"Israel murders, and the world remains silent." Polish fans with a clear manifesto
It wasn't a successful Thursday for Polish teams in European competition. Raków Częstochowa lost to Maccabi Haifa (0-1), Legia Warsaw was crushed in Larnaca by local side AEK (1-4), and only Jagiellonia Białystok defended the honor of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa clubs, winning (1-0) at Silkeborg in Denmark.
A telling banner from Raków Częstochowa fans. It was about Israel.The Raków vs. Maccabi match had an additional, unsportsmanlike character. It's no secret that the global situation is increasingly tense. Less than two years ago, another brutal installment of the Middle East conflict began. However, from a broader perspective, we're talking about over half a century of tensions and armed interventions between Arabs and Jews. This conflict is complex, with ethnic, religious, and territorial issues to name a few.
Following Hamas's (i.e., the Muslim Resistance Movement fighting for Palestinian independence) attack on Israel in 2023, Israel responded with brutal repression and bombardments of the Gaza Strip. Over 60,000 Palestinians were killed within two years. Unfortunately, the statistics are dramatic, and Israel has no intention of facilitating international organizations (including UNICEF) from entering the Gaza Strip, where people (mostly civilians, including children) are beginning to starve due to the destruction and the Jewish offensive.
The unanswered question remains how to treat Israel in the context of what happened with Russia. Since the brutal Russian military aggression in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has been excluded from international sporting competition. This includes almost all global events, including the Olympic Games, World and European Championships, and European Cups.
The situation is different with clubs from Israel, which have not actually suffered any major consequences, even though the armed conflict continues and attacks on civilians are being carried out in the Gaza Strip.
The situation was expressed by Raków fans during the match against Maccabi.
“Israel murders and the world remains silent” – such a banner appeared in the stands of the stadium in Częstochowa.
The situation seems to be invisible in the broader global context, to organizations like FIFA and UEFA. It's difficult to explain this clearly, given what's happening just beyond Poland's eastern border.
It looks a bit like there are equals and more equals, without specifically directing accusations against Maccabi Haifa players, who are competing in the two-legged tie against Raków.
But the fact is, this certainly shouldn't be the case.
Read also: New coach of the Polish national team! A surprising return to the Polish Football Association . Read also: Legia Warsaw's embarrassment. "We know, the weather, force majeure."
Wprost
