The Jewish Chronicle

“If I were a Tottenham player, I’d also aim to join a club where I’d be in the starting lineup, that’s the goal. A player’s career is short, and after eight years in Europe, Manor wants to make an impact.

“I think, without any personal bias, he has to play. He has a place at Tottenham, but some people think otherwise.

"He was also quite successful last year at Fiorentina, aside from a month and a half of bad luck and injury. I’m sure he’ll continue; he just needs the spot he deserves.

"West Ham are a huge club; Yossi Benayoun and Eyal Berkovic were there, too.”

Ben-Ezra added that Solomon is in “high demand” and that “many teams like him because he’s a good player and a good person”.

"Manor wants to play and be a key player. I believe that will happen in the coming days. I believe he’ll be playing in England next year, it’s very likely,” he concluded.

Solomon, who began his career at Maccabi Petah Tikva, joined Spurs in 2023 fresh from a loan season at Fulham while signed to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.

He has spent the past two seasons on loan, however, first to Leeds followed by a year split between Villarreal and Fiorentina. From a Sephardic family, he holds a Portuguese passport, which he uses to play in Europe more readily.

There are a number of reasons for this. The main one, of course, is geography. Growing up in Ilford as so many of us did, Orient’s Brisbane Road ground was just three or four stops down on the Central Line. When I was too young to go to Spurs away games, I would go to Orient when my team was away. So, too, did friends of mine who supported Arsenal (and yet they were and are still friends of mine – beggars can’t be choosers) and even Hammers – in their case the football was probably better than they were used to.

Back then Orient’s Jewishness was underlined by being ‘the cab driver’s second team’ as the up to a third of London’s cabbies were Jewish and around half of them were said to live in Redbridge and many more in other parts of north London and if they weren’t going to go south of the river to take a fare home then they certainly weren’t going there for football.

Another reason is rivalry. Rarely have Arsenal or Spurs had to play Orient competitively, at least not in living memory. A couple of cup games including a semi-final or two against Arsenal and a brief, one season stay in the seventies when both Spurs and Orient were in the old Second Division.

Orient has also been a welcoming place for Jewish football fans going back decades. There was a time West Ham could seem intimidating to Jews in the days when skinheads sold copies of the National Front magazine Bulldog outside Upton Park and Dagenham and Redbridge didn’t even exist.

The Os also have an enviable record of British-born Jewish players over their history, perhaps the best known to my generation (I’m 62 but look much older – I blame Spurs) being Bobby Fisher, Mark Lazarus and Barry Silkman.

Last year Orient set up a Jewish supporters’ club – the MeshuganOs – among the founders were Eddie Gershon and Jonathan Glass who, coincidentally, went to both the same primary and secondary school as me. Lazarus and Fisher are among the patrons.

Orient’s kitman, Ada Martin, is also one of the patrons. Speaking on the club’s website (leytonorient.com/news/2023/november/16/MeshuganOs-officially-launched-by-Leyton-Orient/) , he said: “Like my fellow Jewish supporters, I love Leyton Orient and am proud of its connections with the Jewish community.”

Eddie Gershon added: “If you ask football fans which club is most associated with its Jewish supporters, the answer will likely be Spurs. While it is true that Spurs has always been the favoured club for a large number of Jewish fans, we believe that Leyton Orient runs it pretty close, and as a percentage of its overall support, the O’s might well be one of the, if not the best-supported club amongst the Jewish community in England.

Is there anything more Jewish that reaching a zenith of joy before descending into the nadir of despair within just a few days?

“The club’s association with the Jewish community goes back decades. When Orient were Clapton Orient and played at Millfields, large swathes of the Jewish community resided in Hackney, Stamford Hill, and Stoke Newington as well as the East End. These locations were a couple of miles (in the case of Hackney, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington) away from the ground, with the East End (places like Whitechapel) less than four miles away.

“As a result, the Os were the local club for tens of thousands of Jewish people and many of them chose to support the team. That support passed on through the families and it is fair to say that the movement of the Jewish community in the 1950s onwards to areas including Gants Hill, Redbridge, Barkingside, Newbury Park only buoyed that support.”

Jonathan Glass commented: “The Os have also had a number of Jewish players including Mark Lazarus, Dave Metchick, Bobby Fisher, Barry Silkman and Scott Kashket, who between them played almost 650 games for the Os.

One thing I am very proud of is that in all of the years of coming to Brisbane Road, I have never experienced any antisemitism

“Two of the club’s most high-profile chairmen, Harry Zussman and Brian Winston were also Jewish. One thing I am very proud of (and I am sure it is the same for my fellow Jewish supporters) is that in all of the years of coming to Brisbane Road, I have never experienced any antisemitism.”

The past couple of weeks have seen a typically up and down period for both Spurs and Orient fans. For us it was the elation of winning our first trophy in 17 years and for Orient it was getting to the League One play off final at Wembley. Then on Sunday we lost 4-1 at home to Brighton and Orient lost 1-0 to Charlton.

Is there anything more Jewish that reaching a zenith of joy before descending into the nadir of despair within just a few days?

“May the 59 hostages be home soon,” she said. “Gali and Ziv Berman are very close friends of mine. I hope they bring them home today.”

Addressing the crowd, Emily said: “Thank you to everyone for praying for and shouting my name without knowing me. Thank you, I don’t have the words to say how much I am thankful for. All of you are amazing and I hope Spurs are going to win today.

"Am Yisrael Chai. I am home finally. With you it is more than home, it is like family," Emily said.

The crowd chanted the words they had been waiting months to say: "She’s one of our own, she’s one of our own, Emily Damari, she’s finally home."

There were tragic reminders that there are still many hostages in Hamas captivity. As well as posters for the remaining 59 hostages, and the balloons in their name, the crowd heard from Asi Sharabi, the second cousin of hostage Alon Ohel, a 24-year-old talented pianist.

Asi revealed that for the first 491 days of Alon’s captivity, there had been no word of his survival. Only with the release of fellow hostage Eli Sharabi on day 492 did the family receive their first sign of life.

According to testimonies from released hostages, Alon is “wounded, chained and has lost sight in one eye.” Asi called for the “strongest international pressure” to end the war and urged supporters in Britain to write to their MPs, attend vigils, and share Alon’s story.

Emily’s presence had a clear impact on those gathered and many were emotional.

Community organiser Itai, from Stop the Hate, thanked the “poster fairies” who plastered London with hostage posters and addressed Emily directly: “You become a symbol for all hostages, a story that touched the nation. We are inspired by your strength and resilience.

“Today your presence gives us hope for the remaining 59 hostages still waiting for freedom, including Ziv, Gali and Olan. We stand together with one voice: release the hostages now, let our people go.”

Speaking to the JC, Itai added: “It is a special moment because it is the climax of a very long campaign. It is an amazing sensation when a plan comes together.”

He went on: “I didn’t dare dream of this possibility. In the back of your head, that’s the best-case scenario — but we’re Jews. We plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

Another activist, Michelle, said she had been campaigning outside Parliament for Emily and the other hostages and was visibly moved by seeing Emily. “We came today to support and to show Emily our love and how happy we are that she has been released. Seeing her was amazing and overwhelming.”

Local supporter Jeremy Wootliff, who started the Spurs campaign for Emily and wrote a chant in her name to the tune of the Harry Kane song, told the JC: “I saw that Emily is British and most people in Britain didn’t know she was in a terror tunnel with the monsters of Hamas.”

Seeing her at Spurs, he said, “meant the world.”

Before heading into the stadium, where she sat in a private box and met Spurs midfielder James Maddison and club legends Gary Mabbutt, Ossie Ardiles and Ledley King, Emily bent down to stroke a small dog in the crowd.

Emily thanks the community who prayed for her

The day before the match, Emily was the guest of honour at Highgate United Synagogue, which had “adopted” her during her captivity. For months, an empty chair had been left in her name. On Shabbat, that chair was finally filled.

Some 400 people packed into the shul – more than attend on the High Holy Days – to welcome Emily. As she entered, the congregation rose to their feet in a prolonged and spontaneous standing ovation.

Though she had not been expected to speak, Emily asked to address the community from the bimah, thanking Highgate for their support and prayers. She also thanked her mother and brothers for their tireless work to bring her home.

Emily revealed that during captivity, she and fellow hostages had access to a small siddur, which they used daily. She then led the community in prayer.

Her mother Mandy – a British-born kindergarten teacher who became one of the most visible faces of the families’ campaign – also spoke and was introduced by Rabbi Nicky Liss as “the bravest woman I know”.

Mandy last addressed the congregation on Rosh Hashanah. Six months later, she stood on the bimah again – this time with Emily at her side – to thank the community for its continued support.

She told congregants that Emily will soon be moving from near the hospital where she is being treated in Israel to an apartment closer to her family. She also said that Emily is expected to undergo several more operations, including to remove shrapnel from her leg and improve the functionality of her hand, which was shot by Hamas.

Rabbi Liss recited the Shehecheyanu and read aloud the names of the 59 hostages still in Hamas captivity. He also thanked his wife, Rebbetzen Shuli Liss, and PR professional Emily Cohen for their work in supporting the campaign and planning Emily's visit.

Highgate co-chair Natalie Smith spoke from the bimah and described the moment as “a triumph of hope over evil”, adding that the Shabbat would “go down in our community’s history”.

The service concluded with a rousing rendition of Adon Olam, sung by hundreds in relief and celebration.

If you follow football, and especially if you’re a Spurs fan, you don’t need me to tell you this has been a terrible season for Tottenham. To date we’ve lost 19 Premier League matches.

There have been two rare bright spots. First, we are in the semis of the Europa League. You never know; we might even win the thing.

But above all else – which puts into perspective whether twenty two men running around after a ball manage to win, lose or draw – the release of Emily Damari after 471 days as Hamas’ captive in Gaza was a moment of pure joy.

Emily (her first name alone is enough to identify her to Spurs fans) is a lifelong supporter, and she was pictured soon after her release wearing a Spurs scarf. Supporters campaigned tirelessly to keep her name at the centre of coverage of the hostages, with yellow ribbons and posters of her surrounding the areas outside the stadium. She is one of our own.

It is wonderful news that Emily is coming to watch Spurs play Crystal Palace on 11 May (and yes, ha-very-ha, I get the joke that she has surely suffered enough already).