Politics on the pitch: Israel’s most controversial football team works to clean up its act
“The most racist football club in the country,” was proudly chanted by thousands of fans of one of Israel’s most controversial football clubs, Beitar Jerusalem, after it vowed never to sign an Arab player following the 2012-13 season. The name Jerusalem translates to the “city of peace.” However, east stand fans at Teddy Stadium have been anything but peaceful.
Beitar Jerusalem, one of the country’s premiere football clubs, has been in existence for 83 years. For the better part of a century, the team and its fans have donned black and yellow uniforms with the menorah serving as the team’s official logo. Six years ago, however, the world saw the true colors of a portion of Beitar Jerusalem’s supporters. In the summer of 2013, Beitar Jerusalem signed Dzhabrail Kadiyev and Zaur Sadayev, two Muslim players from Russia, which led to a backlash from some of the club’s supporters.
Most of the fury hailed from “La Familia,” the obscenely vocal and politically radical group of fans who occupy the east section of Teddy Stadium. Covering only a small section of the overall 20,000-plus seats, La Familia had a powerful and influential presence.
So powerful, in fact, that this small group influenced 20,000 fans to boycott a game in 2013, where the soccer game was played to a virtually empty stadium. They also showed their disdain by filing out of the stands when one of the Muslim players scored a goal for Beitar.
“What would you say if the soccer team you like wanted to bring on a player that was in ISIS or Al-Qaeda,” asked Moshe Cohen, a fan of Beitar who sells the team’s apparel. “It’s not about racism. It’s about the sense [that] Arabs want to kill us.” The Jerusalem native says the infamous La Familia fan group is merely composed of kids wanting to stir up trouble who do not represent the team.
Cohen wasn’t the only Beitar Jerusalem fan that harbors fear toward Arab people.
“It’s complicated,” said Jerusalem market salesman, Isaac Itzak, when asked if he had any problems regarding Arabs or Muslims playing for the team. Itzak went on to give his approval of the greatest physical divide between Arabs and Israelis, the West Bank barrier that prevents Palestinians from freely entering Israel. “Of course, we need the wall. This is our home,” said Itzak.
It is clear that this is not just a story about fans cheering on a football club. It’s much bigger than that.
The Arab-Israeli conflict has roiled the region since Israel’s inception over 71 years ago, and even in the decades leading up to Israel’s founding in 1948. Over the past several decades, tensions on both sides have continued to escalate due to obstacles such as land disputes, terror attacks, outright war — and perhaps inevitably, racism. Although multiple world leaders have attempted to guide both sides to peace, none have attained the goal. More than a quarter century after the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israelis and Palestinians seem no closer to peace.
In recent years, the east stands of Teddy Stadium has been used as a political platform for radical fans to spew their discontent with the conflict.
In August of 2018, Beitar Jerusalem FC was sold to the current owner, Moshe Hogeg. Within the last year, the tech mogul has made paramount strides in transforming the culture and fandom of his newly acquired team.
Hogeg plans to sue racist hooligans and to eradicate La Familia, a toxic fanbase whom he claims has impacted hundreds of thousands of amazing Beitar fans who are not racist.
La Familia’s’ omnipresence has stained the reputation of Beitar Jerusalem since 2007, just two years after the organization’s inception. They have been dealt punishments on a frequent basis for physical violations, vandalism and the most common violation, racial slurs. The most recent incident occurred in a practice with a newly signed player from Niger named Ali Mohammed.
Although Ali Mohammed is a Christian, that did not stop Beitar Jerusalem fans from showing up to the practice and chanting, “Muhammed is dead,” and “Ali is dead.”
“The organization is not racist,” said Tally Ozenstein, a 25-year old waitress in Jerusalem. “La Familia is very racist, but they represent a very small part of the fans.” The Jerusalem native, however, isn’t too fond of Arabs herself. “I don’t love them [Arabs], they are terrorists,” said Ozenstein. She assured that not all Arabs were terrorists, but just enough to fear them. Ozenstein then recalled a tragic story which happened in her neighborhood just a few years ago. A close friend of Ozenstein’s 18-year old brother was killed by a 13-year old Arab boy on his way to the candy store. “Just because he was Jewish,” said Ozenstein.
Labeling every Beitar Jerusalem fan as a racist, however, would be doing the organization a disservice as you can’t paint the entire picture with one brush. Thousands of fans such as David Ben Israel have no bitterness or resentment toward Arabs.
“They’re [Arabs] just like everyone else,” said Ben Israel, who moved to Israel from the United States in 2002. “I really have no problem with an Arab person joining the team. They socialize, drink, talk, flirt with girls just like the rest of us.” Ben Israel acknowledged that both sides have radical and extreme political groups, but he made it clear he accepted everyone and loved the city Jerusalem more so than the football club.
The Arab population of Jerusalem seemed to be perplexed and concerned by this disgruntlement and resentment stemming from Beitar Jerusalem fans.
“No! We are not trying to kill people. I am Arab, am I trying to kill people here?” said Mai Zarkawi emphatically as she stood behind the bar of a Mount Scopus café in Jerusalem. She said that Arabs want to coexist in peace.
The Arab café server claimed that the fans of Beitar Jerusalem belt out death chants to Arabs and the players intentionally initiate fights.
Qussay Firon is an Arab student attending the Hebrew University. When asked about Beitar Jerusalem, he immediately reached into his pocket and pulled up a YouTube video of a sea of black and yellow-draped Beitar Jerusalem fans chanting, “We are the most racist team in the world!” Firon confirmed the accusation against the team’s fans as being racist.
The controversial team has received open praise from current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made appearances at games, sitting in the stadium at the launching of his campaign, rallying support throughout the fan base. But he also has condemned La Familia in recent years for their racist and violent offenses.
The sports world is a microcosm of society. One group like La Familia can command a large presence and have a powerful impact on many people. Those connected to Beitar Jerusalem who aren’t racist have grown tired of La Familia stealing the spotlight. Following the devastating 2012-13 season, many changes have occurred within the management of Beitar. Hogeg, the current owner, is taking a strong stance against racism and has vowed to recruit any good soccer player based solely on his athletic ability, disregarding race, religion, culture or nationality.
“As long as the player that comes respects the city, respects what he represents, respects Israel, can help the team and wants to play, then the door will be open,” Hogeg said in an interview with CNN.
The chants of Beitar supporters run deep. They are chanting for Israel and for their identities as Israelis. It takes a strong leader to stand up to racism and violent groups like La Familia. Hogeg is determined to change the image of Beitar Jerusalem and integrate the team, even if that means suing the radical fans.
Perhaps a new fanbase can spread a better mindset throughout the stands, one that is sick and tired of racism. One that craves peace and equality that can begin inside the football stadium. The team and fans of 2013 vowed not to hire an Arab player. In 2019, Hogeg has vowed the opposite, not tolerating any discrimination within his soccer club or amongst the fans. This is only a minute increment in a much bigger picture in the search for peace among Israelis and Arabs, but it’s a start. Sports events yield more weight than just a game. They reflect life and how we should behave and treat others.
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