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Original Article Published On The JNS

Dr. John Frank plans to attend Ramah Sports Academy in Connecticut—helping in the medical field and maybe telling some stories that other field with the NFL.

Some nice Jewish boys become doctors. One nice Jewish boy became a doctor while also playing in the National Football League.

When campers at Ramah Sports Academy in Cheshire, Conn., visit the infirmary this summer, they will get more than Band-Aids, throat lozenges and TLC from Dr. John Frank. They may also hear stories from the nice Jewish boy who began his medical studies while playing tight end with Joe Montana on two NFL Super Bowl San Francisco 49ers teams from 1984 to 1989. Campers may also learn that Dr. Frank was a founder of the Israel bobsled team.

Adam Benson and Graham Parker of New York City were thrilled when they learned their football-loving son, who is attending Ramah Sports Academy for the first time, would cross paths with Frank. Adam reports, “Max lives for football, and we think it is awesome that Max will be cared for by a camp doctor who is also a former NFL player.”

Camp director Rabbi Dave Levy could not be happier with Frank joining his staff this summer. “I was speaking with a pediatrician from Columbus, Ohio, whose two sons go to camp, and he said, by the way, I have a friend who might be up for coming to camp.” Frank, who splits his time between his practice in New York and his home in Columbus, is a board-certified otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor), as well as a diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. He has treated more than 10,000 patients for hair loss and performed more than 2,500 hair transplants.

This summer, Frank, 59, will be attending camp along with his 12-year-old son, spending a week taking care of cuts and sprains, as well as oversee COVID-19 protocols. He will also coach flag football and share his wealth of stories about being a member of the NFL, sharing the importance of teamwork and his life as an observant Jew.

“I am excited to have him as a camp doctor and to use his football experience to create a positive experience for campers,” says Levy. “He will lead a multi-day flag-football experience and talk with the camp divisions about his NFL experiences, including what it was like being on a historic team in the 1980s and being Jewish in the NFL, and about whether it is worth the risk of playing football in its current form. I am excited to have the whole package; he is the embodiment of what our camp is about—Jewish life, sports and bringing those two things together!”

‘A strong legacy to uphold’

Frank grew up in Pittsburgh, attended Hebrew school and celebrated his bar mitzvah at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. He reports, “I was into and not into Hebrew school, but was very much into learning for the bar mitzvah.”

He refers to his father, Alan, as “a celebrated athlete and Pittsburgh Jewish sports legend,” saying he “was a fantastic basketball player in college at Carnegie Tech,” which later became Carnegie Mellon University, and “a strong legacy to uphold.”

When it came time for John to become involved with sports, his mother was lukewarm at best with his desire to play football. His parents and grandparents insisted on examining his peewee football equipment to ensure they provided adequate protection. “I think my mother was terrified by the whole experience,” he recalls.

At every stage of Frank’s sports career, he was aware of just how good an athlete his father was. He feels his father “had it” innately, while he was “only an average football player until my senior year of high school. It just seemed to click.”

Frank attended Ohio State University, majored in chemistry and published academic papers while still an undergraduate. He always planned on attending medical school, even while playing football for the prestigious Ohio State football team.

The starting tight end at Ohio State from 1981 to 83, as well as a two-time Academic All-American, he caught more passes than any other tight end in the school’s history; became the team’s most valuable player; and was selected as a member of the All-Century Ohio State Football Team and Ohio State’s Varsity Hall of Fame.

Then Frank was invited to attend “the Combine,” the NFL’s major recruiting event and tryout in 1984, but he declined so he could study for final exams. Much to his surprise, he was drafted in June 1984 in the second round of the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

‘You know you are different’

In “NFL Films Presents,” Frank recounts the funny, somewhat embarrassing story of the telephone call from the 49ers coach. “Bill Walsh drafted me in the second round. I never anticipated playing in the NFL, so I didn’t know who he was. When I was in college, I wasn’t following the NFL—I was a chemistry major on the way to medical school. When the phone rang, he said it was the head coach to say congratulations. The only Coach Welsch I knew was the coach of Army at the time [George Welch]. I said, ‘Hi, Coach Welsh. He said, ‘No John, Coach Walsh. See you when you get out here.’

When Frank arrived at training camp, he was unfamiliar with the 49ers organization and didn’t know much about players on the team, though said he “had heard [quarterback] Joe Montana’s name since he was from Western Pennsylvania where I was from.”

He caught on to the organization and the team’s playbook quickly. His first catch in the NFL was for a touchdown at the Meadowlands in New Jersey during a Monday Night Football game.

Frank wasn’t the only Jewish player on the legendary 49ers team, which consisted of players from various religious backgrounds. “Harris Barton, the all-pro tackle, was the other Jew. We bonded. We had something special. We had fun on the team.”

While Frank says that he never experienced any difficulties being Jewish and notes that at the professional level, “it is a business,” and everyone is focused on the job, he observes: “When you are a Jewish athlete in the NFL, you know you are different.”

In fact, he recounts a touching story of Coach Walsh’s sensitivity. When Walsh read a story about anti-Semitic graffiti on a local San Francisco synagogue, he reached out to his player. “He pulled me aside, said he heard about the graffiti and said if you need to talk about the impact it is having, we are here. He was very sensitive,” remembers Frank.

During Frank’s first NFL season, he mostly worked as a reserve tight as the team went 18-1 and defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. He saw limited action due to an elbow injury. By his fourth season, he became the starting tight end. In his fifth and final season, he played in Super Bowl XXIII. He caught two passes, including one thrown by Montana during the winning touchdown drive. Following the game and to the surprise of many, Frank announced his retirement to devote himself full-time to medical school. During his five-year pro career, he caught 65 passes for a total of 662 yards.

Frank earned his M.D. from Ohio State in 1992 and completed his training in Chicago. He then established a plastic surgery clinic in San Francisco, specializing in cosmetic facial plastic surgery and hair transplantation. The NFL film, “Why John Frank, M.D., Choose Medicine Over a Career in the NFL” featured on Frank’s professional website shows his gentle touch and playful banter with a patient who consults with him for an ear problem. He notes that on occasion, patients learn his “back story” and ask about his NFL career.

As for his involvement with the Israel bobsled team, Frank recounts that years ago, he and a friend “were on a ski chairlift and were talking about the Jamaican bobsled team. We got the idea for an Israel bobsled team. It developed organically. It was really special.”

Frank, who also holds Israeli citizenship, notes that the bobsled team made it to the world championships in the early 2000s.

For now, he is getting prepared for and even excited about Ramah, just as campers look forward to returning after a year of too much time inside. “I am looking forward to being outdoors in the summertime, to be with my son, and to be around Jews and sports.”

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Original Article Published On The JNS

The 21-minute work was shot in one take over the course of a single night. “Everyone said it was crazy,” recounts writer and director Tomer Shushan.

When Tomer Shushan had his bicycle stolen, the Israeli-born son of Moroccan Israeli immigrants went through a range of complicated emotions. Once he started the process of getting the bike back, he began to feel sorry for the alleged thief, called off the police, paid the immigrant who took it 250 shekels and still witnessed the man continuing to cry, afraid the police come for him.

“That I almost cost someone to lose [livelihood and possibly] his life, that’s what they experienced. I felt so bad that I didn’t want to have the bike anymore,” recalls Shushan. The 33-year-old graduate of Tel Aviv’s Minshar School of Art, Shushan turned his feelings into “White Eye,” a poignant 21-minute film he says he wrote in less than an hour, and later directed, about an Eritrean worker getting by in Israel and wrongly accused of stealing a bicycle from an Israeli man.

“Released in October 2019, the short film has appeared in and received awards at such festivals as the Warsaw Jewish Film Festival (Best Narrative Short), the Haifa International Film Festival (Best Short Film) and the 2020 SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival, where it was awarded Best Narrative Short. It is one of 15 films nominated in the Best Live Action Short category for the 93rd Academy Awards, which take place on April 25 at 8 p.m. EST at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Shushan, lead actor Daniel Gad (who plays Omer, based on and closely resembling the name of writer “Tomer”) and cinematographer Saar Mizrahi recently discussed the film at an exclusive screening hosted by Daniel Glass, founder and CEO of Glassnote Records, and his son, Sean Glass, a filmmaker who has also had careers in music, tech and clothing (@sdotglass). Daniel Glass, who has seen the film many times, opened by noting, “I am sobbing and crying at this point,” in reaction to the thought-provoking film, which premiered April 20 on HBO Max.

The film was shot in one take over the course of a single night between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. This means the movie was shot in its entirety multiple times. “Everyone said it was crazy,” recounts Shushan. “We believed it was the heart of the movie to do it in one take; it is just what we believed!” Despite his determination, Shushan playfully acknowledges that “until midnight, we had nothing, then magic. We got into the rhythm. We had six full takes and had to choose one before the sun came up.”

Much like Shushan’s painful personal stolen-bike story, lead actor Gad (Omer) spots his recently stolen bicycle in a run-down Tel Aviv neighborhood. He recognizes it due to a dent and a sticker his girlfriend had put on it and seeks ways to cut off the lock and reclaim it. Yunes, a black Eritrean immigrant on a break from his job in a nearby meat-packing plant, sees Omer and reports that he is the true owner of the bike, indicating that he paid 250 shekels for it. Two police officers respond and discover issues with Yunes’ visa, which could lead to possible deportation to his native country for him, his wife and their young child. Omer decides to withdraw money from a nearby ATM to pay for the bike. He returns to witness a painful surprise ending.

Gad, 31, is a well-known Israeli TV, film and theater actor. He served in the Israel Defense Forces Theater, studied acting at the Nissan Nativ acting studio in Tel Aviv, and has starred in the popular Israeli television sitcoms “Shababnikim” and “Galis.” He is currently starring in “Motel Bool BeEmtza,” has appeared in such movies as “The Damned,” and has performed in such plays as “Oliver” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

‘A story between two people’

As for his work on “White Eye,” Gad says “this was a very good challenge. It is the first time I did something like this. I really enjoyed the experience.”

Part of the experience involved not meeting Yunes until filming began. Shushan intentionally kept the actors apart until filming started.

Shushan also employed Eritreans who were not trained actors. “I met Dawit [Tekelaeb, who played Yunes] in the street when I saw him through the window of a hamburger restaurant washing dishes. I could see in his eyes he was so sad and not connected, so I approached him. He told me something—and I thought that the voice of immigrants should be non-actors and immigrants. Not everyone knows what it is like to wake in the morning and be illegal. So we used non-actors; they are the only ones who understand.”

Shushan also selected the title of the movie. “ ‘White Eye’ symbolizes blindness, which is what I feel the main character is in this moment; he is blind, and his vision comes back when he sees that his action causes harm to someone. This also happens from a white person’s eyes. The main issue is blindness, and how the Western world behaves toward refugees and immigrants.”

There are reportedly 40,000 to 80,000 migrants, illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers from Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia living in Israel with more than half living in the Tel Aviv area, mainly South Tel Aviv. The situation is politically and socially controversial, fraught for years with some locals complaining of a related increase in crime and rallying to move migrants out.

“I wrote [this film] because of the reality in Israel,” he says.

But he adds, “After it was in festivals, we understood it is a story about humans, about the international reality everywhere. It may have political aspects, but it is a story between two people—if one is more privileged, one can lose his life. There is no equality.”

The film raises important and timely issues about prejudice, racial bias, and the treatment of migrants and people of color.

The reality that Shushan has been nominated for an Oscar Award is slowly settling it.

“During this crazy year, it has been an amazing journey,” he says. “I am starting to believe. It is an amazing feeling you can’t put into words!”

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Original Article Published On The JNS

It comes as the Wizards are enjoying a six-game winning streak, the longest since 2017.

On Wednesday night, 2,133 lucky Washington Wizards fans saw their hometown team in person at the Capitol One Arena for the first time this season and for the first time in 407 days. They cheered as the Wizards defeated the Golden State Warriors 118-114 for their sixth win in a row and eighth in their last nine games. The fans also gasped as 20-year-old rookie forward Deni Avdija from Israel went down in pain just before halftime, grasping his right leg.

The 20-year-old Israeli had just gotten a defensive rebound and went up for a layup at the other end of the floor. Warriors player Andrew Wiggins blocked the layup, possibly fouling Avdija, who came down and landed unnaturally on his ankle. Teammate Jordan Bell observed the fall from the bench, ran out, took off his training jersey and covered Avdija’s leg. He left the court in a wheelchair.

Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard reportedly walked to the locker room immediately to check on the injured player. The team announced that Avdija would not return to the game. An X-ray revealed that Avdija reportedly suffered a hairline fracture and is expected to undergo an MRI exam on Thursday. He will be out for the remainder of the season but is not expected to need surgery.

Despite leaving the game, Avdija reportedly told his teammates that he was pleased with their win. The six-game winning streak is the Wizards’ longest since their seven straight victories from Jan. 23, 2017, to Feb. 4, 2017. Washington improved to 16-10 against the Western Conference this season. Bradley Beal finished with a game-high 29 points, going 11-11 from the free-throw line.

Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 27th triple-double of the season. He served as a mentor to Avdija this summer. Of his Hebrew-speaking charge, he reports: “He has been amazing. He has been great.”

He offered encouragement for his injured teammate, saying his “first reaction was to pray for him and for his mental health. We will get him through these tough times and be supportive.”

Daniel Gafford, recently acquired from the Chicago Bulls before the recent 2021 NBA trade deadline, had 19 points on 7-11 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and three blocks. He, too, is thinking about his injured teammate.

“Seeing a guy go down like that is scary. I felt his pain,” he said. Gafford acknowledged that it will be “a long road to recovery,” but feels “he will be in good hands.” He noted that “ankle injuries are one of the worst, especially being a rookie. It is just tough!”

Avdija had six points in 14 minutes before leaving the game. He has been averaging 23 minutes of playing time per game, and 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in his 31 starts this season.

Avdija is expected to remain in Washington, D.C., as he recovers and undergoes rehabilitation.

UPDATE: As of April 23, Avdija was diagnosed with a right fibular hairline fracture with no surgery required. He should be back at play in about 12 weeks, according to the team.

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Original Article Published On The JNS

Israeli-American pitcher Dean Kremer, 25, took to the mound in an Orioles-Yankees game that ended with a 7-2 win for the home team. Still, he now holds a place in the record books.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer holds the distinction of being the only Israeli to pitch at “The House That Ruth Built.”

After Tuesday night’s start against the Yankees in New York City, he reported that “pitching at Yankee Stadium felt pretty good. This time, it was better because there were fans. It was definitely an experience.”

After giving up a leadoff single to DJ LeMahieu, Kremer—the 25-year-old Israeli-American starting pitcher for Baltimore Orioles—was just as quickly knocked off the mound by an Aaron Judge line drive, which Yankees’ radio announcer John Sterling described as a “bullet up the middle” that “drilled him.” Announcer Suzyn Waldman observed that Kremer was “wincing.”

While Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and the team trainer were assessing Kremer’s ability to continue, Waldman shared the young player’s biography, which includes having two Israeli parents who served in the Israel Defense Forces, his spending summers in Israel and his having a history of pitching for Israel’s National Team. Waldman noted Kremer’s impressive record against the Yankees last year when he was called up by the Orioles at the end of the season.

“He had two terrific games against the Yankees,” said Hyde. In those two appearances, Kremer pitched 11 innings, gave up two runs and had 14 strikeouts.

Kremer’s impressive first season earned him a spot in this year’s starting rotation for the Orioles. He struck out seven batters in six innings pitched in his Major League debut last season at Camden Yards in Baltimore. He had 22 strikeouts in 18 innings, while also giving up 12 walks.

Dean Kremer speaking to the media after his start at Yankee Stadium. Source: Screenshot.

After Tuesday night’s scare, which Kremer reported “luckily got me in the meat and not in a bad spot,” he got back on his feet. “It got tight at first, then loosened. I just kept going.”

He struck out the next three batters and threw a total of 80 pitches before leaving with the Orioles trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning. Kremer gave up four walks, five hits and five strikeouts. The Yankees held on to win 7-2 behind starter Gerrit Cole’s 13 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings.

‘Being the first to do something is an incredible honor’

Born and raised in Stockton, Calif., Kremer pitched for the Team USA baseball team in the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a gold medal. In 2014 and 2015, he pitched for Israel in the qualifying rounds for the European Baseball Championship. Also in 2015, he became the first Israeli drafted by a Major League Baseball team; he was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 38th round but chose not to sign.

He was drafted again by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 MLB draft. He pitched in September 2016 in the qualifier for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The Dodgers traded him to the Orioles in 2018, where he led all Minor League pitchers in strikeouts.

Oon the mound for the Baltimore Orioles. Credit: Courtesy of Baltimore Orioles.

Cody Decker, who played for the San Diego Padres and various other Major League teams (mostly with Minor League affiliates) as well as for Team Israel, and is known for bringing the team’s mascot, “The Mensch on the Bench,” from the United States to Asia for the World Baseball Classic, is proud of his Team Israel teammate. “Dean is a great kid with a live arm and bright future—and when he grows it out, he has GREAT hair!”

Kremer is proud of his Team Israel experience and of being the first Israeli citizen in the MLB. “It means everything to me,” he said. “Just being the first to do something is an incredible honor.”

He noted that he values his time with Team Israel. “Being around those guys—the guys on the team were much older or a few years older—with Big League experience helped me get to where I am now. It was a pretty unbelievable experience.”

Peter Kurz, Israel Association of Baseball (IAB) President and general manager of Team Israel, loved having Kremer on the team and is “very excited to have Dean open up the season against the Yankees.”

Kurz, whose Team Israel is preparing for this July’s Tokyo Olympics (rescheduled from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic) added that “Dean is on Team Israel’s extended roster, but as a 26-man roster MLB player, he will not be eligible to play for us in the Olympics. We want to wish him the best of luck in the upcoming season and his career.”

Hyde said he is proud of his starter and sees great potential in the young player. “He pitched well and battled through. He threw a lot of pitches and ran out of gas in the fourth inning.”

Still, he said he is pleased that Kremer has four pitches, and admires his “starter mentality and toughness” and feels he “will continue to improve.”

Announcer Sterling pointed out that Kremer’s Yankee Stadium pitching debut took place on the same day in Yankees history when Jewish baseball player Ron Blomberg became the first designated hitter for MLB. On April 6, 1973, at Boston’s Fenway Park, Blomberg was walked by Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant with the bases loaded in the first inning. The bat he used now stands on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Baltimore Orioles Israeli-American pitcher Dean Kremer. Credit: Johnny Douglas/Baltimore Orioles.
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