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Israel has violated the principles of FIFA in a variety of ways that would normally warrant disciplinary actions and even a suspension of its membership. However, the politics of FIFA have prevented the organization in the past from taking such action. Its internal by-laws have even been amended to make it more difficult for the Palestine Football Association (PFA) to demand such action. Consequently, it is now the responsibility of civil society to apply the popular pressure necessary to bring this about.
Scroll down to see the organizations and individuals who are supporting the campaign, thus far.
Webinar: Saturday, May 28, 1 PM ET, 8 PM Palestine
Panelists
Roger Waters, musician & activist
Gonzalo Boye, former head of the legal unit of the Palestinian Football Association
Jonathan Kuttab, cofounder of Al-Haq & Exec Director of FOSNA
Rizek Salah the honorary head of the Khader Football Club
English with Spanish and Arabic translation.
Webinar initiated by Just Peace Advocates and Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
70+ civil society organizations from around the world have come together to name the following objections:
A) The Israeli Football League (IFL) allows players, and even five clubs from the illegal Israeli settlements (legally under the jurisdiction of Palestine), to play in their national league without first obtaining permission from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). This is a straightforward violation of FIFA regulations that must be addressed.
B) Israel, by means of its military administration and control of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has taken a number of measures that harm the sport of football including:
- International travel restrictions on Palestinian players and coaches
- Restricting the movement of football players between Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem
- Refusal to allow the building of stadiums and facilities in Area C of the West Bank, the only viable location for such facilities
- Failing to release Palestinian sports equipment from Israeli customs, as Israel controls all borders
- Administrative arrests of footballers and attacks upon, including the tear-gassing of, sports events
C) Finally, we object to the prevalence of blatantly racist sloganeering (“Death to Arabs”) and anti-Arab violence associated with IFL games. This runs counter to FIFA’s stated goal of confronting racism.
And to make the simple demand:
FIFA must suspend the Israeli Football League until the above objections have been resolved.
You can read the full statement at: https://bit.ly/FIFAStatementTranslation
List of organizations that have already signed:
| #Africa4Palestine, South Africa |
| Academics for Palestine-Concordia, Montreal, Canada |
| Al-Haq |
| Al Marwa, Jordan |
| Australian Friends of Palestine Association, Adelaide, Australia |
| Australians for Palestine, Australia |
| Baltimore Nonviolence Center |
| Bashir Zmaili & Partners Co., Jordan |
| Bathurst United Church, Toronto |
| BDS Malaysia, Malaysia |
| Boycott from Within, Palestine 48 territory (“Israel”) |
| Cafe Palestina, Berkshires, Massachusetts |
| Canada Palestine Association, Vancouver, Canada |
| Canadian Arab Federation |
| Canadian Arab Society Of London |
| Canadian BDS Coalition |
| Canadian Foreign Policy Institute |
| Canadian Women’s Declaration |
| Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) |
| Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace for Israel/Palestine |
| Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Victoria, B.C., Canada |
| COASAP, IA, USA |
| Dufferin Simcoe Film Society, Shelburne, Ontario, Canada |
| Edmonton Small Press Association |
| Episcopal Peace Fellowship – Palestine Israel Network, USA |
| FOSNA Pittsburgh |
| Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) |
| Gaza Action Ireland , Ireland |
| Global Peace Alliance BC Society, Canada |
| Good Shepherd Collective, Palestine |
| Greater Toronto for BDS (GT4BDS), Toronto |
| Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine, Waitsfield, VT |
| Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Hettin Camp Club, Jordan |
| HR4A Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Independent Jewish Voices |
| Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, Indiana, USA |
| Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA |
| Jewish Voice for Peace, USA |
| Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, USA |
| Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste, Canada |
| Just Peace Committee & ILPS Commission 4, Vancouver, BC |
| Knowledge Track Inc., Ottawa, Canada |
| Labor for Palestine, USA |
| Let Kashmir Decide |
| Middle East Justice and Peace Group of South Central PA, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania |
| Nawal al Abed, USA |
| NH Veterans for Peace, New Hampshire, USA |
| Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI), Ontario, Canada |
| Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel, Northfield MN USA |
| Oakville Palestinian Rights Association, Oakville, Ontario, Canada |
| PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity), Montreal, Canada |
| Palestine Football Association |
| Palestine Higher Council of Youth & Sports |
| Palestine House -The Palestinian Canadian Community Centre, Mississauga, Ontario |
| Palestine Olympic Committee |
| Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Cape Town, South Africa |
| Palestinian Canadian Congress Canada National |
| Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Wooster, Ohio |
| Regina Peace Council, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| RootsAction.org , United States |
| Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network |
| SE London Friends of Palestine |
| Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers – New Brunswick |
| Tadamun Antimili, Colombia |
| The Rosette Network Ltd., Ottawa, Canada |
| Toronto Raging Granniesm Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| UbiOrbi Denavar |
| UCC PIN National Steering Committee, USA |
| USACBI: US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, USA |
| Valley View Church, Pittsburgh, PA USA |
Other sports teams, organizations and groups can add their support at: https://bit.ly/ApartheidFreeFIFAOrgs
Joining with them are hundreds of athletes, artists, academics, lawyers, clergy, activists, sports fans and others including:
Roger Waters, musician and activist
Saeed Mousa Alejawey, Previous President of Jaleel Club, Jordan-Irbid
Jehad Fathi Atieh, Manager of the Yarmouk Club, Amman, Jordan
Yann Martel, author
Chris Hedges, journalist
Carlos Robert Steiner, Military Veteran
Rabbi David Mivasair, Rabbi Emeritus
You can add your support at: https://bit.ly/ApartheidFreeFIFAIndiv
See the full statement in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and French.
Statement in English, Arabic, Spanish, French and Portuguese (see below)
Show your support by signing:
- Athletes, artists, academics, activists and others endorsement https://bit.ly/ApartheidFreeFIFAIndiv
- Organizational and team endorsements https://bit.ly/ApartheidFreeFIFAOrgs
To date 70+ organizations & hundreds of people have signed. See the organizations & some of individuals who have signed: https://www.justpeaceadvocates.ca/fifa/
FIFA: Suspend Apartheid Israel
Both Israel and the State of Palestine are members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and subject to its internal regulations.
Israel has violated the principles of FIFA in a variety of ways that would normally warrant disciplinary actions and even a suspension of its membership. However, the politics of FIFA have prevented the organization in the past from taking such action. Its internal by-laws have even been amended to make it more difficult for the Palestine Football Association (PFA) to demand such action. Consequently, it is now the responsibility of civil society to apply the popular pressure necessary to bring this about.
In the past, it has also been the policy of FIFA to punish any raising of Palestinian flags by players and clubs who are not Palestinian, on the basis that “politics and sports should not mix.”
Our objections include:
- The Israeli Football League (IFL) allows players, and even five clubs from the illegal Israeli settlements (legally under the jurisdiction of Palestine), to play in their national league without first obtaining permission from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). This is a straightforward violation of FIFA regulations that must be addressed.
- Israel, by means of its military administration and control of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has taken a number of measures that harm the sport of football, including:
- International travel restrictions on Palestinian players and coaches
- Restricting the movement of football players between Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem
- Refusal to allow the building of stadiums and facilities in Area C of the West Bank, the only viable location for such facilities
- Failing to release Palestinian sports equipment from Israeli customs, as Israel controls all borders
- Administrative arrests of footballers and attacks upon, including the tear-gassing of, sports events
- Finally, we object to the prevalence of blatantly racist sloganeering (“Death to Arabs”) and anti-Arab violence associated with IFL games. This runs counter to FIFA’s stated goal of confronting racism.
Our demand is simple:
FIFA must suspend the Israeli Football League until the above objections have been resolved.
#FIFASuspendIsrael #ApartheidFreeFootball
نداء إلى الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم (FIFA): علقوا عضوية إسرائيل دولة الأبرتهايد
انطلاقاً من أن كلاً من إسرائيل ودولة فلسطين تحمل عضوية الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم (الفيفا) وتخضع كلاهما للوائحه الداخلية.
قامت إسرائيل بانتهاك مبادئ الفيفا بطرق متعددة تؤدي في العادة إلى اتخاذ إجراءات تأديبية وحتى إلى تعليق عضويتها، ولكن الأمور التجاذبات السياسية لفيفا منعتها في الماضي من اتخاذ مثل هذه الإجراءات. ليس هذا فحسب، فقد تم تعديل أنظمتها الداخلية بشكل جعل تقدم اتحاد لكرة القدم الفلسطيني بطلب اتخاذ مثل هذه الإجراءات أكثر صعوبة. وبناء على ذلك، أصبح من مسؤولية المجتمع المدني أن يستخدم الضغط الجماهيري الضروري لتغيير هذا الوضع ووضعه في نصابه.
في الماضي، كانت سياسة الفيفا تعاقب أي رفع للأعلام الفلسطينية من قبل اللاعبين غير الفلسطينيين والنوادي غير الفلسطينية، بحجة “عدم الخلط بين الرياضة والسياسة”.
تشمل اعتراضاتنا على هذا الوضع ما يلي:
1- تسمح رابطة كرة القدم الإسرائيلية للاعبين من المستوطنات الإسرائيلية غير الشرعية (والواقعة قانونياً تحت الاختصاص القضائي الفلسطيني)، وحتى لخمسة نوادٍ من هذه المستوطنات، اللعب في إطاره دون الحصول على إذن من اتحاد كرة القدم الفلسطيني، وهذا يشكل انتهاكاً مباشراً للوائح الفيفا، الأمر الذي تجب معالجته وفق هذه اللوائح.
2- قامت إسرائيل، من خلال إدارتها العسكرية وسيطرتها على المناطق الفلسطينية المحتلة، باتخاذ عدد من الإجراءات التي تلحق الضرر برياضة كرة القدم، وتشمل هذه الإجراءات:
o التقييدات على السفر الدولي للاعبين والمدربين الفلسطينيين،
o تقييد حركة اللاعبين بين قطاع غزة والضفة الغربية والقدس،
o رفض بناء استادات ومرافق رياضية في مناطق سي في الضفة الغربية، وهي المواقع الوحيدة الممكنة حيوياً لمثل هذه المرافق،
o عدم تحرير المعدات الرياضية من الجمارك الإسرائيلية، حيث تسيطر إسرائيل على جميع المعابر الحدودية،
o الاعتقال الإداري للاعبين وطواقم كرة القدم والاعتداء عليهم، بما في ذلك باستعمال الغاز المسيل للدموع خلال الأحداث الرياضية.
3- وأخيراً، فإننا نعارض إطلاق وإظهار الشعارات العنصرية السافرية (مثل “الموت للعرب”) والعنف ضد العرب الذي يتزامن مع ألعاب ومباريات الرابطة الإسرائيلية لكرة القدم، حيث إن ذلك يتعارض مع الهدف المعلن لهذه الرابطة بمواجهة العنصرية.
إن طلبنا بسيط، وهو:
على الفيفا أن تعلق عضوية رابطة كرة القدم الإسرائيلية إلى حين الانتهاء من معالجة وحل الاعتراضات المذكورة أعلاه.
#FIFASuspendIsrael
#ApartheidFreeFootball
FIFA : Suspendre l’état d’apartheid d’Israël
Israël et l’État de Palestine sont tous deux membres de la Fédération internationale de football (FIFA) et soumis à son règlement intérieur.
Israël a violé les principes de la FIFA de diverses manières qui justifieraient normalement des mesures disciplinaires et même une suspension de son adhésion. Cependant, la politique de la FIFA a empêché l’organisation dans le passé de prendre de telles mesures. Ses statuts internes ont même été modifiés pour rendre plus difficile pour l’Association palestinienne de football (PFA) d’exiger une telle action. Par conséquent, il appartient maintenant à la société civile d’exercer la pression populaire nécessaire pour y parvenir.
Dans le passé, la politique de la FIFA a également consisté à punir toute levée de drapeaux palestiniens par des joueurs et des clubs qui ne sont pas palestiniens, au motif que « la politique et le sport ne doivent pas se mélanger ».
Nos objections incluent :
1. La Ligue israélienne de football (IFL) permet aux joueurs, et même à cinq clubs des colonies israéliennes illégales (sous la juridiction légale de la Palestine), de jouer dans leur ligue nationale sans obtenir au préalable l’autorisation de la Fédération palestinienne de football (PFA). Il s’agit d’une simple violation des règlements de la FIFA qui doit être corrigée.
2. Israël, par le biais de son administration militaire et de son contrôle des Territoires palestiniens occupés, a pris un certain nombre de mesures qui nuisent au sport du football notamment :
○ Restrictions de voyages internationales pour les joueurs et entraîneurs palestiniens
○ Restreindre les déplacements des joueurs de football entre Gaza, la Cisjordanie et Jérusalem
○ Refus d’autoriser la construction de stades et d’installations dans la zone C de la Cisjordanie, seul emplacement viable pour de telles installations
○ Ne pas libérer les équipements sportifs palestiniens des douanes israéliennes, car Israël contrôle toutes les frontières
○ Arrestations administratives de footballeurs et attaques, y compris les gaz lacrymogènes contre, des événements sportifs
3. Enfin, nous nous opposons à la prévalence de slogans manifestement racistes (“Mort aux Arabes”) et à la violence anti-arabe associée aux matchs de l’IFL. Cela va à l’encontre de l’objectif déclaré de la FIFA de lutter contre le racisme.
Notre demande est simple:
La FIFA doit suspendre la Ligue israélienne de football jusqu’à ce que les objections ci-dessus aient été résolues.
#FIFASuspendIsrael
#ApartheidFreeFootball
FIFA: Débese suspender el Apartheid de Israel
Tanto Israel como el Estado de Palestina son miembros de la Federación Internacional de Fútbol Asociación (FIFA) y están sujetos a sus reglamentos internos.
Israel ha violado los principios de la FIFA en una variedad de formas, que, normalmente, justificarían acciones disciplinarias, incluyendo la suspensión de su membresía. Sin embargo, la política adoptada por la FIFA ha impedido que la organización, en el pasado, tome tal acción. Incluso se han modificado sus estatutos internos para dificultar que la Asociación Palestina de Fútbol (PFA) exija tal acción. En consecuencia, ahora es responsabilidad de la sociedad civil ejercer la presión popular necesaria para lograrlo.
En el pasado, la política adoptada por la FIFA ha sido también castigar cualquier izamiento de banderas palestinas por parte de jugadores y clubes que no sean palestinos, sobre la base de que “la política y el deporte no deben mezclarse”.
Nuestras objeciones incluyen varios puntos:
-1-La Liga de Fútbol de Israel (IFL) permite que los jugadores, e incluso cinco clubes de los asentamientos israelíes ilegales (que legalmente están bajo la jurisdicción de Palestina), jueguen en su liga nacional sin obtener primero la autorización de la Asociación Palestina de Fútbol (PFA). Esta es una violación directa de las regulaciones de la FIFA que es importante abordar.
-2-Israel, por medio de su administración militar y control de los Territorios Palestinos Ocupados, ha tomado una serie de medidas que perjudican el deporte del fútbol, incluyendo:
○ Restricciones de viajes internacionales para jugadores y entrenadores palestinos;
○ Restricción del movimiento de jugadores de fútbol entre Gaza, Cisjordania y Jerusalén;
○ Interdicción de construir estadios e instalaciones en el Área C de Cisjordania, el único lugar viable para tales instalaciones;
○ Interdicción de dejar pasar equipos deportivos palestinos por las aduanas israelíes, ya que Israel controla todas las fronteras;
○ Detenciones administrativas de futbolistas y ataques, incluyendo por gases lacrimógenos, en eventos deportivos;
-3-Finalmente, nos oponemos a la prevalencia de consignas descaradamente racistas (“Muerte a los árabes”) y de la violencia anti-árabe asociada con los juegos de la IFL. Esto va en contra del objetivo declarado de la FIFA de oponerse al racismo.
Nuestra demanda es simple:
La FIFA debe suspender la Liga de Fútbol de Israel hasta que se resuelvan las objeciones anteriore
FIFA: O Apartheid de Israel debe ser suspenso
Tanto Israel como o estado de Palestina são membros da Federação Internacional de Futebol (Associação) (FIFA) e estão sujeitos a seus regulamentos internos.
Israel violou os princípios da FIFA de várias maneiras, o que normalmente justificaria ação disciplinar, incluindo a suspensão de sua filiação. No entanto, a política adotada pela FIFA impediu a organização, no passado, de realizar tal ação. Até mesmo seus estatutos internos foram alterados para tornar difícil para a Associação Palestina de Futebol (PFA) exigir tal ação. Consequentemente, agora é responsabilidade da sociedade civil exercer a pressão popular necessária para isso.
No passado, a política adotada pela FIFA também foi punir qualquer hasteamento de bandeiras palestinas por jogadores e clubes não palestinos, alegando que “política e esporte não devem se misturar”.
Nossas objeções incluem vários pontos:
-1-A Liga de Futebol de Israel (IFL) permite que jogadores e até cinco clubes de assentamentos israelenses ilegais (que estão legalmente sob a jurisdição da Palestina), joguem em sua liga nacional sem obter antes a autorização da Associação Palestina de Futebol (PFA) . Esta é uma violação direta dos regulamentos da FIFA que é importante resolver.
-2-Israel, por meio de sua administração militar e controle dos Territórios Palestinos Ocupados, tomou uma série de medidas que prejudicam o esporte do futebol, incluindo:
○ Restrições de viagens internacionais para jogadores e treinadores palestinos;
○ Restrição da circulação de jogadores de futebol entre Gaza, Cisjordânia e Jerusalém;
○ Proibição de construção de estádios e instalações na Área C da Cisjordânia, único local viável para tais instalações;
○ Proibição da passagem de equipamentos esportivos palestinos pela alfândega israelense, pois Israel controla todas as fronteiras;
○ Prisões administrativas de jogadores de futebol e ataques, inclusive com gás lacrimogêneo, em eventos esportivos;
-3-Finalmente, nos opomos à prevalência de slogans descaradamente racistas (“Morte aos árabes”) e violência anti-árabe associada aos jogos da IFL. Isso vai contra o objetivo declarado da FIFA de se opor ao racismo.
Nossa demanda é simples:
A FIFA deve suspender a Liga de Futebol de Israel até que as objeções acima sejam resolvidas.
#FIFASuspendIsrael
