Voice of Jewish Sport
ISRAELI FOOTBALL made worldwide headlines on Monday night – unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Monday’s Tel Aviv derby between Hapoel and Maccabi only lasted 34 minutes – that’s how long it took a Hapoel supporter to race on the pitch to try to assault Maccabi player Eran Zahavi. Zahavi retaliated, a pitch melee ensured, the player received a red card, the game resumed half an hour later, more fans stormed the pitch before the referee eventually called it a day. ‘Disgrace’ and ‘shameful’ were just a couple of words used to describe the incident and that was from the Israeli press. Former West Ham player Eyal Berkovic, who now manages Hapoel, called it ‘a black day’, while football officials and politicians slammed the scenes. The repercussions spilled over the following day when supporters fought outside a courthouse, beating each other with belts and sticks on the streets of Tel Aviv. All eyes will now be on the Israeli Football Association, who have to decide what punishment is meted out to the clubs.
THE IFA have already been busy after their disciplinary court fined Bnei Sakhnin £2,466 for paying tribute to fugitive, former Balad MK Azmi Bishara. Honouring a man who fled Israel in 2007 while under investigation for passing information to Hezbollah, ahead of a Premier League match a fortnight ago, Israeli politicians had called for the club to be expelled from the League. However, while the court found Sakhnin guilty of political involvement, it acquitted them of misconduct, and on top of the fine, handed them a one-year suspended fine of £5,755. Judge Israel Shimoni said: “The court didn’t look into the criminal allegations facing Bishara or any aspect regarding the money he raised. The court only addressed the club’s decision to use a sporting assembly in order to promote a controversial political figure.”
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.
