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Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumPalestinians demand: Ban settlement-based soccer teams or face FIFA vote
In an attempt to stop a Friday vote on banning Israel from FIFA, Israel offers a list of concessions to the Palestinians, but new demands could mean bad news for some of Israel's teams.By Barak Ravid | May 28, 2015
Palestinian Football Association chairman Jibril Rajoub has demanded that the United Nations rule on the status of five Israeli soccer teams based in the West Bank as a condition for withdrawing a Palestinian proposal to ban Israel from FIFA.
The International Federation of Association Football is currently convening in Switzerland and was slated to vote on the Palestinian proposal on Friday.
A source within the Israeli delegation to the FIFA congress noted that Rajoub made the demand on Wednesday evening in response to a compromise deal suggested by Israel, which the source said addressed the majority of the Palestinian's demands.
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Palestinians demand: Ban settlement-based soccer teams or face FIFA vote (Original Post)
Israeli
May 2015
OP
King_David
(14,851 posts)1. They are relying on FIFA for ethical and moral decisions?
Israeli
(4,151 posts)2. Expulsion or not, Palestinians can declare victory at FIFA
As the vote on the possible expulsion of Israel from FIFA draws nearer, the Israeli delegation suddenly decides to discuss easing restrictions on Palestinian players, who just yesterday were deemed security threats. What gives?
By Haggai Matar |Published May 29, 2015
At this point, it is unclear whether FIFA will vote to expel Israel from soccers international governing body on Friday, or whether the vote will even happen in the first place.
What is clear is that a nonviolent Palestinian initiative akin to a sports boycott on Israel paid off. While the prime minister and the president of Israel are up in arms over a strategic threat, the Israeli delegation to FIFA will be busy finding ways to legitimize Israel in the eyes of the organization, especially in light of Israels treatment of Palestinian soccer players the main reason behind the initiative to expel Israel.
According to Haaretzs Barak Ravid and Moshe Boker, the delegation suggested issuing special entry permits that will allow soccer players to move more freely between Gaza, the West Bank and abroad; easing of building restrictions for soccer-related infrastructure in the West Bank; paying for some of the costs of sports accessories that Palestinians import through the Ashdod Port in southern Israel; and establishing a joint committee with FIFA and the Palestinians to solve issues that may arise.
According to the report, the head of Palestinian Football Federation, Jibril Rajoub, insists on an investigation of racism in Israeli soccer, as well kicking out teams based in West Bank settlements from the Israeli Football Association. These are legitimate demands, and there is a good chance they will be accepted by FIFA (it will be very interested to see how Israel will swallow the second one).
It is unclear how this story will end, but the very fact that Israel is willing to allow soccer players from Gaza to enter the West Bank tells the entire story. Why did this happen? Just yesterday, those same players were a terrifying security threat, and today? Or perhaps the Israeli government is all of a sudden willing to put its citizens at risk of being harmed by soccer players from Gaza, simply to prevent an expulsion from FIFA?
It is clear that the answer to these two questions is a resounding no. The only thing that has suddenly changed is that suddenly, Israels policy which arbitrarily affects the millions of Palestinians living under Israels military regime on a day-to-day basis becomes transparent and dangerous. All of a sudden a person in Israel will care about what happens to Palestinian soccer players, something that has never before happened here.
The same thing happened nearly half a year ago, when for the first time since 2007, the Israeli government allowed the exports of cucumbers from Gaza to the West Bank. Why didnt it happen before? Because. There is a siege. A collective punishment of the entire population of the Strip. Why did it change? Because of the last war, and the recognition of a need for a change.
The Israeli public almost always views Palestinian boycott initiatives in a severely negative light. We do not engage in a serious debate about boycott as a nonviolent tool that promotes basic human rights; that allows for a political struggle without suicide bombers or firing rockets on civilians; and we never discuss the demands of the leaders of the Palestinian boycott movement. In the wake of the boycott law, which was upheld by the Israeli High Court of Justice, this kind of discussion is difficult to hold in the first place. That is, unless you unequivocally oppose boycotting.
The FIFA boycott episode reminds us that boycott initiatives wont stop because of a law, but rather that they will continue making gains (in this case, perhaps because of the boycott law). And not just any gains, the kinds that should have been obvious to us from the get-go. From now on the Israeli government will likely allow freer movement for Palestinian athletes.
Students and lecturers, on the other hand, will continue to suffer from the harsh restrictions on academic freedom under Israeli occupation and siege. The same goes for members of the Palestinian Legislative Committee, workers, farmers or all those living in the occupied territories. Who knows how the next boycott initiative will force the Israeli delegation to do?
Source: http://972mag.com/expulsion-or-not-palestinians-can-declare-victory-at-fifa/107177/
By Haggai Matar |Published May 29, 2015
At this point, it is unclear whether FIFA will vote to expel Israel from soccers international governing body on Friday, or whether the vote will even happen in the first place.
What is clear is that a nonviolent Palestinian initiative akin to a sports boycott on Israel paid off. While the prime minister and the president of Israel are up in arms over a strategic threat, the Israeli delegation to FIFA will be busy finding ways to legitimize Israel in the eyes of the organization, especially in light of Israels treatment of Palestinian soccer players the main reason behind the initiative to expel Israel.
According to Haaretzs Barak Ravid and Moshe Boker, the delegation suggested issuing special entry permits that will allow soccer players to move more freely between Gaza, the West Bank and abroad; easing of building restrictions for soccer-related infrastructure in the West Bank; paying for some of the costs of sports accessories that Palestinians import through the Ashdod Port in southern Israel; and establishing a joint committee with FIFA and the Palestinians to solve issues that may arise.
According to the report, the head of Palestinian Football Federation, Jibril Rajoub, insists on an investigation of racism in Israeli soccer, as well kicking out teams based in West Bank settlements from the Israeli Football Association. These are legitimate demands, and there is a good chance they will be accepted by FIFA (it will be very interested to see how Israel will swallow the second one).
It is unclear how this story will end, but the very fact that Israel is willing to allow soccer players from Gaza to enter the West Bank tells the entire story. Why did this happen? Just yesterday, those same players were a terrifying security threat, and today? Or perhaps the Israeli government is all of a sudden willing to put its citizens at risk of being harmed by soccer players from Gaza, simply to prevent an expulsion from FIFA?
It is clear that the answer to these two questions is a resounding no. The only thing that has suddenly changed is that suddenly, Israels policy which arbitrarily affects the millions of Palestinians living under Israels military regime on a day-to-day basis becomes transparent and dangerous. All of a sudden a person in Israel will care about what happens to Palestinian soccer players, something that has never before happened here.
The same thing happened nearly half a year ago, when for the first time since 2007, the Israeli government allowed the exports of cucumbers from Gaza to the West Bank. Why didnt it happen before? Because. There is a siege. A collective punishment of the entire population of the Strip. Why did it change? Because of the last war, and the recognition of a need for a change.
The Israeli public almost always views Palestinian boycott initiatives in a severely negative light. We do not engage in a serious debate about boycott as a nonviolent tool that promotes basic human rights; that allows for a political struggle without suicide bombers or firing rockets on civilians; and we never discuss the demands of the leaders of the Palestinian boycott movement. In the wake of the boycott law, which was upheld by the Israeli High Court of Justice, this kind of discussion is difficult to hold in the first place. That is, unless you unequivocally oppose boycotting.
The FIFA boycott episode reminds us that boycott initiatives wont stop because of a law, but rather that they will continue making gains (in this case, perhaps because of the boycott law). And not just any gains, the kinds that should have been obvious to us from the get-go. From now on the Israeli government will likely allow freer movement for Palestinian athletes.
Students and lecturers, on the other hand, will continue to suffer from the harsh restrictions on academic freedom under Israeli occupation and siege. The same goes for members of the Palestinian Legislative Committee, workers, farmers or all those living in the occupied territories. Who knows how the next boycott initiative will force the Israeli delegation to do?
Source: http://972mag.com/expulsion-or-not-palestinians-can-declare-victory-at-fifa/107177/
King_David
(14,851 posts)3. Thanks for the reply..
I think there's no victory in FIFA for anyone except perhaps for Sepp Blatter .
Israeli
(4,151 posts)5. The obvious and curious South African angles of Israel’s FIFA challenge
The irony of history: Former ANC leader and anti-apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwale is pegged to monitor Israeli policies towards Palestinian footballers.
By Chemi Shalev
Former South African cabinet minister and African National Congress (ANC) leader Tokyo Sexwale figured prominently in Fridays political drama at international soccers FIFA conference in Zurich. Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub explicitly mentioned Sexwale as having played a critical role in his decision to withdraw the motion to have Israel expelled. And FIFA President Sepp Blatter, shortly before being reelected to a fifth term in office, unilaterally appointed Sexwale from the podium to head the monitoring committee that will deal with Palestinian grievances, including the demand that five West Bank teams be barred from participating in official Israeli soccer leagues.
In their rush to declare victory following the frustration of Rajoubs plan to expel Israel outright, most Israeli politicians and analysts seemed to ignore the potential symbolism and irony of putting a prominent anti-apartheid activist to adjudicate Palestinian claims of Israeli racism and discrimination. The lapse is significant in light of the fact that Palestinians and the boycott divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement view the international boycott of apartheid South Africa in which sports played a pivotal role as a precedent and inspiration for their own anti-Israeli campaigns.
In fact, though white South Africans were stung far more by subsequent boycotts in rugby, cricket and the Olympics, soccer was one of the first arenas in which non-white South Africa together with the rising Africa-Asian bloc of non-aligned nations scored initial victories against the apartheid regime. FIFAs first suspension of South Africa in 1961 was temporarily lifted at the behest of Blatters apartheid-condoning predecessor, the English Stanley Rous, but was shortly reinstated thereafter until 1976, when the Pretoria regime was expelled altogether following the Soweto Uprisings. South Africa was only reinstated in 1992, after it abolished apartheid.
Source: http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/.premium-1.658781
By Chemi Shalev
Former South African cabinet minister and African National Congress (ANC) leader Tokyo Sexwale figured prominently in Fridays political drama at international soccers FIFA conference in Zurich. Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub explicitly mentioned Sexwale as having played a critical role in his decision to withdraw the motion to have Israel expelled. And FIFA President Sepp Blatter, shortly before being reelected to a fifth term in office, unilaterally appointed Sexwale from the podium to head the monitoring committee that will deal with Palestinian grievances, including the demand that five West Bank teams be barred from participating in official Israeli soccer leagues.
In their rush to declare victory following the frustration of Rajoubs plan to expel Israel outright, most Israeli politicians and analysts seemed to ignore the potential symbolism and irony of putting a prominent anti-apartheid activist to adjudicate Palestinian claims of Israeli racism and discrimination. The lapse is significant in light of the fact that Palestinians and the boycott divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement view the international boycott of apartheid South Africa in which sports played a pivotal role as a precedent and inspiration for their own anti-Israeli campaigns.
In fact, though white South Africans were stung far more by subsequent boycotts in rugby, cricket and the Olympics, soccer was one of the first arenas in which non-white South Africa together with the rising Africa-Asian bloc of non-aligned nations scored initial victories against the apartheid regime. FIFAs first suspension of South Africa in 1961 was temporarily lifted at the behest of Blatters apartheid-condoning predecessor, the English Stanley Rous, but was shortly reinstated thereafter until 1976, when the Pretoria regime was expelled altogether following the Soweto Uprisings. South Africa was only reinstated in 1992, after it abolished apartheid.
Source: http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/.premium-1.658781
King_David
(14,851 posts)6. Thanks for the reply,
I think it outrageous Blatter was reelected especially with what's come to light . I do think though that even with all the scandalous bribes that South Africa was still the right choice for the World Cup.
henank
(800 posts)4. Palestinians drop their bid to ban Israel from FIFA