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Floyd Mayweather Visits Jewish Summer Camp for Children Battling Cancer, Brings Message of Resilience
Floyd Mayweather with campers at Camp Simcha. Photo: Screenshot
Undefeated former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather visited a Jewish summer camp in Glen Spey, New York, last week that is organized for children battling cancer and chronic illnesses.
The retired 50-0 boxing champion, 47, stopped by Chai Lifeline’s Camp Simcha and put on a boxing demonstration in a specially built ring that featured the message “Knock out cancer.” He also trained with kids at the camp and even helped campers lace up their boxing gloves before entering the ring.
Chai Lifeline shared a video from Mayweather’s visit to the camp, which serves 480 children every summer, and said he also gave “motivational talks” and “engaged in activities that lifted the spirits of the brave children.”
“This is by far one of the best camps in the world,” Mayweather said at one of the activities he participated in while visiting the camp on July 31. “This is an unbelievable camp. I hear about this camp all the time. There is nothing like the bond that you guys have … I’m proud of you all.”
“I want everybody in this room to stay positive, have great energy,” he added. “These special children need our support, need our help. We need to stand behind them and help them and let them know that they’re great and they can do anything. Anything is possible.”
Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Floyd Mayweather to Camp Simcha. Our children are fighters in their own right, battling illness year-round. Floyd’s visit was truly special and inspiring for them. He is a champion both in and out of the ring, and we thank him for giving our campers an experience they will never forget.”
After the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, Mayweather used his private jet to deliver food, bulletproof vests for Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers, medical equipment, and other supplies to Israel. He expressed solidarity with Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks and has also donated a fleet of “medicycles” to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national ambulance and disaster-relief organization.
The former boxer visited the Jewish state in November 2022 and also earlier this year, when he received the Champion for Israel award at the Dan Family Aish World Center in Jerusalem for supporting Israel and speaking out against hate and antisemitism. He was also awarded the Lifesaving Award from United Hatzalah, Israel’s volunteer-based medical emergency organization, for his delivery of equipment to help Israel during the ongoing war with Hamas.
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French Police Arrest Man Suspected of Attempted Arson Against Synagogue
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire in front of the city’s synagogue, in La Grande-Motte, France, August 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Manon Cruz
French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said earlier, adding that the attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.
BFM TV said the suspect was a 33-year-old Algerian. Local police declined to give details.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which was put in charge of the investigation, said early on Sunday that a suspect had been arrested in Nîmes on Saturday evening.
“Before the police could intervene, (the suspect) opened fire on the (police), which returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people were taken into custody.
A policeman was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning, Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After visiting the synagogue, Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.
Local media reported earlier that the suspect had set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
Police protection of synagogues, and Jewish schools and shops would be stepped up across France, the government said.
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza.
Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media said the suspect had been seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.
“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said on X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.
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‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters/Aziz Taher
i24 News – A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the jihadist group does not wish that its rocket and drone attack against Israel early in the morning should trigger a regional war and, as far as it is concerned, the “first phase” of the attack is over.
The official said the group took time to retaliate for the assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr last month due to “political considerations,” chiefly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist did not elaborate as to why the group decided to launch its attack despite the still-ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The official stressed the Shiite militia had “worked” to make sure its response to the July 30 assassination would not trigger a full-scale war.
Hezbollah launched over 320 rockets & drones at Israel, responding to the killing of terrorist Fuad Shukr
But before the strike, the IDF preemptively hit thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon
Here is everything you need to know, including the latest safety instructions: pic.twitter.com/FyHik3aeIz
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 25, 2024
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Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad speaks to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, Syria August 25, 2024. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.
“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.
“The solution is openness,” Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”
The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.
A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.
Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.
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