Israeli international Manor Solomon is no stranger to vile behavior directed towards him. All for the crime of being Israeli.
When he was signed with London-based club West Ham United in August, the haters used intimidation tactics to pressure the club to remove him. That clearly did not work, and Manor has quickly established himself as a reliable attacking threat and a regular starter in West Ham’s squad.
But now Manor has had to endure vile behavior from a member of the press.
At a press conference yesterday ahead of Israel’s UEFA Nations League match against Austria in Linz, an Austrian journalist decided it was appropriate to ask Manor to comment on remarks by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen that Israel had committed some war crimes in Gaza.
Manor’s response? All class, with a nice little dig thrown in for good measure.
פשעי מלחמה❓
— Sport5 (@sport5il) September 23, 2026
העקיצה של מנור סולומון לשאלה של העיתונאי האוסטרי במסיבת העיתונאים😯 pic.twitter.com/RV2XHpKTYB
“You do a great job by the way.” Touché.
What other people would be subjected to this behavior? Would a journalist dare ask a palestinian Arab footballer to comment on Hamas’ campaign of actual attempted genocide? Would a Russian footballer be asked about Russia’s conduct in Ukraine? Of course not – and these are not even comparable to Israel’s just war of self-defence. Yet somehow it is ok for people like the Austrian journalist to blame all Israelis for alleged and fabricated Israeli government and military wrongdoings.
I would suggest this Austrian journalist missed his real calling.
Painting.
