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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.”
The post American-Israeli Olympic Gold Medalist Amit Elor Says She Faces ‘Cruel, Vicious Antisemitism’ for Israel Support first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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