’s matchup between Emory, a university with a large Jewish population, and Yeshiva, the New York-based Orthodox Jewish institution widely considered the gold standard of Jewish higher education in the U.S.
“There’s a lot going on in the world. We need an excuse to celebrate now,” said Rabbi Dan Dorsch, a past president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association who, on this day, was attending for a more personal reason. He’s a basketball dad.
His son’s name is Zev — the same nickname as Yeshiva star Zevi Samet.
“It may be the only time he sees a star playing at a college basketball game who is also a Zev,” said Dorsch.
The game itself was historic. For the first time in school history, the Yeshiva Maccabees — named after the Jewish freedom fighters of the Hanukkah revolt — reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Friday afternoon tipoff also created a unique opportunity for traveling fans. With the Jewish Sabbath beginning that evening, many observant supporters planned to stay in Atlanta through the weekend.
To accommodate them, organizers circulated a “YU Mac Fans Shabbat Hospitality in Toco Hills Atlanta” database that paired visitors with host families in Atlanta’s heavily Orthodox Toco Hill neighborhood.
Community leaders embraced the occasion. That included a resolution sponsored by state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia General Assembly.
“Since October 7, and again just yesterday, the Jewish community has carried a lot of grief,” she said. “This team has been a source of genuine Jewish joy and pride when we needed it most.”
For many families, that pride felt intensely personal.
Philip Schanzer of White Plains, N.Y., flew to Atlanta on Thursday to cheer on his son Joe, a freshman on the team. He beamed while describing the Maccabees’ daily routine: practice from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. every day except Shabbat, followed by team prayer and breakfast together.
Many in the Orthodox Jewish community watched the players grow up, following them from grade school to college. One of the team’s top players is also a rabbinical student who regularly gives Torah lessons.
But for Schanzer’s family, the game carried the weight of generations. His father — a Holocaust survivor — turned 91 on Friday and had a special message for Joe.
“His grandson playing for Yeshiva University is one of the greatest gifts he’s ever received,” Schanzer said. “He told my son, ‘You’re not just playing for Yeshiva. You’re playing for the Jewish people.’”
The moment resonated with Atlanta’s Jewish community as well. Alan Kitey’s son Harry is a sophomore for Emory, one of several Jewish players on the roster. Harry Kitey was recruited by Yeshiva but chose Emory, though he remains close with players on the opposing team.
His father saw the game as a rare moment of unity in a difficult time.
“It can feel like a broken world,” he said. “And this is a way to heal those scars.”
The game itself was tense early, and Yeshiva fans easily outnumbered the Emory faithful. But Emory — heavily favored — pulled away in the second half, grinding down the Maccabees.
For Jack Turell, just being part of the moment was enough. The former Yeshiva forward rushed in just hours before the game — so quickly he left his wallet behind in an Uber — but said he wouldn’t have missed it.
“I think ball trumps all,” he said. “You’re not going to get rid of antisemitism, or racism, or hatred. But basketball is a great escape. And for one afternoon, we can all come together and not worry about all those other things.”
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
