1. Aly Raisman & Amar’e Stoudemire Headed to the Maccabiah Games
Both gymnast Aly Raisman and NY Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire will be at the 19th annual Maccabiah Games in Israel this year, but not as competitors.
Raisman, an 18-year-old Jewish gymnast who won a gold medal for her floor routine at the 2012 Summer Olympics,will be at the Jewish Olympics as a special guest this year. The games’ chairman, Amir Pered, told journalists Raisman will be honored during the opening ceremony. Stoudemire, who has Hebrew heritage on his mother’s side, will be a part of Team Canada’s coaching staff, giving fans a reason to cheer for the coaches as well as the players!
This year’s event, which will take place July 17-30, is the largest in Maccabiah history, with approximately 8,600 athletes competing from 72 countries.
2. Barbra Streisand Schedules First-Ever Israel Performance
Barbra Streisand is preparing for her first-ever performance in Israel. The Jewish songstress is scheduled to sing at a celebration for Israeli President Shimon Peres’ 90th birthday.
Streisand will appear before an expected crowd of 4,500 for Peres’ annual Israeli Presidential Conference on June 18, which will also serve as a tribute for the leader’s milestone birthday. Streisand, a vocal supporter of Israel, has traveled to the Jewish state several times, but has never performed.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow Reveals Miscarriage
Gwyneth Paltrow revealed a heartbreaking miscarriage in The Mail’s “You Magazine” on Sunday. Paltrow, whose father is Jewish, did not say exactly when her pregnancy troubles occurred, but simply told the magazine, “I had a really bad experience when I was pregnant with my third. It didn’t work out and I nearly died.”
The 40-year-old actress is married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and the two have two children — Apple, 8, and Moses, 6. The star also recently told InStyle she was open to having more children, saying “My brain says, ‘Oh, I think I’m done, the kids are so big now, and I don’t want to go back to changing diapers — but a part of me would love to have another. Of course, I’m old now!”