Among the fans who filled the stadium on Sunday for Tottenham’s home match against Crystal Palace was freed hostage Emily Damari, a devoted Tottenham Hotspur fan
The 28-year-old Brit-Israeli has long dreamt of returning to the UK to watch her team play. Even before kickoff at the London derby, Tottenham fans welcomed Emily Damari near Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, carrying yellow balloons symbolizing the campaign to bring the hostages home.
They also held numerous signs and scarves reading “She’s one of our own!” Emily herself wore a yellow Tottenham shirt with “Gali-Ziv” and the number 583 printed on the back—a call to free her friends, Gali and Ziv Berman, who have been held captive by Hamas for 583 days.
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 the grassroots organisation Stop the Hate.
Sporting yellow teeshirts, 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. To the sounds of Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ and ‘She’s One of Our Own’, the crowd parted as Emily, accompanied by her mother Mandy, arrived to meet the euphoric crowds who campaigned tirelessly for her release for 15 months.
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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!”