English football fanzine on the Beitar case

I'm not a big fan of the beautiful game but I know a man who is and he sent me this link to the English soccer fanzine, Who ate all the pies? which he, my friend describes as "the gossip blog about british football".  See this article on the Beitar arson attack:

The club house of Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem was torched by arsonists last night and police suspect the “extensive damage” was caused in protest over the club’s recent acquisition of Zaur Sadayev and Gabriel Kadiev, two Chechen muslim players....

Beitar are widely known to be a right-wing club and have never signed an Arab player at the behest of their intolerant fans, despite players of Arabic descent being on the books of every other team in the Israeli Premier League and the Israeli national squad.

The pricks.

 More mainstreaming of what's wrong with Israel.

Beitar consumed with hatred

The arson attack on the Beitar Jerusalem offices over the club's signing of two Chechen Muslims has given Israeli PM, Bibi Netanyahu, the chance to parade the state's anti-racist credentials.  Here's Ha'aretz:

The management offices of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club were torched early Friday morning at its training ground in Bayit Vegan, causing heavy damage. An investigator from the fire department said the fire bore signs of arson.

The Jerusalem fire department received a call at 5 A.M. from a security patrolman who noticed the fire, according to Asaf Abras, a department spokesman.

"Two teams rushed to the scene, where they saw smoke coming through the windows," he said. "They broke in and put out the fire. Some items were collected at the scene and sent to the forensic lab. At this point, we’ve determined that this was arson." The heaviest damage was caused to a room housing trophies, a storage room and some offices.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the suspected arson attack.

"This behavior was shameful," said Netanyahu. "We cannot accept such racist behavior. The Jewish person that has suffered boycotts and expulsions must serve as 'light unto the nations."

The fans of Beitar Jerusalem are a fairly typical example of the State of Israel's brand of enlightenment.

Israeli football fans celebrated the holocaust this week

Well, yes. This weekend fans of the football club Beitar Jerusalem had a very appropriate way of celebrating the international holocaust memorial day--with a proud display of their affinity with the perpetrators: a protest against hiring Muslim players, and a big sign that reads "Beitar pure for ever."

Beitar fans beat Arab workers, no arrests

From Ha'aretz:

Hundreds of Beitar Jerusalem supporters assaulted Arab cleaning personnel at the capital's Malha shopping center on Monday, in what was said to be one of Jerusalem's biggest-ever ethnic clashes. "It was a mass lynching attempt," said Mohammed Yusuf, a team leader for Or-Orly cleaning services.

Despite CCTV footage of the events, no one was arrested. Jerusalem police said that is because no complaint was filed. Witnesses said that after a soccer game in the nearby Teddy Stadium, hundreds of mostly teenage supporters flooded into the shopping center, hurling racial abuse at Arab workers and customers and chanting anti-Arab slogans, and filled the food hall on the second floor.

Now look at this from the same article:

Avi Biton, Malha's security director, sent a force of security guards in an attempt to restore order, but they were outnumbered. He called the police who arrived in large numbers about 40 minutes after the brawl started. At about 10.30 P.M., they evacuated the mall and the management shut its doors.........


Biton said that his department would step up security measures when Beitar matches take place. "This event was unusual for Beitar fans," he said. "We've learned our lesson and from now on we'll make more serious preparations ahead of Beitar games." 

But to flatly contradict the words I've emphasised, from the same article again:

Beitar fans are known for their staunchly anti-Arab positions and have been previously involved in attacks on Arabs. 

I'm not a great follower of football but it seems that racism is more important to Beitar fans than the game.