Tottenham Hotspurs will use their game against Newcastle United this weekend to raise awareness on the plight of British-Israeli hostage and lifelong Spurs fan, Emily Damari, who has been held captive by Hamas since October 7th 2023.

For months, a growing number of Tottenham Hotspur fans have been calling for the immediate release of Emily as part of a “She’s One of Our Own” campaign.

Outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they’ve been releasing yellow balloons, displaying Emily’s photograph, and uniting their voices in song: “She’s one of our own, she’s one of our own, Emily Damari, bring Emily home!”

Now, in their largest action so far, fans will use the 7th minute of the game against Newcastle to release yellow balloons in a call to “bring Emily Damari home now!”

Emily was kidnapped from her home on the Kfar Aza kibbutz by Hamas terrorists last year when she was shot in the hand, blindfolded and bundled into the back of her own car, before being driven to Gaza.

Although Emily’s mother, Mandy Damari, has not had any official confirmation of her daughter being alive for eight months, she believes “she is still with us today”.

Speaking at a press conference in December, Mandy says, “Her situation is dire, and she desperately needs to be released along with every other remaining hostage,” she said. “From what we do know, the hostages have been hidden down in Hamas’s terror tunnel in the network and are being held in shocking conditions without any shred of compassion or mercy.

“Any number of causes could kill Emily – disease, starvation, dehydration, torture, execution or even friendly fire … as I have said before, every day is a new death sentence for her in Gaza,” she added.

“A hostage deal may be weeks, months or even further away,” she told the press.

“Meanwhile, their condition deteriorates every single hour. Much more needs to be done, and much more can be done, to keep Emily and the other hostages alive while they remain in captivity.”

Mandy painted a picture of the stark reality facing the hostages, saying they were all at risk of suffering the “most painful and tragic deaths imaginable in the tunnels”.

”Many already have, and words alone will not save those who still remain,” she said.

“The hostages are fighting tooth and nail to stay alive, they cannot survive a second winter with only our thoughts and prayers,” she added.

Damari visited London in December, where she met politicians from across the political spectrum and gave special thanks to the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, who told her he would talk to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, about Emily and the other hostages.

However, there was no such praise for the UK government, with Damari expressing disappointment over the actions of the foreign secretary, David Lammy, who she said did not acknowledge her daughter’s individual case in a recent statement published by his office on the need for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza for the winter.

She told the media that she addressed about 100 Labour MPs, including Lammy, at the annual Labour Friends of Israel event on Monday, during which she “specifically and repeatedly asked for action on the hostage aid situation”.

“I appreciate the foreign secretary’s warmth in our personal meetings, but as I have said, I came for solutions, not sympathy. I hope that he is willing to adopt the cause of working to keep Emily alive while we wait for her eventual release,” she added.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Mandy Damari also called on the British government to do more to ensure that humanitarian supplies get to the hostages following reports that Hamas has “consistently” blocked the hostages from accessing aid. In the same interview, she welcomed Donald Trump’s statement that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released before he takes office in January, saying: “It made me a bit more optimistic,” she says.

Ahead of this weekend’s initiative, Emily’s mother Mandy Damari said, ”As we approach Tottenham’s next match on January 4th, I want to thank your amazing community for your unwavering support in the campaign to bring Emily back home alive.

“The song you sing about her every week and the yellow balloons are beautiful gestures of hope and solidarity, and I’m truly touched by the love and determination from everyone
involved.

“I am also amazed at how people all over the world are reacting so positively to what you are doing. I’ve heard they’ve seen the campaign even in Australia and Canada!

“Emily, who loves Spurs with all her heart, would be so moved by this.

“Knowing that so many people are standing with her gives me strength.”

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