Israel is not your enemy

I’m an Israeli surfer. Actually I was born in Philadelphia and learned to surf in Cape May, N.J. I spent my adolescent years surfing up and down the East and West coasts of the US. In college, I competed in the Eastern Surfing Association, finaling in the New England regional longboard division.

Those days have long since passed, but I’m still a die-hard surfer and surf fan. I watch all of the World Surf League competitions and I eagerly awaited the 2024 Olympics since it was being held at Teahupo’o, one of the most treacherous waves on the planet. And, as many know, the Olympics did not disappoint. From the image of Gabriel Medina seen around the world, to some of the best competitive conditions ever, the majority was a perfect blend of epic waves and surfing prowess. 

In our home, Anat Lelior has been the highlight. We couldn’t be prouder of the lone Israeli surfer in the mix. And she’s surprised us all with how she’s handled the monsters at the end of the road. So you could imagine our disappointment in hearing of the petition, calling on the International Surfing Association to boycott Israeli surfers. 

Tracks magazine reports that over 200 signatures have been collected, calling on the ISA to ban Israel’s representatives as it did with Russia when it invaded Ukraine. The number of signatures is staggering. There are an estimated 20-35 million surfers worldwide. That means a whooping 0.000857% of the surfing population has called for this action to be taken. That might not even count as a minority. Any given Surfrider Foundation petition garners at least 10 to 20 times that number.

Since an investigation into Israel’s conduct in the Gaza conflict is what the petition should be calling for, I’d like to provide some information which isn’t regularly available in most media outlets.

Unlike Russia, Israel did not start nor want this war. The terrorist group Hamas breached the barrier of a sovereign country and proceeded to kill 1,200 innocent civilians, while raping, beheading, and burning babies alive. At the same time, these terrorists took 250 hostages, 115 of whom are still in captivity after over 300 days.

In response to the worst day for Jews since the Holocaust, the Israeli Defense Forces stopped the intrusion intended to conquer the State of Israel and kill all the Jewish inhabitants. Since that horrific day, Israel has been battling Iran’s terror proxies in the region while doing everything possible to keep the surrounding civilians safe. This poses a considerable challenge because Hamas imbeds itself in the civilian area and blocks innocents from leaving the region.

Even with all of these challenges, Israel has carried out the most precise campaign ever undertaken in modern urban warfare. In each stage of the conflict, Gazans have been moved out of harm’s way, resulting in the lowest number of casualties to combatant ratio in history. During this time, Israel has facilitated hundreds of aid trucks to enter the area daily, allowing for over 3,000 calories/person daily rationing. 

This is not to say that there aren’t casualties, each of which is tragic, but the fight we’re engaged in is defensive. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. We are surrounded by a sea of cultures that seek our destruction and hold antithetical values to the West. 

These values are also in opposition to what we surfers hold dear – the values of freedom, equality, openness and inclusion. To boycott Israel on false pretenses is to throw support behind countries who oppress women and kill homosexuals. If you care about any of these issues, you must also realize that Israel is not your enemy.