'He hates Palestine': West Ham urges fans to drop chant about Solomon's pro‑Israel stance
West Ham United have urged supporters to stop singing a chant about Manor Solomon, a former Israeli soldier turned footballer.
Solomon joined the English club from Tottenham Hotspur in August. Since then, sections of West Ham’s supporters have sung: “Manor Solomon’s on my mind and he hates Palestine.”
Leeds United fans sang the same chant while Solomon played for the club on loan during the 2024-25 season.
West Ham issued a statement on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s match against Charlton Athletic, urging supporters not to repeat it.
The club said it was aware of what it claimed was an “offensive and divisive chant”, which it framed as carrying an “anti-Palestine message”.
“We expect those who represent the club - be that players, staff, officials or supporters - to share [our] values and ensure that, regardless of individual backgrounds or beliefs, we are as our name says: United,” the statement read.
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'At the forefront of Israel's propaganda'
Solomon has repeatedly used his platform to defend Israel’s occupation and military assaults on Palestinians, while dismissing outrage over its genocide in Gaza.
In October 2023, Israeli sports outlet Sport 5 described Solomon as being “at the forefront of Israel’s propaganda”. It praised him for circulating material that showed “which side is right”.
On 17 October, a devastating explosion tore through the courtyard of Gaza City’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital, where thousands of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge from Israeli attacks.
Gaza’s health ministry put the death toll from the Israeli attack at 471, with another 342 people wounded.
Solomon repeated Israel’s version and blamed Palestinians for the deaths.
“They kill their own people, then blame Israel,” he wrote.
Investigative agency Forensic Architecture dismantled key evidence presented by Israel and found that the attack came from the direction of Israel.
Israel has since systematically destroyed much of Gaza’s healthcare system. Forensic Architecture found that Israeli military operations had forced all but one of Gaza’s 36 hospitals out of service at some point. Israeli forces directly attacked 31 of them, besieged 11 and invaded 10.
'I support Israel's right to defend itself'
As Israel laid siege to Rafah in May 2024, millions of people shared the slogan “All Eyes on Rafah” to draw attention to the Palestinians trapped in the city.
Rafah was the last Palestinian city in Gaza not to be razed to the ground. Israel’s subsequent assault reduced much of Rafah to ruins and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Solomon seemed to defend the oncoming onslaught, answering critics of the operation with: “Where were your eyes on October 7?”
Israeli sports outlet Walla praised him for remaining active on social media “to defend Israel despite all the criticism”.
In October 2025, while playing for the Spanish club Villarreal, Solomon said Palestinian flags at a match in Sevilla made him feel “threatened”. He added that he wanted to score “in the faces” of Sevilla’s ultras.
Solomon’s record of support for the Israeli occupation also predates the current genocide.
In May 2021, Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood faced expulsion from their homes through Israeli courts. Israeli forces also stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets at Palestinian worshippers.
In retaliation, Hamas fired rockets towards Israel after demanding that Israeli forces withdraw from Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah. Israel responded with an 11-day bombardment of Gaza that killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, wounded nearly 2,000 people and displaced more than 70,000.
Amid international condemnation of Israel’s violence, Solomon declared: “I support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
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