No. 50: Deni Avdija, Matt Turner, Zach Hyman, Oscar Gloukh, and Daniel Peretz

Few arenas provide a more powerful global platform than professional sports. Every night, athletes compete in front of millions of fans, with their performances transcending borders, languages, and cultures.

For the Jewish people, whose presence in many of the world’s biggest sporting leagues remains relatively small, those who reach the highest levels can become particularly meaningful representatives of Jewish and Israeli achievement.

That makes it impossible to look at the current sporting landscape without recognizing five athletes who, in very different ways, have helped put Jewish and Israeli talent in the international spotlight: Deni Avdija, Matt Turner, Zach Hyman, Oscar Gloukh, and Daniel Peretz.

Their stories are different.

Turner is an American goalkeeper who discovered his Jewish roots as an adult and carried them with him into the highest levels of international soccer.

Hyman has emerged as one of the NHL’s premier Jewish players while speaking openly about his identity and fighting antisemitism.

Gloukh is one of Israel’s brightest young soccer talents, developing his game at one of Europe’s most historic clubs.

And Peretz has established himself as an Israeli goalkeeper in the European spotlight, after moving from Bayern Munich to Southampton.

Together, they represent a new generation of Jewish athletes who are not merely participating at the highest levels, but making an impact.

For Avdija, 2026 was a breakthrough year unlike anything an Israeli basketball player had experienced before.

The Portland Trail Blazers forward became the first Israeli ever selected for an NBA All-Star Game, capping a remarkable transformation from a promising teenager at Maccabi Tel Aviv to an established NBA star.

Avdija finished the 2025/26 season averaging 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game, earning his first All-Star selection after taking his game to an entirely different level.

But his significance extends well beyond the numbers. He has increasingly found himself representing Israel and the Jewish people at a time when doing so has become more complicated.

He has spoken openly about experiencing antisemitism while also making clear that he is proud to represent Israel.

In March, he shared the court with fellow Israelis Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf in a historic NBA game that featured three Israeli players – a moment of profound significance for Jewish and Israeli fans around the world.

Turner offers a very different Jewish sports story.

The New Jersey-born goalkeeper was already an established American international and a Premier League veteran when he discovered documents revealing his paternal great-grandmother’s escape from Lithuania during the Holocaust.

In 2026, Turner became the only Jewish player on the United States’ World Cup roster, giving him a unique place in the biggest soccer tournament on the planet.

The goalkeeper entered the tournament with 53 USMNT appearances and 27 international clean sheets, having already starred at the 2022 World Cup.

Even while facing competition for the starting position, Turner embraced the opportunity to represent his country – and, in his own way, his Jewish heritage – in front of a worldwide audience.

Then there is Hyman, perhaps the most outspoken Jewish voice among today’s elite North American athletes.

The Edmonton Oilers winger is not simply one of the NHL’s leading Jewish players; he has made his Jewish identity an important part of who he is. A graduate of a Jewish high school in Toronto and a gold medalist with Canada at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, Hyman wears No. 18 in part because of its Jewish significance – chai, meaning life.

His impact is both on and off the ice. Hyman has spoken publicly against antisemitism, participated in Jewish community events, and refused to retreat from his identity even when doing so has invited criticism.

His grandparents were Holocaust survivors, giving his advocacy an intensely personal dimension.

On the ice, meanwhile, he continues to produce at an elite level. In 2025/26, he scored 31 goals and recorded 52 points in 58 games for Edmonton.

The 22-year-old Israeli attacking midfielder has already established himself in European soccer, first with Red Bull Salzburg and now with Ajax, one of the continent’s most storied clubs.

Gloukh’s 2025/26 campaign in the Netherlands produced six goals and six assists in league play, while he also scored three Champions League goals.

Born in Rehovot and raised in Israel, Gloukh progressed through the Israeli system before taking the next major step abroad.

His creativity, technical ability, and willingness to take responsibility in the final third have made him one of Europe’s most closely watched young Israeli players.

At just 22, he remains a work in progress, but his presence at Ajax provides another reminder that Israeli talent can compete for places at some of the world’s most prestigious clubs.

Although opportunities were limited in Munich, Peretz’s determination ultimately paid off. After moving to Southampton on loan during the second half of the 2025/26 season, he established himself as the club’s No. 1 and made 26 appearances before completing a permanent move to England in June.

Peretz’s journey is significant because it shows that success is not always about arriving at the biggest club and immediately becoming a star. Sometimes it is about perseverance, finding the right opportunity, and proving yourself when that opportunity arrives.

His move to Southampton gives him a platform to continue developing while remaining an important figure for the Israeli national team.

What connects these five athletes is not simply that they are Jewish, Israeli, or playing professional sports. It is that each has reached a level where their performances are watched far beyond their immediate teams and leagues.

Avdija is making history in the NBA. Turner represented the United States at the World Cup. Hyman has become a powerful Jewish voice in the NHL. Gloukh is developing at Ajax. Peretz is establishing himself in English soccer, after gaining invaluable experience at Bayern Munich.

For a community that has historically been underrepresented in the upper reaches of professional sports, their collective presence matters.

They demonstrate excellence in different ways, come from different backgrounds, and have different relationships with their Jewish identities. Yet each, knowingly or not, contributes to a larger story: Jews and Israelis belong in the world’s biggest sporting arenas – not as a novelty, but as competitors, stars, and leaders.

Perhaps that is their greatest impact of all. They are showing the next generation that there is no ceiling on what Jewish and Israeli athletes can achieve – and making excellence, visibility, and pride part of the expectation rather than the exception.