Pictures Inside: Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl Speaks with Upper Schoolers About Advocating for Jews and Israel

The Upper School felt privileged to receive a visit from the famed Bruce Pearl, longtime college basketball coach and now staunch advocate for the Jewish people. He joined Ramaz through the organization Athletes for Israel, speaking about his journey and how his leadership is centered on his values.

How did he become the strong advocate he is today? Growing up, he was unable to attend Jewish school due to financial constraints. Because of this, he was the only Jewish child on his basketball team, always serving as the representative of the Jewish people and what being Jewish meant. He explained to Ramaz attendees that people are often unaware of what Israel and Judaism really are. Giving them the opportunity to learn about Jews and Israel in a positive light is powerful. For example, he recounted an experience when he was a coach and took his team to Israel to play in the Macabee Games. He described how rewarding it was to see the members return home from the trip as Zionists.

Coach Pearl highlighted that many people have given up fighting for Israel and the Jewish people, but that instead, “we need to be strong.” That morning, right before arriving at Ramaz, he was a guest on Fox and Friends to speak about the Israel Day Parade and his thoughts on the mayor’s refusal to attend. He explained that this is an example of how people uniquely single out Israel and use anti-Zionism as an excuse for their antisemitism. He emphasized that “the best way we can fight this is to just be the best, most achieving people we can be.” Jews cannot allow antisemitism to be an obstacle. For instance, Coach Pearl faced families who did not want their children to be coached by a Jew, but he never let it stop him from working hard and finding success. 

His advocacy for Israel has earned him backlash, but he has held firm. School and team leadership initially asked him not to wear merchandise from their organizations while he spoke out. However, he explained to Ramaz attendees that he rejected this request because being a Jew—and, inextricably linked with being Jewish, being a Zionist—is an identity that cannot be “taken off.”

To celebrate his dedication to wearing his Judaism and Zionism for all to see, he received his own Ramaz Israel Day Parade t-shirt, which is emblazoned with the words: “Proud American. Proud Zionist. Proud Ram.”

To see pictures and videos from the visit, please click here.