Vikings owner sheds light on Kirk Cousins’ sympathies towards Israel

The Minnesota Vikings are notable among North American sports franchises in that they are owned by Jews—in their case, Polish-descended Holocaust survivors Zygi and Mark Wilf. And their former franchise quarterback, Kirk Cousins, has a great appreciation for Jews.

“We did have some conversations and bond about Israel. He spent a semester in high school in Israel. He knew it very well. His father is a preacher. Kirk himself is a man of faith, it’s (a) religious family and Israel is very much of a state of mind," Mark said on the Kosher Pigskin podcast.

"In fact, whenever we see him, with this situation in Israel over the years where he's always extending sympathy and asking how things are over there. So it's very much on his mind as someone who's a religious person.”

Cousins himself has talked about liking Jewish things before, saying in a message to the Jewish Student Union:

"I take very seriously the Torah, the word of God. I believe it’s an inherent word of God that is meant to be followed and if followed, enables us to live life the way it was meant to be lived.

“I find myself constantly wanting to get around Jewish people because of how sharp they are, how funny they are [and] how successful they are. And I say, ‘These people know how to do life. They know how to do it right.’”

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Mark Wilf discusses Vikings' move for J.J. McCarthy in 2024 Draft

Speaking of Kirk Cousins, his time in Minneapolis ended in March, when he joined the Atlanta Falcons in free agency for four years and $180 million.

This necessitated finding a new franchise quarterback, which eventually led the Vikings to Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, on whom they used the tenth overall pick at last month's draft.

In the same interview, Mark Wilf described the process of the decision:

"We were constantly, for weeks before and months, talking about all the scenarios. And there were some surprises - as always, gonna be one or two surprises - but by and large we stuck to our plan.

"We were thrilled to get JJ McCarthy; we moved just the one spot just to make sure, and we're happy we did that."

The Vikings also had the 17th overall pick, which they used for edge rusher Dallas Turner.