Soccer Hooligans: Egypt’s vs Israel’s
February 17, 2013 11:55 by Pesach Benson
After reading about Egyptian soccer hooligans’ mayhem, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius makes a compelling comparison between Egyptian soccer hooligans and the “droogs.” They’re the young toughs Anthony Burgess depicted in A Clockwork Orange. (You might be more familiar with Stanley Kubrick’s movie.)
Unfortunately, Ignatius also ties in an Israeli comparison that’s much less apt.
The revolt of alienated soccer youths is hardly confined to North Africa. In Israel, a soccer team called Beitar Jerusalem is supported by racist young fans who chant “Death to the Arabs” and recently unfurled a banner that proclaimed “Beitar Pure Forever” to express their opposition to recruiting Muslim players. “When talking about Beitar, it’s actually showing a mirror for Israeli society,” Nidal Othman, director of the Coalition Against Racism in Israel, told the New York Times.
Soccer hooliganism is endemic, as well, in Britain and many other European nations. Racist chants can be heard on soccer pitches across the continent.
Ignatius cites Beitar because it’s a relatively fresh story. And Beitar Jerusalem’s racist soccer fans are easy condemn because they’re disgusting and do deserve our censure.
But recentness does not an apt comparison make.
The Beitar fans in the news don’t represent all the team’s fans, and certainly not a significant segment of Israeli society. While last week’s Beitar-Bnei Sakhnin match required a beefed up police presence at Teddy Stadium, nobody worried about nationwide riots or Israeli soccer fans toppling the government.
Michael Z.
3:26 pm
Feb 17, 2013
There is additional aspect to Beitar story – both Muslim players are Chechens, recommended to Beitar Club owner Arkady Gaidamak by Ramzan Kadyrov – odious terrorist turned Russian marionette and made it into infamous “Magnitsky List”. Israeli press didn’t even mention it, though Kadyrov was shown on TV together with Gaidamak…
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iris claire blutreich
3:23 pm
Feb 18, 2013
Egypt has been a cosmopolitan country. Cairo and Alexandria were world reknown cities that flourished because of international trade, travellers, adventurous people with ideas that came there.
Obama & Hillary Clinton used American money and arms to help the primitives. The Egyptians are using whatever is available to
fight off Obama and Hillary Clinton’s repressive tyranny.
Now Obama and Hillary Clinton have helped to depose their government.
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rhoneyman
4:30 pm
Feb 18, 2013
a generous reading of your screed would understand “obama & hillary” to mean post-war “america.” but i suspect you really *do* see obama and clinton as exceptions to america’s history, a history characterized by hegemonistic impusles common to all administrations, possibly save carter’s pathetic tenure. that is fantasy. and depicting egypt, a country where per capita income is at third world levels, is beyond comprehension.
you may not like the current administration’s foreign policy but it is different from past policies only in nuance.
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