ARTS AND CULTURE

Mariano Rivera

Former MLB player

Since his retirement from Major League Baseball in 2013, New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, who was unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, has been spending more time on his philanthropic activities. His personal foundation distributes more than $500,000 annually in the US and in Rivera’s native Panama through church-based institutions. A passionate supporter of Israel through his Christian faith, Rivera spoke in July 2019 about his deepening bond with the Jewish state and its people. “As a Christian, I understand that the chosen people of God is Israel — Jewish Israel,” Rivera said in an interview. "The country was made by Him. All the other countries were made by men. This country was built by Him for His people.” (Photo: Keith Allison on Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)