The nationalists prevail at the Beitar Jerusalem club, the right -wing extremist fishing group La Familia is particularly notorious.
Foto: Imago/Giannis Papanikos
Ariel Harush is considered a liberal spirit among the Israeli national players. The goalkeeper of FC Ashdod, an association from the south of the country, had spoken out for a peaceful coexistence of Jews and Arabs. But this felt that a number of fans felt provoked by him. This was shown above all by the Ultras of Beitar Jerusalem, who are proud that their club has never signed an Arab player. During their game in Ashdod last season, they insulted Harush, who had once worn the Beitar jersey. After the game they even wanted to attack him.
The Ultras of Beitar started their usual chants. “We hate all Arabs.” And: “The Israeli army has to win.” In the middle of the angry mass was her guest of honor, who had already represented it as a lawyer: the right -wing extremist minister of national security, ITAMAR Ben Gwir, known for racist and glorifying violence. The fans hugged him and kissed his cheeks.
“The political mood in Israel is strongly charged through the war, so outbursts in the stadiums could increase,” says Matan Segal, director of the anti-racism initiative “Kick It Out”. “If Israeli football does not get it under control, then sanctions from UEFA threaten him.” Segal even considers an interruption of the new season that begins this weekend.
Right -wing extremist fans
Before the war, games were almost never broken off in Israel because of violence, last season there were two – pyrotechnics, storms, fist struggles. For the third time in a row, the documented number of racist chants in the stadiums rose. In the meantime on 367 incidents, which corresponds to an increase of 64 percent compared to the season before. Especially in the focus: La Familia, a right -wing extremist fan group by Beitar Jerusalem. Just a few days after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, members of La Familia stormed a hospital near Tel Aviv and rioted. A Hamas fighter was supposedly taken care of there, but this message turned out to be wrong. Other members of the group were used as soldiers in Gaza. In front of destroyed buildings, they posed with flags from Beitar. These pictures spread on social media, says Segal: “It has also been documented several times on demonstrations that La Familia intimidates and attacks the opponents of Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
The Ultras of Beitar refers to traditions that are almost 100 years old. From the 1930s, the association was initially a meeting point for the Mizrachim, i.e. from Jewish immigrants from Arab countries who were disadvantageous to the European -born Jews. In the founding phase of Israel, the Mizrachim competed with the Arab Israelis, such as low -wage jobs. “A strong anti-Arabic and anti-Muslim attitude was established at Beitar,” explains political scientist Jan Busse from the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich.
In the first three decades of its history, Israel was led by left -wing governments. However, Bear grew up as a platform for the nationalists and supported Menachem Begin in 1977, the first Israeli Prime Minister of the Likud party. Later, Benjamin Netanyahu also used the grandstand of the stadium for political networks. And his Likud party colleague Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel between 2014 and 2021, was previously managing director of Beitar.
In this political environment, Bear won the Israeli championship six times. The ultras in particular move the borders further and further to the right. In 2013, when the association announced the commitment of two Muslim players from Chechnya, fans set fire to a club office. “Some ultras are also active in organizations such as Lehava who reject any relationships between Jews and non-Jews,” explains the Middle East expert Busse.
On Monday, Bear meets Bnei Sachnin. It is one of the most explosive games of the year. Bnei Sachnin, at home in the north of Israel, is the most important club for the Arab minority, which is 20 percent of the population. The association is also popular in the Palestinian areas. His fans often speak politically, sometimes also anti -Semitic. Pendants of Bnei Sachnin have already turned to the field during the Israeli national anthem during the Israeli national anthem. They have often wished their opponents in chants “a new Holocaust”. The stadium spokesman, Saeed Hasanein, showed sympathy for Hamas in a television interview at the beginning of the year. He criticized Arab Israelis, who joined the Israeli military, the “army of the enemy”, as he put it. The association released Hasanein.
Political pressure
For decades, football was considered a symbol of coexistence. So three or four Arabic -born players were in the starting eleven of the Israeli national team. Now it is above all you who are referred to as “terrorists” on social media – players like Ramzi Safouri, Mohammad Abu Fani and Dia Saba. “The social and political pressure in Israel is so great that Arab Israelis hardly speaks,” says historian Amir Theilhaber: “And if you do it, your statements will quickly be reinterpreted as terrorist support.”
The participant is also active for the New Israel Fund. This NGO promotes civil society projects in Israel, including “Kick it out”. In the past few months, fan groups have positioned themselves several times against racism. They showed banners to commemorate Hersh Goldberg-Polish, a fan of Hapoel Jerusalem, who was kidnapped by Hamas and later murdered. And what do the clubs do? Games are also increasingly being scheduled on Fridays during the day. So more families can go to the stadium with their children, and the mood is less aggressive. There is a hotline to report racist incidents. However, these incidents are often not adequately punished, says the part, that is also a symbol of political conditions: “There are some laws to combat racism, but I have the impression that these laws are not always sufficiently implemented.”
The Israeli government is currently preparing the occupation of Gaza City. Benjamin Netanyahu recently even showed sympathy in an interview for a “Groß-Israel”, that is, for the expulsion of millions of Palestinians. The Ultras of Beitar Jerusalem have expressed this vision in the stadium for years. In the last game against Bnei Sachnin, they called: “Ahmed Tibi is dead.” This could be interpreted as a threat to murder against the Arabic -born politician, who has been a member of the Israeli parliament since 1999. Tibi also enjoys respect for many Jews. For Beitar fans: an unreasonable provocation.