Adam Ognall, CEO of the New Israel Fund, looks at the problem of racism in Israeli football and the work of anti-racism bodies in the country in trying to deal with it
Israeli football hit the headlines due to a group of Beitar Jerusalem fans' reaction to the signing of two Muslim players. Fans unfurled a banner "Beitar pure forever," and sang anti-Muslim chants. I was in Israel that week and watched some Beitar fans booing their own team at the next away game. The Beitar offices were also torched.Of course the strong and positive response to these events has not received the same attention. This is the real story. Israel has taken great strides to stamp out racism around football. Something that other European footballing nations could take heed from.
The Israeli FA disciplinary committee closed Beitar's east stand for five games and fined the club 10,000. The club banned 50 known troublemakers.
This did not immediately stop the trouble and when one player, Kadiev, made his debut some fans booed. This was drowned out by the applause of a far larger group.
The actions of this hardcore caused a national wave of revulsion. President Peres denounced the fans, Knesset Speaker Rubi Rivlin (Beitar fan) asked how Israelis would feel if a German or English club refused to have Jewish players, and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Beitar fan) threatened to no longer attend matches.
Kadiev's debut came when Beitar played Bnei Sakhnin, the Arab-owned team. A rally held outside the ground by Kick Racism out of Israeli Football (KRO Israel) heard from Beitar legend Itzik Zohar. He said: "What has been happening here disgusts me. Football is for everyone and we cannot allow a small minority of racist fans to run the club."
KRO Israel celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It was founded by the New Israel Fund. Its backbone is its Volunteers Forum who monitor matches and produce a weekly racism index of club's fans' behaviour. Over the years we have seen a marked reduction in racist incidents, with Beitar being by far the club with the greatest problems. KRO Israel now works closely with its FA and many clubs and it is a model that the English FA and UEFA both support and take lessons from.
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Source: http://totallyjewish.com/football/pro_soccer/c-19396/fighting-racism-in-israel/
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