Short answer: As of July 2026, Serena Williams has never made a public statement of support or criticism regarding Israel or the Israel/Palestine conflict, including since the October 7, 2023 attack. Her connection to Israel is limited to personal and professional touchpoints: a 2012 vacation in Eilat, Israeli-designed bridesmaid gowns at her 2017 wedding, and her declining, alongside sister Venus, to boycott a 2009 Dubai tournament after Israeli player Shahar Peer was denied a visa. Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, has publicly condemned antisemitism at 2024 campus protests, but that is his statement, not hers.
What Serena Williams has actually said and done
- February 2009: Israeli player Shahar Peer is denied a visa to compete in the Dubai Tennis Championships. Venus Williams publicly calls the decision unfair but says the Williams sisters will not boycott the tournament over it, citing sponsor commitments, according to ESPN Page 2. Andy Roddick withdrew from the event in protest. Serena did not issue her own on-record statement in the sources reviewed for this piece (see also Wikipedia's summary of sports boycotts of Israel).
- November 6, 2012: Serena Williams takes a personal vacation to Eilat, Israel's southern resort city, staying about a week. The visit was reported as apolitical, tied to her love of the tennis facilities and the weather there, per Ynetnews.
- November 17, 2017: At Serena Williams' New Orleans wedding to Alexis Ohanian, Venus Williams and all seven bridesmaids wear custom gowns by Israeli designer Galia Lahav, made in Tel Aviv. Serena herself wore an Alexander McQueen gown, according to the Times of Israel.
- April 2024: Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams' husband, publicly condemns antisemitism during the Columbia University campus protests on X, comparing the chants to the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally, as reported by Sportskeeda and shown in Ohanian's own post. This is Ohanian's statement; no corresponding public comment from Serena Williams herself has been found.
- October 2023 through July 2026: No public statement from Serena Williams on the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel or the subsequent Israel-Gaza war has surfaced in reputable press coverage. Her former coaches, Patrick Mouratoglou and Rennae Stubbs, commented publicly on the conflict, but Serena did not, per Sportskeeda.
Her real ties to Israel, and what does not hold up
Serena Williams has no documented record of directly commenting on Israel, the Israel-Palestine conflict, or the October 7, 2023 attack and its aftermath, through July 2026. Her real-world touchpoints with the country are personal and professional rather than political: the 2012 vacation to Eilat, and the Israeli-made Galia Lahav gowns worn by her bridesmaids at her 2017 wedding. In 2009, when Israeli player Shahar Peer was barred from the Dubai tournament, it was Venus Williams, not Serena, who spoke publicly, defending the sisters' decision not to boycott on sponsor-related grounds. No reputable outlet found in this research directly quotes Serena on that episode. A quote sometimes attributed to her online, about being "ignorant to the whole West Bank settlement of Israel," traces back only to a BDS-advocacy site, not a mainstream news source, so it should not be treated as confirmed.
Genealogical sources show no Jewish ancestry; Serena Williams was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. The clearest public voice on Israel-related matters near her has been her husband, Alexis Ohanian, who in 2024 condemned antisemitism at Columbia University protests, drawing both praise and criticism. That reflects his views, not hers.
The bottom line
There is no public record, as of July 2026, of Serena Williams supporting or criticizing Israel. Her documented links to the country are personal (a 2012 Eilat vacation, Israeli-designed wedding gowns for her bridesmaids in 2017) rather than political, and the one moment where she could have taken a public stance, the 2009 Shahar Peer visa controversy, was addressed publicly by her sister Venus, not by Serena herself.
Support Israel directly
Public figures may stay quiet, but you do not have to. If Serena Williams' quiet trip to Eilat is the closest a celebrity story gets to Israel this week, consider making your own stance visible instead of waiting on someone else's. Shop Israel's I Stand With Israel collection carries pieces like the I Stand With Israel bracelet, so your support for Israel does not have to depend on a celebrity's silence.
Related
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- Does Stephen Curry Support Israel?
- Does Tom Brady Support Israel?
Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
