Unholy: Two Jews on the News

Jews and Football: a forgotten story - with David Bolchover

July 14, 2026·35 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

As football fans across the globe gear up for the World Cup final on Sunday, Jonathan talks to the author of a new book that uncovers a hidden story: the Jewish players who were once football’s biggest stars. David Bolchover reveals how it was Jewish footballers that dominated some of Europe’s best teams, reinventing much of the way the game is played - until they were brutally murdered in the Holocaust. Their phenomenal achievement has been all but forgotten, to the extent that many imagine “Jewish footballer” to be an oxymoron if not the punchline to a joke. Instead, it sheds light on an era of forgotten Jewish sporting glory - and the world that was extinguished in the Shoah   00:00 Introduction to Jewish Football History 03:08 The Role of Jews in Football Before the Holocaust 05:39 Zygmunt Sztoyanman: A Football Legend's Story 08:15 Josef Braun: The Hebrew Ronaldo 11:07 Political Affiliations of Jewish Football Clubs 13:57 The Evolution of Football Tactics and Jewish Influence 18:05 The Impact of the Holocaust on Jewish Footballers 19:11 Erasure of Jewish Football History 21:07 Legacy of Jewish Football in Modern Israel   💛 Become a friend of the pod:Patreon: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon🌐 Our website: https://unholy-podcast.lovable.app/📺 FOLLOW UNHOLYYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlvtS7As7WHh7YtmU5SMUQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unholypodcast/X: https://x.com/unholypodBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unholypod.bsky.social 🎧 LISTEN TO UNHOLYApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/unholy-two-jews-on-the-news/id1548441108Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m2UnLfiAyOehtF1bsv98W 🎙️ THE HOSTSYonit LeviInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonitleviofficial/X: https://x.com/LeviYonitLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonit-levi/Jonathan FreedlandInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanfreedland/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfreedland.bsky.social 📩 Contact: unholy@unholy-media.com🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/unholypod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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