Bethlehem Shoals

Bethlehem Shoals is a founding member of FreeDarko.com. He has contributed to GQ, Salon, and Slate. Follow him on Twitter @freedarko.

Building Social Justice in the Pacific Northwest
In Portland, a gap-year program for high-school graduates connects Jewish learning and community service
byBethlehem Shoals
Identity Politics on the Court, Part 2
‘David Blatt is a reminder that when you invoke one form of Jewish identity you, to some degree, invoke them all’
byBethlehem Shoals
Identity Politics on the Court
‘Where does David Blatt end and Jewishness begin?’
byBethlehem Shoals
’Twas the Night Before Holiday
Don’t pretend Christmas isn’t Christmas. It’s an opportunity to shore up who we are as Jews.
byBethlehem Shoals
Jump-Shot Jews
Neal Pollack’s novel Jewball re-imagines the prewar era when Jews ruled pro basketball and Nazism threatened to gain an American foothold
byBethlehem Shoals
Hammer Time: Al Rosen (1924–2015)
For a few glorious years, Al Rosen was the next Hank Greenberg. But his career ended prematurely, thanks to physical injuries, mental slumps—and Hank Greenberg.
byBethlehem Shoals
Make Some Noise
Nadav Samin was a nice Jewish boy in Brooklyn who made it big at a key moment in hip-hop history and then walked away to take up Middle East studies. Now it turns out he never really left rap behind.
byBethlehem Shoals
Court Jew
NBA coach and commentator Jeff Van Gundy is not Jewish, but his brainy banter, nebbishy looks, and nervous intensity have led fans to think otherwise
byBethlehem Shoals
City Game
The New York Knicks, headed to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, were once pro sports’ most Jewish franchise, thanks to a smooth and balanced style of play today’s team has abandoned
byBethlehem Shoals
King David: Stern’s 30-Year NBA Reign Comes to a Close
Commissioner David Stern made the NBA the world’s most popular sports league by running it with a stereotypically Jewish collection of traits: humor, cutthroat deal-making, and focus on the bottom line
byBethlehem Shoals