‘You made me the greatest’: Muhammad Ali’s beloved cornerman was Jewish
Drew Brown was known as the heavyweight champ’s personal poet, penning ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’
Muhammad Ali
The Latest
-
Sports -
Culture The secret Jewish history of Muhammad Ali
Editor’s Note: The boxer and civil rights icon Muhammad Ali, who died on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74, would have turned 78 today. On this occasion, we return to this story about the champ’s complex relationship with the Jewish people. Muhammad Ali was accused of having “frequently clashed with the Jewish people.”…
-
Community What The NFL Players Refusing A Trip To Israel Can Learn From Muhammad Ali
On February 5, 2017 the Times of Israel published a piece discussing an upcoming “Stars of the NFL trip” to Israel, organized apparently by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, to include a number of NFL stars, among them, Michael Bennett, a star defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks. Shortly after the publication of this article, the…
-
Culture My Father Was the Greatest Champ of All Time
On the night of March 8th 1971, Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier for the heavyweight boxing championship at Madison Square Garden in what was billed as the Fight of the Century. My father, who I idealized when I was a boy, was an Ali fan. As an 8 year old at that time, my view…
-
Breaking News Rabbi Slams Donald Trump — and Israel — in Muhammad Ali Funeral Speech
(JTA) — Cassius Clay won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics when he was 18 years old. Speaking to the media in the Italian capital, he talked up his love of country. Then, he returned to his native Louisville, Kentucky, and instead of a hero’s welcome, the boxer encountered segregation and derision, an experience that would…
-
Culture Muhammad Ali and Jewish Doctor’s Friendship Started With Fight to End Parkinson’s
Abraham Lieberman had been Muhammad Ali’s doctor for a decade when in 1994 he came up with the idea of creating an institute for Parkinson’s, the disease he diagnosed Ali with in 1984, and implored the three-time world champion boxer for help. Lieberman called Ali to ask if he would lend his name to the…
-
Breaking News Rabbi Michael Lerner Will Speak at Muhammad Ali Funeral
— Liberal American Rabbi Michael Lerner has been invited to speak at boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s funeral. “I am deeply humbled and honored to be invited to speak at Muhammad Ali’s funeral,” Lerner, the editor of Tikkun Magazine, wrote on Facebook. “It has been several decades since I worked with Muhammad Ali in the peace…
-
The Schmooze Muhammad Ali Remembered and Honored as Humanitarian
Muhammad Ali — assisted by his wife Lonnie — mounted the stage at the November 9th 2006 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Inaugural Double Helix Medal Dinner at New York’s Mandarin Oriental and delivered a heartfelt plea for the support for research to help “rid the world of Parkinson’s disease!” Then Emcee co-host of NBC’s “Today…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News Your complete guide to Trump’s Jewish advisers and pro-Israel cabinet
- 2
Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
- 3
Fast Forward Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments
- 4
Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
In Case You Missed It
-
News What Mike Huckabee’s ‘Kids Guide to Israel’ says about his views
-
Opinion I’m a rabbi in Columbus. Here’s my answer to the neo-Nazis
-
BINTEL BRIEF My classmate won’t shut up about Israel and is spreading antisemitic conspiracies. What do I do?
-
Opinion The International Criminal Court wants to arrest Netanyahu. Its own legitimacy is on the line.
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
