Israel’s president praises Auburn’s Pearl for highlighting plight of hostages in Gaza

Adi and Roy Alexander attended the Auburn-Michigan Sweet 16 matchup after Pearl called for the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held captive by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, at the post-game press conference following Auburn’s Round of 32 win against Creighton the previous weekend. Screenshot.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke via video call with Auburn University Tigers basketball coach Bruce Pearl on March 27, thanking him for his outspoken support for Israel and the hostages held in Gaza.

Pearl, whose team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, the final 16 in the annual U.S. collegiate basketball tournament, has used his platform to highlight the plight of hostages, particularly Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli captive. Following the Alabama school’s latest win, Pearl began his press conference by urging Hamas to release the 59 remaining hostages.

Herzog praised Pearl’s advocacy, calling it an act of “moral clarity” and stressing the urgency of bringing the hostages home. “You have raised the plight of our hostages in the most important arena of the United States public. This is the most important topic for humanity to my mind, because it shows how we deal with cruelty and how we need to get innocent people out from the dungeons of Gaza.”

Pearl reaffirmed his strong support for Israel, emphasizing that “the vast majority of Americans support Israel” and now have a deeper understanding of the challenges the country has faced since its founding. He also shared that Adi Alexander, Edan’s father, would attend Auburn’s March 28 game as a guest of Athletes for Israel, helping to further spotlight the hostage crisis.

Pearl finished the conversation by saying “Am Yisrael Chai,” to which Herzog responded “Amen v’amen.”

Adi and Edan’s brother Roy attended the game against Michigan, and Pearl also arranged for them to meet their favorite player — Michigan star Danny Wolf. Wolf, who is an All-Big Ten center for Michigan, holds dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. He won a silver medal with Team Israel at the 2023 FIBA Under-20 European Championships.

Toward the end of the first half, CBS showed the Alexanders in the stands and spoke of Pearl’s activism.

During the week, Pearl told Outkick’s Trey Wallace that this was not about bringing politics into sports, it was about coming together as a country to bring a fellow citizen home.

At the press conference following the Creighton game, he said he asked his players if he could bring up Alexander’s name in his opening remarks. “I said, ‘Guys, this has just come to me right now, while we’re celebrating, there’s an American being held hostage in Gaza, and would you guys mind terribly if I brought out his name’.” He said Tahaad Pettiford not only told Pearl to do it because “he’s an American,” but he even knew that Alexander was from New Jersey — Pettiford’s home state. “They jumped on it right away.”

According to IDF data, at least 35 of the captives still held in Gaza are dead, including four U.S. citizens—civilians Judi Weinstein Haggai and her husband, Gadi Haggai, and IDF soldiers Itay Chen and Omer Maxim Neutra.