I had the honor of singing on the field as the New York Mets hosted Jewish Heritage Day at Shea Stadium in 2008 and more recently at Citi Field – both times with the a cappella group Six13. I have also written about subsequent Jewish Heritage Days, most recently when, in 2023, the Mets had Matisyahu perform while comedian Eitan Levine threw out the first pitch. You can’t put a price tag on witnessing the joy people have in seeing their heritage and culture being honored.
But now the Mets will not host a Jewish Heritage Night during the 2026 season, according to the team’s official promotional calendar.
Reactions were swift, with some saying it was an offense to our community to no longer have a Jewish Heritage Day and others saying it was not a big deal and there could be innocuous reasons. Quite a few mentioned that the Yankees do not have a tradition of Jewish Heritage Day, which is irrelevant because the issue is about stopping a tradition that already exists, not asking an organization to start a new one. It is believed that the Mets held the first day honoring Jewish Heritage in 1999. (Team materials show that the Mets have not held a Jewish heritage–themed promotion since 2023, yet the omission had gone unnoticed by the media.)
As part of the themed day, in cases where ballparks don’t already have kosher stands, they are sometimes brought in. Elan Kornblum, who runs the Great Kosher Restaurants Foodies Facebook Page, with more than 141,000 members, said he is aware that many Mets fans in his group were disappointed and wondered why the day was discontinued.
“It’s a shame,” he said, adding that it was necessary to hear from “someone in charge” at the Mets. He is a Yankees fan who has attended Mets games as well, and said he would go if Jewish Heritage Day were reinstated.
Interestingly, the Mets did host YU Day in 2024. Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, the university’s president, threw out the first pitch and the Maccabeats performed. And back in 2008, there was a Celebrate Israel Day on which Consul General of New York Asaf Shariv threw out the first pitch.
Is It Anti-Zionism?
On his Substack called “After October 7,” writer and journalist Kevin Deutsch wrote an article titled “Mets Exclude Jewish Heritage Night From 2026 Schedule in Latest Victory for Antizionists” which drew both praise and some criticism.
“I want to stress that the word antisemitism does not appear anywhere in this article, nor does that allegation,” Deutsch told The Jewish Press. “We are in the era of anti-Zionist bigotry, and the pressure being applied to Jewish-owned organizations and businesses to minimize outward signs of Jewish identity is immense. Positive Jewish representation in popular culture is more important today than it’s ever been, which is why this decision by the Mets is so troubling.”
Dov Hikind, a longtime New York Assemblyman who had served the 48th District and is the founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, said he believed that Jewish Heritage Day had been canceled due to fear of protestors.
“The idea that…the city of New York, with the largest Jewish population, [would] suddenly not have Jewish Heritage Day is cowardly,” Hikind told The Jewish Press. “I’m not surprised by anything anymore, but sadly, they know Jews won’t take a stand.”
Roni Raab, the longtime radio host of Shalom South Florida for more than three decades, created Jewish Heritage Day for the Miami Marlins, which is now called “Jewish Community Celebration.” He said ticket sales are a factor in team decisions about heritage nights, as well as the fact that they don’t want “problems.”
What About the Dodgers – Canceled Out of Left Field?
While it is unclear why it took three years for Jewish Mets fans to be upset, the same was not true for Jewish Dodgers fans.
Sam Yebri wrote an article in the Jewish Journal in 2024 expressing his disappointment with the Los Angeles Dodgers not having Jewish Heritage Day.
“It is deeply troubling that baseball teams in major cities are increasingly taking their sizable and loyal Jewish communities for granted,” Yebri told The Jewish Press. “Whether the reasons are political or not, it sends a hurtful message to members of the Jewish community, especially given the current historic spike in antisemitic violence and hate crimes nationally.”
Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles said he’s attended Jewish Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium numerous times with congregants and has even brought people of other religions as part of his interfaith collaborations. He said it was a great experience, and that he was disappointed the Dodgers had stopped it. Sherman is the host of the impressive podcast “Rabbi on the Sidelines” about the intersection of religion and sports, and his guests have included Jewish college coach Bruce Pearl and David Samson, past president of the Marlins, who is Jewish and hosts one of the best sports podcasts in America, “Nothing Personal.”
“If they have other heritage nights, they should have Jewish Heritage Night,” Sherman said, though he would not speculate on any reason.
But according to Rabbi Mark Blazer, the decision was nothing personal against Jewish fans.
“I was livid and protested, but it turned out it was a totally different reason than I thought,” Blazer told The Jewish Press.
After a controversy in June 2023 over the entertainmemt lineup for LGBTQ+ Pride Night, which sparked strong backlash from Catholic groups (and reportedly a letter by then-Senator Marco Rubio), the Dodgers decided to do away with religious-themed events, Blazer said, and that is why the teamed ceased Jewish Heritage Day.
Did the Phillies Cancel Because of a Protest?
Unlike the Mets and Dodgers, who took their events off the calendar in 2024, the first year after October 7, the Philadelphia Phillies did have Jewish Heritage Night in 2025. A video online shows a protest by Jewish Voice of Peace members at Citizens Bank Park claiming that Israel was committing a genocide. It is unclear if this protest impacted the decision to no longer have Jewish Heritage Night after that. A ticket rep also said it was not known why there was no Jewish Heritage Night this year.
Ben Mashioff said he’s enjoyed taking members of the Men’s Club of Shirat Hayam to Citizens Bank Park for Jewish Heritage Day as well as for other games, though he did not attend last year.
He said it was “mindboggling” that the Phillies would not have Jewish Heritage Day this year and thought it was possible that the JVP protest impacted the decision, but he could not be sure and was interested to hear what the official explanation would be.
12 of 30 MLB Teams Will Celebrate Jewish Heritage This Year
The Detroit Tigers had their event on April 12. The others to be held include the Chicago Cubs (May 6), the Washington Nationals (May 19), the San Diego Padres (May 26), the Baltimore Orioles (May 26), the Boston Red Sox (May 27), the San Francisco Giants (July 7), the Tampa Bay Rays (July 8), the Arizona Diamondbacks (August 9), the Miami Marlins (August 23), the Seattle Mariners (August 25), and the Kansas City Royals (September 8).
Notably, the Oakland A’s had a Jewish Heritage Day in 2024, which included bagels, but did not host one last year or this year.
The Grimace/Mamdani Superstition
In 2024, the McDonald’s mascot Grimace threw out the first pitch for the New York Mets and the team went on to win 10 of the last 12 games and reach the National League Championship Series that season. This season, on April 9, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hugged mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met; after that the Mets went on to lose 11 consecutive games through April 21, finally snapping their longest streak (12 games if you add the one before the now infamous hug) since 2002 with a win on Wednesday, April 22. (Of course, this was likely due to star Juan Soto being out due to injury and not a hug from anyone.)
Radio personality Sid Rosenberg, known as being a stalwart defender of Israel and a great fighter against antisemitism, recently proclaimed he was departing Mets fandom to become a Yankees fan. And while he said it would be “a stretch,” he wondered aloud if Mamdani had tried to convince Mets owner Steve Cohen not to have Jewish Heritage Day, as Cohen needed approval for his casino deal. Despite the fact that the approval was handled under the previous mayor, Eric Adams, who once went to Israel and visited the Kotel.
No Explanation Given
Ticket reps with the Mets and Phillies that I spoke with said they didn’t know why there was no Jewish Heritage Day. Calls to the Dodgers went unanswered. The teams have not made public statements explaining why the event has been taken off the calendar. Dodgers and Mets fans online expressed concern about not being given any reason by the teams.
The result is that there is a perception that Jewish fans are being slighted, despite what may or may not be the real reason or reasons. While it may seem silly to worry about a baseball game when Jews in Israel have been in bomb shelters and some have been killed, baseball has historically been a huge aspect of Jewish culture, from Sandy Koufax refusing to pitch on Yom Kippur to Team Israel doing surprisingly well in the World Baseball Classic some years ago.
Cohen, Dodgers owner Mark Walter, and Phillies owner John Middleton still have time to do the right thing and include Jewish Heritage Day on the calendar this season.