Irish Jewish group calls on FAI to boycott upcoming games against Israel

Jews for Palestine Ireland has called on the Football Association of Ireland to boycott the upcoming match against Israel.

In a statement, the group said “Apartheid Israel’s illegal and unjust restrictions on the participation of Palestinians in international and internal sporting events should be enough to disqualify them alone.”

They said “Palestinian football fans are routinely attacked by Israeli football hooligans given impunity by the genocidal Israeli state, while their clubs and sport infrastructure are targeted for demolition by the Israeli Defence Forces. In 2016 the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign created a timeline of state-sanctioned attacks since 2005. In 2019 the FIFA Palestine Cup was cancelled.”

They noted that participation of Palestinians in international sporting events is often blocked, and claimed “Ireland showed its complicity in this denial of basic Palestinian sporting rights by denying visa applications from GAA Palestine to travel here last summer.”

“Attacks on events and athletes have intensified since 2023. It is estimated that over 800 athletes have been killed in Gaza including Suleiman al-Obeid, the ‘Palestinian Pelé,’ murdered alongside others waiting for humanitarian aid.”

The group said that Israel’s participation in international sporting events also legitimises what they call the “so-called ‘ceasefire.”

“Since Oct 10th, Israel has violated the ceasefire at least 1,620 times. Gaza has faced nearly daily attacks resulting in the death of nearly 600 Palestinians – on Feb 4th an Israeli attack killed 24 in Gaza including three children, while new measures for incursions and settlement building in the illegally occupied West Bank are seen as ‘de facto annexation.’ Aid delivery by the UN continues to face restrictions and denials.

They said that “Russia was rightly banned from both the FIFA World Cup and Olympics following their unjust invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Apartheid South Africa faced numerous sporting restrictions over policies similar to those instituted by Israel today. Israel, now under investigation for genocide by the ICJ, should also be banned.”

Ireland, alongside Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands, has already legitimised the use of boycotting with its decision to withdraw from this year’s Eurovision due to Israel’s inclusion. It is a moral obligation to adopt the same position with regard to sport.”