{"id":748044,"date":"2026-06-19T21:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T21:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/748044\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T21:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T21:02:17","slug":"israeli-mma-fighter-natan-levy-helps-jews-defend-themselves-from-antisemitism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/748044\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli MMA Fighter Natan Levy helps Jews defend themselves from antisemitism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israeli mixed martial arts fighter Natan Levy<\/a> wants to teach Jews how to fight antisemitism, but not with databases, reports, and legislation, in the manner of many organizations. Levy wants Jews to learn martial arts so that they can defend themselves and their families if they\u2019re attacked.<\/p>\n

After competing in the mixed martial arts (MMA<\/a>) ring for almost a decade, Levy explained to The Jerusalem Post, his current goal is to help strengthen the Jewish people.<\/p>\n

He seeks to prepare others for self-defense situations with his gym and programs with the Israeli and American militaries, but his chief priority is seminars for Jewish communities.<\/p>\n

American Jews<\/a> are a tiny proportion of the US population, just over 2%, but a significantly disproportionate amount of hate-motivated crimes targeted them. He experienced antisemitism himself, constantly being bombarded with death threats on social media.<\/p>\n

He is also sad to admit that he is part of a sport that, he said, is antisemitic, with many fans or fighters embracing antisemitic ideologies and rhetoric.<\/p>\n

\"OnOn a physical level, Natan Levy can punch his way through his opponent during a match, but there is another arena he fights in as well: The rhetorical one, in which he uses words to sway his adversary (credit: Natan Levy)<\/p>\n

Yet he refuses to see himself as a victim, and does not want that fate for other Diaspora Jews either. Levy bemoaned how ubiquitous videos of antisemitic<\/a> incidents have become, but in those videos in which there was violence, one rarely saw Jews defending themselves.<\/p>\n

‘Wake-up call’ for antisemitism<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a wake-up call, and that all Jews, or most of us, will finally wake up, train, and take ourselves, our physical training, seriously \u2013 whether it\u2019s in fitness or martial arts, or even, if it\u2019s in the United States, to carry a weapon \u2013 to protect yourself and your family,\u201d said Levy. \u201cIt\u2019s very simple. It\u2019s the laws of nature. Once they see that we are not prey, they will stop coming to attack us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the ideologies that motivate antisemitic attacks, Levy sees antisemites as bullies, and they have to be dealt with as such. Far-right extremists and Islamists believe Jews to be the source of all their problems, and like a school bully transferring the abuse from a parent at home to peers at school, they are looking for an easy target. They don\u2019t have the strength to address their actual issues, so they look for someone weak to attack so they can feel better about themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, we seem to be the easiest target, and that\u2019s why they\u2019re preying on us,\u201d said Levy.<\/p>\n

Fighting is a \u201clast resort,\u201d and if there is a choice to flee, it is always preferable, the fighter explained, as when one enters into combat one never knows if it could end with either party\u2019s injury or death, or legal issues. Yet if one is cornered, Jews have to show the \u201cbullies\u201d that they are strong \u2013 strong enough to teach an assailant not to try Jews again.<\/p>\n

Levy compared such engagements to the situation of Israel in the Middle East. There are those that have ideological and fanatical designs on Israel, but Israelis fight to survive, so they always \u201cfight to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever fights not to survive, he does not fight to the end; he will fight until he is uncomfortable. The same goes for Israel and the Jews. You think that someone is big and scary, but he will only fight until he is uncomfortable,\u201d said Levy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you\u2019re strong and know how to defend yourself and have the confidence, you\u2019ll stand differently; you\u2019ll look different. Then you usually won\u2019t have to defend yourself, and people will look at you and say, \u2018I\u2019ll find an easier target. It doesn\u2019t look like a victim. I\u2019ll go find someone else to beat up.\u2019 Of course, if there is no choice, then you have to fight,\u201d said Levy.<\/p>\n

He also said that \u201cas soon as you make him [an antisemitic attacker] uncomfortable and he realizes that it was a bad decision to start this story, he will stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must always fight to the end. Because if we stop fighting, we will die, so we have no choice. Always fight to the end; never move an inch back. Always stand proud and strong and show them that you can love us or you can hate us, but you will respect us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levy said that learning martial arts would give Jews the confidence to walk city streets. True self-confidence comes from realism, he argued, and has to be earned. Martial arts had changed his life since he was young, giving him the confidence that he lacked when he struggled with schooling or grappled with standard teenage challenges.<\/p>\n

MMA fighter Levy trains Jews in self-defense to fight antisemitism<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I dedicated myself completely to this sport, I saw how my life changed for the better, and how I achieved my goals in martial arts, through hard work and through discipline. It basically taught me that I can achieve other goals, whether in business or anything,\u201d said Levy.<\/p>\n

Many told Levy that beginning his training at 15 was late for someone with aspirations of being an athlete, but he redoubled his efforts, training every day. He flew to the US to become a fighter, earning his way into the Ultimate Fighting Championship. After investing in himself, he proved the naysayers wrong.<\/p>\n

During this period he trained others to support himself, but now he wants to return to teaching with the knowledge and experience he has gathered over the years.<\/p>\n

Levy doesn\u2019t expect everyone to become a professional MMA fighter, a difficult life that he wouldn\u2019t recommend for everyone, but he does believe that everyone should know how to defend themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to help teenagers, teach them, and for them to go through what I went through,\u201d said Levy.<\/p>\n

For the last two years in Las Vegas, he trained a group from the Jewish and Israeli community twice a week. The goal was to be able \u201cto be hands-on with the youth and really teach them high-level martial arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t travel every week to other places such as New York, but when he could, he organized seminars. Usually, communities invite him, and he works with the youth or older community members for several hours, depending on their degree of experience.<\/p>\n

Levy also helps train those tasked with defending the US and Israel. He shared that he has an upcoming trip to Israel to train for the IDF and Defense Ministry, for situations in which they are guarding or arresting terrorists. The MMA fighter has worked mainly with Krav Maga instructors, but has also collaborated with the Yamas Border Police special unit and the Yahalom special operations Combat Engineering unit. Levy didn\u2019t visit Israel often, but when he did, he ensured that he passed on the skills he had learned over years of training.<\/p>\n

Recently, Levy also gave seminars for the US Army at a base in Irvine, California. He and other MMA fighters trained with the soldiers, guiding sparring matches. Levy said that he was the youngest of the MMA fighters and learned much from them as well. It was the first time Levy had been involved in the project, but called it a \u201cgreat honor\u201d and a \u201cjoy\u201d to work with the US soldiers.<\/p>\n

Yet first and foremost is his desire to help the Jewish Diaspora. Levy advises all Diaspora Jews to begin training in martial arts.<\/p>\n

The easiest and safest type of martial art to learn is Krav Maga. While Levy also recommends Muay Thai and Brazilian jujitsu, it depends on the trainer.<\/p>\n

He has heard from many seeking advice from him that they encountered gyms where there was a Palestinian flag on display, or they had pro-Palestinian trainers or sparring partners who would try to seriously harm Jewish participants during training.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that is painful and disappointing to the highest degree, because in the end, martial arts and sports are supposed to bring people together,\u201d said Levy.<\/p>\n

At his gym, he said, politics are left at the entrance, and he receives Muslim or Palestinian trainees with open arms. It is unfortunate that, in the sport that he loves, when the opposing side had power, they took a different approach. Many have turned to Levy instead, asking him for advice online.<\/p>\n

Levy said that Jewish communities should reach out to him, and they could develop programs together. The fact that so many have been appealing to him about training with their Jewish communities makes Levy feel as if he is creating a positive movement for people to grow stronger. People are motivated to train, even if it isn\u2019t with him, and grow strong enough to defend themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that makes me super proud and [makes it] worth all the hate and all the threats. I continue to advertise [for Jews to get stronger] despite the hate I get in my sport, and if I miss opportunities and there aren\u2019t sponsors, and I get fewer fights and all that stuff, I don\u2019t care,\u201d said Levy. \u201cWhat motivates me now is to strengthen the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israeli mixed martial arts fighter Natan Levy wants to teach Jews how to fight antisemitism, but not with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[267714,4288,49,48,88535,267713,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-748044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-american-jews","tag-antisemitism","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-diaspora","tag-diaspora-jews","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}