Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Schwarzenegger Celebrates Israeli Independence Day in L.A.

The end of his marriage didn’t stop Arnold Schwarzenegger from celebrating Israeli Independence Day this week.

The “Terminator” star and former California governor spoke Tuesday at the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, wishing the country “another 63 years of great joy, peace and a thriving economy.” The appearance marked Schwarzenegger’s first since the announcement Monday of his split from Maria Shriver, his wife of 25 years.

Schwarzenegger was welcomed by Israeli consul-general Jacob Dayan, who noted the actor’s long-standing support of the country, including his defense of its controversial military operations in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead two years ago.

The Austrian-born son of a volunteer Nazi storm trooper, Schwarzenegger has long been involved in Jewish causes and has made multiple visits to Israel over the years.

His support of the country was only incidental to the intrepid reporters at England’s Daily Mail, however. In its coverage of the celebration, the paper focused on the return of a long-missing ring on Schwarzenegger’s wedding finger, speculating that Schwarzenegger’s relationship with Shriver may not be definitively over.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.