On September 5 in Haifa, Italy will play against Israel in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
This match should not take place. Under the rules of fair play, FIFA should suspend the Israel Football Association.
In addition to practicing colonialism and apartheid against the entire Palestinian population, Israel has killed and injured Palestinian footballers, as well as children playing football, destroyed stadiums and sports centers, prevented the movement of and arrested Palestinian athletes and raided the Palestinian Football Federation headquarters. This summer, Israel blocked the arrival of flags and uniforms for the Palestinian team at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. What’s more, the Israel Football Association includes six teams located in settlements built on stolen Palestinian land in violation of international law.
Just as in 1964, when FIFA suspended South Africa over its apartheid policies, a decision maintained until the end of the Apartheid regime, today we call on FIFA to suspend Israel Football Association until Israel respects Palestinians rights and international law.
Let’s follow the excellent example of hundreds of Celtic fans, who defied the ban on Palestinian flags during the match with the Israeli team Hapoel, filling the stadium. Also in France, during the match between St Etienne and Beitar Jerusalem, many Palestinian flags were waved.
On September 5th, starting at 20:45 (Italian time) during the Italy-Israel World Cup qualifier, let’s show our support for Palestine.
We’re fans of Palestinian rights!
Let’s show Israeli Apartheid the red card!
- Join the Thunderclap for a collective tweet during the match. The tweet will be in Italian and reads: “In 1964 #FIFA suspended Apartheid South Africa. Sign now to call on Fifa to suspend racist Israel! #WorldCup #IsrIta”
- During the match, let’s fill social media with Palestinian flags. Download images at the link or be creative. Use hashtags #IsrIta and #WorldCup. Follow @bdsitalia for other hashtags.
- Sign the petition to FIFA, already signed by over 150,000 people, urging the suspension of Israel.
- Participate in the crowdfunding organized by Celtic fans, which in a few short days has raised over £150,000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Lajee Center of the Aida refugee camp.
BDS Italia