Three days after her release from Hamas captivity, Emily Damari, a 28-year-old dual Israeli-British citizen and avid Tottenham Hotspur fan, met with Max Radford, a Jewish Spurs supporter who campaigned extensively for her freedom. Radford had been instrumental in organizing support efforts by Tottenham fans during her time as a hostage in Gaza.
During their meeting, Radford presented Damari with a team scarf, to which she expressed heartfelt gratitude for the unwavering solidarity shown by the Spurs community.
"The 28-year-old Spurs fan, who can't wait to come back to London to see her favourite team play at White Hart Lane, was so touched to hear about all the amazing people who regularly released yellow balloons during matches and tied yellow ribbons around the stadium and is so proud," Radford said, adding that Damari was deeply moved by the gestures of support and the fans' recognition of her as "one of our own." She also voiced her hope for the safe return of the 94 remaining hostages still in Gaza.
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Tottenham fans had orchestrated several tributes to Damari. In November, before a home match against Aston Villa, supporters held a demonstration, chanting for her release. Collaborating with antisemitism watchdog Stop the Hate, fans plastered 2,000 stickers, hung posters and tied hundreds of yellow ribbons around the team's home stadium.
Last month, during a League Cup match against Manchester United, Spurs fans released yellow balloons in her honor, a gesture they repeated at an away game against Arsenal last week.