The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as the countless reactions that arise from it, do not leave indifferent the ice hockey player Zach Hyman, an athlete of Jewish origin who hopes for a peaceful life in the world.
The Edmonton Oilers forward expressed his feelings in an interview published on the Sportsnet network's website on Thursday. Coming from Toronto's Jewish community, he's keenly aware of the issues there, even though he's in professional sports and in a market far removed from certain relatives. Over an 18-day period in October, his hometown recorded approximately fifteen anti-Semitic incidents and five additional incidents involving anti-Muslim gestures.
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For this grandson of a Holocaust survivor, hate and violence must stop.
“I am proud of who I am, being Jewish and growing up in the community. “And I'm proud of where I come from,” he mentioned for the first time to journalist Mark Spector in this interview, conducted during the Hanukkah holiday. As a person that young people of Jewish origin look up to […] I think when things get really tough, the community needs to come together, come together and fight anti-Semitism.”
“This problem has been growing for years and has reached a level that is frightening,” he added. Jewish people don't feel safe. There are attacks on synagogues. My old high school was the subject of two bomb threats. Just because I'm Jewish. There is no other reason.”
According to Hyman, the collateral effects of the conflict are clearly visible thousands of kilometers from the bombed areas.
“We live in Canada, in the United States, where these stories shouldn't appear. “We can’t turn a deaf ear to this,” Hyman reflected. Right now, being a Jewish person is no comfort and it’s scary.”
How important it is to develop as a society
When he was younger, the National League player heard stories that were traumatic, to say the least. Among other things, his grandfather was shot in the leg on a train on the way to the concentration camp. He believed that the world today had learned from the past.
“It’s 2023. Things should get better. We should try to eradicate hatred, racism, anti-Semitism and any form of prejudice based on religion, sexual orientation, race…,” he explained.
Luckily for Hyman, there is hockey, a sport that helps him calm his mind without forgetting.
“It's good to be able to count on having an activity that I can concentrate on and that I enjoy,” he said, adding that the Oct. 7 Hamas attack had shaped him. It was constantly on my mind, but I use hockey as an escape, not just for that but also when things are going badly elsewhere. Hockey is my time, my personal space, my sanctuary.”