More than any desire about making history, Mohammad Ghadir wants to play soccer. The Maccabi Haifa striker, who is one of the most talented young players on Israel's soccer scene, hasn't played with Haifa for some time. Frustrated with this situation, Ghadir wants to change teams. Beitar Jerusalem is an attractive option. A large squad that has scores of supporters, Beitar wins wide media coverage and also happens to lack talented players at Ghadir's position. For these reasons, Ghadir said this week: "I am well suited to Beitar, and that team would fit me like a glove. I have no qualms about moving to play for them."
Why should he have any qualms? The answer is that Ghadir, a Muslim Israeli, is persona non grata at Teddy Stadium and in Beitar's management offices. The squad's bosses were quoted last week as saying that "our team and our fans are still not ready for an Arab soccer player." Beitar, which was established in 1936, has yet to employ a Christian or Muslim Arab player, despite the fact that a third of Jerusalem's residents, some 280,000 persons, are Arabs. Money furnished by Arabs contributed to the NIS 100,000,000 allocation disbursed for stadium renovations this year at Teddy. Yet this contribution does not entitle the city's Arabs to representation, even of the most minimal sort, on Jerusalem's sole team in the nation's top league.
Jerusalem mayor, Nir Barkat, who cultivates an image as a tolerant, modern public servant, has yet to utter a word on this topic. He has done nothing to alter Beitar's racist, discriminatory policy. Avi Luzon, chairman of the Israel Football Association, also remains inert on this issue; and the association's court has never lifted a finger to challenge Beitar's racism. Meantime, Israel's media continues to cover the team's games, and barely addresses the racism issue. Could an English or French soccer squad get away without putting a black or Jewish player on the field throughout its history? How would its fans respond to that? Would football associations in such countries countenance such blatantly racist policy?
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http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/op ... m-1.402046