John Haeger / Standard-Speaker via AP
International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2021 inductee Floyd Mayweather acknowledges paradegoers during the annual Parade of Champions on Sunday, June 12, 2022, in Canastota, N.Y.
Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Where you can stand with Israel
The Israeli American Council of Nevada is accepting donations to aid Israel. Contributors can elect one of four causes when donating: Hospitals in southern Israel; to support soldiers’ needs, in support of humanitarian aid and first response; and media advocacy to fund campaigns such as a billboard at Times Square in New York. Donate here.
Jewish Nevada’s ongoing “We Stand with Israel” campaign was launched Oct. 7, hours after the attack. Contribute here.
365 Mountain Market, an Eastern European kosher grocery store at 3655 S. Rainbow Blvd., says it is donating a portion of sales to help the Israeli military.
Charity Navigator lists numerous humanitarian relief groups who are providing aid such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and American Friends of Magen David Adom. A full list can be found here.
It’s tough to stop thinking about Raz and Aviv Asher, among the youngest victims of the senseless attack on Israel by Hamas eight days ago.
The innocent Israeli children, ages 5 and 3, respectively, were reportedly visiting their grandmother in southern Israel when Hamas invaded. Along with their mother, all four were believed to have been kidnapped by the invading terrorists.
At least 1,300 have died in Israel and 100 have been reported missing since the attack Oct. 7, including the two young children who simply were going to spend time with grandma. We all wish our kids could spend countless hours being unconditionally spoiled by grandma’s love.
Thousands of miles away in Las Vegas, retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. felt the same agony when learning of the senseless murders and cruel abductions. His assessment of the horror is spot on: These are innocent lives being taken and destroyed by acts of wicked terrorism, he posted on social media.
“If a picture is worth 1,000 words how much more can be said when looking at these photos?” he posted last week in an Instagram message sharing the photo of the Asher girls. “Innocent Americans and Israelis are being held hostage and their only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Aviv Asher, 3, left, and her sister, Raz, 5, along with their mother and grandmother were kidnapped Saturday, Oct. 7, by Hamas terrorists attacking in Israel.
The post continued, “Like the rest of us these families set out to go about their day except they were ambushed and have been brutally kidnapped and violently harmed. This is not politics, this is crimes against innocent humans. I stand with Israel and I condemn the Hamas terrorists. I am calling upon all celebrities and athletes to use your voice and platforms to denounce these heinous acts when it counts.”
It’s one thing to be outspoken on social media — that, after all, doesn’t take much effort. It’s another to reaffirm those words with actions. And that’s exactly what Mayweather is doing.
Mayweather is sending his “Air Mayweather” private jet to Israel with needed supplies, including water, food and bulletproof vests for soldiers. The shipment will reportedly be delivered by his pilots and a stable of retired U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force veterans.
By leading the way, Mayweather is setting an example for the rest of us. If he can be this motivated to make a difference, so can we.
There are many ways the average Las Vegan can aid Israel, including donating to Jewish Nevada’s ongoing “We Stand with Israel” campaign or a similar drive by the Israeli American Council of Nevada. All the money collected by the local groups will go directly to humanitarian and defense efforts, the groups said.
Ofra Etzion, regional director of Israeli American Council Las Vegas, told the Sun’s Casey Harrison last week that “during tough times, this is exactly what you need — a community.”
If there is one thing I’ve learned in nearly five decades of calling this amazing city home, it’s that we are a generous group.
When there was a blood shortage after the 2017 mass shooting on the Strip, we rushed to blood banks to donate. When restaurants shuttered to dine-in customers during the pandemic, we ordered out to help keep them afloat. And after Hamas’ monsters attacked Israel last week, we continued the generosity by combining to donate $100,000 in less than two days to the Israeli American Council of Nevada.
After all, like Mayweather wrote, those photos of the terror speak volumes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a social media post Thursday on X (formerly known as Twitter), shared photos of burned and murdered babies. The imagery was so gruesome the post was flagged as sensitive content.
He earlier had shared those images with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who vowed solidarity between the nations in a visit. In a newsconference, Blinken stressed that this is what terror looks like.
“It’s hard to find the right words. It’s beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less, God forbid, experience,” he said, fighting back tears. “A baby, an infant, riddled with bullets. Soldiers beheaded. Young people burned alive. I could go on, but it’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way.”
This is only the beginning.
Palestinians began a mass exodus from northern Gaza on Friday after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate toward the southern part of the besieged territory, an unprecedented order ahead of an expected ground invasion against the Hamas terrorists.
Hamas, which staged the shocking and brutal attacks and has fired thousands of rockets into Israel in the days since, dismissed the evacuation order as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes.
Let’s continue to help by donating money, keeping those at risk — especially those innocent children — in our prayers, and promoting peace in the world.
I’m sure glad someone with Mayweather’s following and resources is taking such a strong stand.
He was a great boxing champion, maybe the greatest of all time, but he hadn’t always been endearing to the community. This column space was critical of him in 2012 for domestic violence claims against an ex-girlfriend.
But we all make mistakes and all deserve a second chance. And Mayweather has certainly made many lives better over the past decade, from bringing much-needed revenue to Las Vegas with his megafight nights on the Strip during an economic downturn, to his charitable acts through the years.
After the wildfires in Hawaii this summer, he paid for food, shelter and clothing for 68 affected families. Locally, he’s reportedly given donations totaling $1 million to Three Square Food Bank. He’s also made six-figure donations to the local branches of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Habitat for Humanity.
“He does so many things for so many people and doesn’t want to be recognized for it,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, in a 2015 profile in USA Today when Mayweather was in the final fights of his career.
With his strong support of Israel, Mayweather is more than deserving of being recognized. He did what’s right for the right reasons.
There is no reason why small children like Raz and Aviv Asher should be missing or dead. There is no reason why 1,300 others aren’t enjoying time with their families.
In another post, Mayweather wrote: “I stand for all humans and wish for the safe return of all Americans and Israelis and any human ... kidnapped as hostages during these horrific war crimes. This is not a time for politics. This is a time for safety first and foremost. God Bless America. God Bless Israel. God Bless Human Kind!”
The Associated Press contributed to this column.
