Jared Armstrong is using basketball to help Israeli children escape the realities of war

(JTA) - Last summer, Jared Armstrong traveled from his adopted home of Israel back to the United States to confront a problem - running basketball clinics across the country in a bid to improve Black-Jewish relations.

Now, following Hamas' Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, the professional basketball player is bringing his clinics to the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, where he lives, aiming to provide kids with a diversion and a chance to have fun as the war continues to rage just miles away in Gaza.

He also hopes to give Israeli children evacuated from Gaza border communities a chance to get on...