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American-Israeli Olympic Gold Medalist Amit Elor Says She Faces ‘Cruel, Vicious Antisemitism’ for Israel Support
Amit Elor of the United States celebrates winning gold against Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan in the women’s freestyle 68kg wrestling finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Aug. 6, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Arlette Bashizi
American-Israeli wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Amit Elor talked about facing severe backlash for her outspoken support for Israel to a crowd of thousands of people who attended a pro-Israel rally at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, on Sunday.
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Elor, 20, won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle wrestling 68-kg finals. She became the youngest wrestler in the history of the US to win a gold at the Olympics and a first-time Olympic medal winner. The win extended Elor’s five-year winning streak, and she also became the third woman from the US to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling, as well as the youngest woman from the US to win any medal in wrestling at the Olympics.
Elor addressed the crowd on Sunday at the pro-Israel rally “Stand Together — An Event of Unity, Strength, and Resilience.” She began by talking about being “so proud” of her Israeli heritage and her connection to the Jewish state. Both her parents are Israeli, and Elor spent her summers in Israel as a youngster, visiting her grandmother in Ashkelon. She also trained with young Israeli wrestlers during those summers in Israel, and said they welcomed her with open arms.
The athlete told the audience that following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel, she voiced support on social media for the Jewish state and received a lot of online hate for it. “There was no question it was what I had to do,” Elor said of publicly speaking out in support of Israel, “but I wasn’t prepared for all the hate I’d get for it.”
“Cruel messages, vicious antisemitism,” she said. “It’s not always easy to be publicly proudly Jewish on the internet. That took strength too.”
Elor further noted that although she competed in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris for Team USA, she felt like she had the support of Israel throughout the entire competition.
“Just like when I was a kid in Ashkelon, Israel embraced me again. I wrestled for Team USA. I can hardly even speak Hebrew. And yet, I learned that the whole country had my back,” she explained. “Israeli TV channels came to interview me. Israeli followers cheered for me on social media, and when I won the gold medal, the Israeli Olympic team was the first to invite me to dinner.”
“When I think of all those friendships, all those messages of encouragement, it reminds me that there is strength in unity,” she added. “I want other young Americans to know: Yes, the hate we experience for speaking out hurts, but we must speak out anyway. Because when each of us raises our voice; when we are brave; when we stand up to be counted; and when we do it together, we all become even stronger. As they say in Israel today — Yachad Ninatze’ach, together we will win!”
Sunday’s pro-Israel rally including speeches by a number of political figures, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, US Sen. Joni Erst (R-IA), and and US Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to the crowd virtually. The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations hosted the event at Nationals Park, which is home to the Washington Nationals baseball team, in partnership with dozens of other national and local organizations.
Grammy-nominated Israeli artist Idan Raichel was the headlining act with his band, the Idan Raichel Project, and the event also featured performances by Hasidic singer Shulem Lemmer, who led a prayer for soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, Palestinian artist Luai Ali, violinist Ada Pasternak, and accordion virtuoso Cory Pesaturo.
Jewish stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish headlined the event. In her opening remarks, she talked about her personal journey to discovering she has Jewish roots and having a sense of “family” among Jews, despite their different backgrounds.
“When I first started working bar and bat mitzvahs years ago as a hype dancer, I never imagined that I’d be standing here today. But that’s the beautiful thing about life and being Jewish: the path isn’t always straight, but it leads home,” said the Emmy and Grammy-winning comedian.
“Judaism embraces all of us — every background, every color, every story,” she added. She then discussed the reason for the gathering in Washington’s Nationals Park — to show support for Israel amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the 101 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity, and to unite against antisemitism plaguing Jews around the world.
“Right now we are living through one of the hardest chapters of our story,” Haddish added. “But like so many of you, I learned early that life’s hardest moments can lead to our greatest strengths. From foster care to homelessness, to finding my truth, both as an artist and as a Jew, that’s why what we’re doing here matters.”
“When I discovered my Jewish roots, I learned about all these different kinds of Jews – Israelis, Americans, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox … we are like the original extended family complete with the arguments about who makes the best matzah balls,” she said. “But that’s the beauty of it. Unity isn’t about agreeing on everything. It’s about standing together when it matters most and right now, it matters more than ever.”
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
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