Newcastle, England – The rabbi who accompanied boxer Dmitriy Salita to his fight against Amir Khan has expressed his shock at antisemitic abuse levelled at the Orthodox boxer.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Rabbi Dovid Lewis of Newcastle United Hebrew Congregation accompanied Salita from his dressing room to the ring, where he was defeated in 76 seconds by title holder Khan, (as was reported here on VIN News).
Rabbi Lewis said: “We were shocked at the vitriolic abuse shouted at Dmitriy from both sides of the throng on the walkway to the ring.
“It was antisemitic swearing and spitting with a lot of pushing and pulling they were baying for him at this point, although the general crowd was good-humoured and calm.
“Dmitriy was stunned but not hurt, we returned to his hotel and he was visited by a large crowd of supporters, well into the night. As it was a significant day in the Lubavitch calendar, Dmitry showered, put on fresh clothes and his tzitzes and we learned into the night.
More than 200 Jews from New York, London, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow travelled to Newcastle to show their support for Salita.
Salita, a Ukrainian émigré who was previously unbeaten in 31 bouts, is an Orthodox Jew who studies at a Chabad yeshiva in Brooklyn. A Star of David decorates his boxing shorts during his fights.
Salita is to take a break from boxing to go on his honeymoon with bride Alona
He will now take a break from boxing to go on his honeymoon with bride Alona whom he married in New York at the beginning of September.
A spokesman for the boxing venue Metro Radio Arena said they had not been aware of any abuse during the match.
“We thought was a very successful night and things went really well,” she said.
When you walk by a dog and he barks at you, do you get mad at the dog? At the same time, a sensible person does not hang out in a dog house.
Lesson: A dog is a dog, and a goy is a goy.
Dimitriy is a wonderful, wonderful human being. Soft spoken, intelligent, learned. I have been so impressed by my meetings with him. Here you have a teenager that turns to G-d and Yiddishkeit at a difficult juncture in his life, becomes a rising star in the world of boxing and only grows in his Yiddishkeit as a result.
May G-d bless him and fulfill all his hearts requests, and may he go from strength to strength. What an inspiration!!!
Well, yidden, don’t you think it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee?
Is amir khan also jewish?
“Expressed his shock”???
Where did this Rabbi think he was? In Bais Medrash? He was at a boxing match.
Why is it that we yiddin are always stunned when goyim behave like goyim?
Boxing is nicht fur die yidden
He is a very good person. He should quit boxing, which certainly doesn’t fit into Torah ideology, before he gets hurt and advance more in Jewish studies.
I could understand the boxer as he is from America being surprised but I don’t know why the Rabbi was, I live in Manchester and its pretty much day to day stuff here, and I understaand the Newcastle area is even worse, especially from the types who look like they would go to see a boxing match.
Dmitriy Salita is a real mentch. The British are an anti-Semitic digusting lot.
What does this Rabbi expect? I think he has been living a sheltered life and doesn’t realize what the world is like.
Does he live in a dreamworld? The atmosphere at boxing matches is one of violence and blood-lust. It is not a place where tzaddikim hang out. And that is in addition to the problems like pritzusdike shows between matches.
A boxing match is not a place for a frum Yid.
I warned about this years ago, but people didn’t want to to listen as long as he was winning.
Wake up people! There is a reason why frum people have stayed far from boxing all these years.
Boxing is a stupid sport, and Jews should not be participating. For combat sports, the various martial arts are far more sophisticated and interesting.
A question to the author, why you need to emphasize “Salita, a Ukrainian émigré”? Every Jew in America is an émigré or a son of émigré!
It seems that posters are reading too much into the way the article portrays Rabbi Lewis’ remark. It is a quasi-polite way of saying that those Choleras were Anti-Semitic. Instead of calling them names, the Rabbi is saying that he is “shocked”.
I am actually shocked at the level of Anti-Semitism expressed by some posters against Salita between these posts and especially those posted on an ealier VIN report on the match.
he is a good fighter but not very fast
Dmitriy, you’re a hero. I’m proud of you. You bring pride to the Jewish people everywhere around the world. Have a great time on your honeymoon and gear up for another round with Amir.
One after another, the disgusting anti-Gentile comments come rolling out, as they usually do over here. I know there isn’t much of a premium placed on reading comprehension in certain frum circles, but the rabbi in the article said “the general crowd was good humoured and calm.” Got that? There were some rabble rousers, no doubt encouraged by Khan’s camp, but they were not the main force. I’ve seen other posters say this and I’ll add my agreement: you’ll find more blood-curdling racism, bigotry and hatred in certain frum circles than just about anywhere else – -save perhaps a Klan rally or a skinhead website. Nice job. Mi k’amcha yisrael.
Yidden have no business in blood-sports. These people end up with permanent brain damage from these things. It is disgusting that a yid would make this his place.
Dmitriy! Now hang up your gloves and go and learn in Yeshiva or get a regular job.
This is not a sport for a frum guy.
The Ribono Shel Olom sent you a message in 76 seconds.
Take the Message.
he lost on purpose