Schwarzenegger Celebrates Israeli Independence Day in L.A.
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
