{"id":276206,"date":"2025-10-04T03:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T03:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/276206\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T03:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T03:46:12","slug":"nets-israeli-rookies-keeping-focus-on-nba-debuts-as-war-in-gaza-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/276206\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets’ Israeli rookies keeping focus on NBA debuts as war in Gaza continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

With rookies Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf<\/a>, the Nets became the first NBA team with two Israelis on the roster.<\/p>\n

That means Saturday\u2019s tilt vs. Hapoel Jerusalem isn\u2019t just the preseason opener, but likely to attract added attention, for better or worse.<\/p>\n

With some angered by Israel\u2019s ongoing war in Gaza, there is a chance for protests or demonstrations outside Barclays Center. But both Wolf and Saraf will look to block out any distractions and focus on making their NBA debuts successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I mean, that\u2019s all it\u2019s about. It\u2019s keeping the main thing, the main thing,\u201d Wolf replied to a question from the Post. \u201cI only can control what I can control, and I don\u2019t have any say or thought as to really what\u2019s going to happen outside of the game. And I\u2019ll leave that to be, and I\u2019ll just focus on the game as best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

This marks the second time Brooklyn will host an Israeli team in the last three years, with Saraf saying he knows a number of their players.<\/p>\n

Wolf, 21, holds both U.S. and Israeli passports. Saraf, 19, was born in South Africa but raised in Israel. Neither have served in the Israeli military, though sources told the Post that the latter\u2019s sister does.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that ongoing military action on the other side of the world \u2014 and the presence of an Israeli team in Barclays \u2014 that could conceivably spark some protests outside the building.<\/p>\n

\"DannyDanny Wolf speaks to the media during Brooklyn Nets Media Day at Brooklyn Nets HSS Training Center on September 23, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do expect some,\u201d one highly-placed Nets source familiar with their security apparatus told the Post. \u201cWe\u2019re approaching the game like any other preseason event, but are prepared for any disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Israel pushes further into Gaza, the UN Human Rights Commission declared that they\u2019ve committed genocide, and international sporting bodies are mulling banning Israeli teams. <\/p>\n

\"BenBen Saraf speaks to the media during Brooklyn Nets Media Day at Brooklyn Nets HSS Training Center on September 23, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n

With President Donald Trump having given Hamas until Sunday to accept his peace plan or face \u201call Hell,\u201d they agreed to some parts on Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rookie Drake Powell, who was set back by knee tendinopathy, won\u2019t play against Hapoel Jerusalem but is expected to debut next week at the NBA China Games in Macau, either Oct. 10 or 12.<\/p>\n

Egor Demin is still working up towards contact drills and coach Jordi Fernandez was noncommittal about the lottery pick\u2019s timeline as he recovers from a tear in his plantar fascia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With rookies Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, the Nets became the first NBA team with two Israelis on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":276207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[49222,3124,99,373,1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-276206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-barclays-center","9":"tag-brooklyn-nets","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-israel-hamas-war","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115313848228631979","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}