Jewish News

Emily Damari’s supporters were never going to let her slip quietly into White Hart Lane to watch her beloved Spurs.

The 28-year old former hostage, Brit-Israeli and devoted Tottenham Hotspur fan has long dreamt of returning to the UK to watch her team play.

And on Sunday midday, having spent 471 days in hell, after being shot and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, her arrival outside the north London football club she loves most, was heralded with deafening cheers, whistles and applause from a jubilant crowd of hundreds organised by grassroots organisation Stop the Hate.

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Sporting yellow tee-shirts, waving Israeli flags and holding bunches of yellow balloons and flowers, a crowd of more than 200 Spurs fans who took Emily into their hearts, vocally demonstrated their euphoria at her return.

Addressing the crowd as supporters cheered Emily’s arrival outside the stadium, Itai Galmudy from Stop the Hate UK said: “We are inspired by your strength and resilience. Today, your presence gives us hope. Hope for the remaining 59 hostages still waiting for freedom. We stand together, with one voice, to say ‘Release the hostages now!'”

To the roaring sounds of Elton John’s ‘I’m still standing’, and ‘She’s one of our own’, the crowd then parted as Emily, accompanied by her mother Mandy, arrived to meet the euphoric crowds who campaigned tireless for her release for 15 months.

Smiling, Emily said: “I’m happy to be here. I want to give a special thanks to all the Jews in the diaspora, but especially to the UK Jewish community, who came out to support my mother and my family campaigning tirelessly to help secure my release.”

She added: “Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, who shouted for me without really knowing me and keeping everything on the table all the time. I don’t really have the words but I hope Spurs is going to win today! All of you are amazing. I’m home, finally, and with you, I’m more. It’s more than a home. It’s like a family. So thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU. Am Y’Israel Chai!”

Members of the crowd were visibly emotional, crying tears of joy as she spoke, reminding the crowd that 59 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, including her best friends Ziv and Gail Berman, who were kidnapped alongside her and are still being held in Gaza.

Andrew Hearn from Bushey, Hertfordshire, accompanied by his Israeli father-in-law Yehiel Daif, told Jewish News: “I think today is important for not just British Jewry, but for Jewry all around the world as a symbol of hope. We’ve all been campaigning for the hostages to be released and for Emily to be released, through cold weather, rain, sleet, snow and bad times.

“This is just an absolutely joyous and emotional moment; it’s wonderful ,through all the pain that everyone’s been through in the last year and a half to actually have something where we can come together and celebrate.”

Supporter Maxine Elias added: “The atmosphere is incredible; we’re all here to support Emily Damari, even the Arsenal supporters!”

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