Arnold Schwarzenegger says love will always conquer hatred amid Israel-Hamas war

The actor described being presented the award of courage as a ‘trophy for my heart’.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Evan Agostini/AP/PA)
AP
Ellie Iorizzo7 November 2023

Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger said “love in the end always wins” as he collected an award of courage for his long-term advocacy against antisemitism and bigotry.

The Terminator actor, 76, made the comments during the Holocaust Museum’s annual gala in Los Angeles, in which host Melissa Rivers told the audience “October 7 was the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust” amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Schwarzenegger, the son of a Nazi soldier, said “we have to speak out” from the hatred online – in a nod to the attacks in Israel and Palestine.

“The more we speak out about that issue, the better it is, so every day you have to talk about it… over and over again because we cannot let them get away with these lies and with this hatred”, he said.

“We have to talk to them and talk them down and let them know that the only way to go is through love and not with hatred.

“Hatred will never ever win, love in the end always wins.”

Oscar-nominated film producer Mike Medavoy, who worked with Schwarzenegger on four films including The Terminator during his career, presented the actor with the award cut from cured oak wood in a nod to his bodybuilding nickname The Austrian Oak.

A dozen Second World War Holocaust survivors attended the ceremony, including Joseph Alexander, who turns 101 this month.

Mr Alexander placed a flame in a miner’s lamp in Schwarzenegger’s honour on stage, which was then transported by police escort to the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles.

During his speech, Schwarzenegger said: “For me to be here today is unbelievable because as you can imagine when you have been Mr Universe five times, Mr World, Mr International…you get a lot of trophies for your muscles – but this is a trophy for my heart.”

The actor also said he has always felt compelled to advocate for equality because “I come from a country who’s known to be a big part in the Second World War and have the most vicious Nazis”.

He continued: “I thought it was important to go out and let people know the next generation doesn’t have to be the same, that the next generation can change.”

The former governor of California also spoke about visiting the site of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp.

“It was amazing to be there and see that first hand,” he said.

“I wrote in the book I’ll be back because I will be back there with a whole bunch of Hollywood celebrities so they can see what went on there and put the spotlight on this issue.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in