Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to fund Israeli coexistence football project
The Playing Fair, Leading Peace programme will break down barriers and combat hate across communities between Israeli Jews and Arabs
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will fund an extended programme in Israel that brings Jewish and Arab children together in football coaching sessions.
The expanded Playing Fair, Leading Peace programme will break down barriers and combat discrimination by mixing communities in Israel.
Chairman Buck hailed Chelsea’s latest steps to counter antisemitism, racism and discrimination – and insisted the three and a half years of club campaigns have altered the west Londoners’ attitudes forever.
“Fighting discrimination and antisemitism is in our DNA now,” Buck told the PA news agency.
“And we don’t see any end in sight for stopping these programmes, we’re just going to keep going on and on, and hopefully we’ll keep making a difference.
“We’ve seen just this week what happened post the England game and that is unacceptable.
“And football clubs are in a special position to be able to do things about it through the power of football, and we and other clubs will do that and want to do that.
“Our No To Hate and Say No To Antisemitism campaigns are worldwide programmes.
“From our perspective and from the perspective of the people that work directly on these programmes, hopefully we leave an imprint everywhere we go.”
Chelsea have no plans to relent on their fight against discrimination, approaching four years since the launch of their Say No To Antisemitism campaign.
Buck will speak at the Global Forum For Combating Antisemitism this week, having been asked to describe the “Chelsea model” of taking a stand against discrimination and abuse.
Revealing the club’s pride at the long-running stance being lauded internationally, Buck also expanded on the new work in Israel.
The Chelsea Foundation, the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation and the Israeli Football Association have combined to extend the Playing Fair, Leading Peace programme.
More than 1,000 Arab and Jewish children each year will be brought together through football, with Chelsea funding the expanded set-up and club staff training local coaches.
“This also brings into play the experience we have of coaching, and coaching young people,” Buck said.
“Part of this project is where our coaches train the trainers, so we leverage our ability.
“We train trainers and then they work with the youngsters.
“And I think we all know that education is the key to solving some of the discrimination problems we have in this world.
“We say we’re leveraging football, but we’re actually leveraging the leveraging of football.
“Hating people does not come naturally, it’s something learned over time.
“And to the extent we can do things to change that learning process and educate people not to hate, then it’s a win-win for everybody.
“It’s always been one of our objectives to encourage other football clubs and football institutions to get involved also.
“We’re not trying to be out there by ourselves, we want others to get involved in all this.
“If we’re contacted by clubs, which we regularly are, then we provide all the insight we can to help them move forward with their own programmes.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
