Stick to fair play: Wales should not play coloniser Israel


August 21, 2015
Sarah Benton

In this posting: 1) appeal for protest in Cardiff against Israel-Wales match; 2) Cardiff kicks off the “Fair play for Palestine football” campaign, by Red Card; 3) PSC rally details plus coaches from London.

Fair play for Palestine_front

Fair play for Palestine_back



Welsh fans celebrate at their team’s 3:0 victory over the Israeli team in March 2015.

Red card Israeli racism: Cardiff rally – coach bookings

By admin-redcard
June 09, 2015

The Israeli national football team is playing Wales in Cardiff on 6 September in the qualifying round of the men’s EURO 2016 competition.

Israel uses sport as a way to present itself as a “normal” “European” state. It uses sport to whitewash its racism against the Palestinians, just as South Africa did under apartheid. And just as people in South Africa did, activists are taking a stand.

Sporting events have become a key battleground – the Israeli state is losing its legitimacy and it knows it. The sporting boycott is gaining ground and we have the power to keep the momentum going.


Cardiff kicks off the FAIR PLAY FOR PALESTINE football campaign

By admin-redcard
March 28, 2015

PSC Honorary President Betty Hunter (on the right in the picture, with Baroness Jenny Tonge) chaired this conference to mark the start of a campaign in Wales to Kick Israel out of UEFA and FIFA. It was attended by 80 people in Cardiff on Saturday 28th March, just hours before Wales beat Israel 3 – 0 in Haifa, and has been reported in http://www.cultnoise.com/give-israeli-racism-the-red-card/.

The conference agreed to work across communities , trade unions, faith organisations and political groups to build for a massive display of protest on Sunday 6th September 2015, when Israel will play Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Ray Davies veteran campaigner in Wales against apartheid South Africa and Israel opened the conference suggesting that similar action was required to achieve Palestinian rights. He outlined the stark injustices suffered by Palestinians, based on his experience over seven visits.

Palestinian writer and commentator, Ramzy Baroud called for us to challenge the “illusion” of a peace process, when Israel had no need to change and the Palestinian Authority enjoyed its privileges. He stressed the need to bring unity across the various Palestinian factions through new leadership. He emphasised that we can empower the Palestinians by reaching out to them and educating our political leaders. He strongly supported campaigns like the ‘Kick Israel out of FIFA’, which help put pressure to isolate Israel internationally, and called for widespread BDS.

Ronnie Kasrils, struggle veteran and former Government Minister, South Africa was unable to attend but sent a statement including: “The beautiful game as played by Israel is the epitome of race hatred and prejudice in action against Palestinian players and spectators and is fanned by vile abuse and hatred from the Israeli government, virtually endemic throughout that society, with free license for the most rabidly racist football fans. Apartheid Israel, as was the case with Apartheid South Africa, should have no place in football, within UEFA and FIFA”. (full statement given in 19 March post)

The meeting was addressed by a panel of local public figures who expressed their full support for a campaign to raise awareness of the situation in Palestine across Wales and the need for international action. Sue Lent, Deputy Leader of Cardiff City Council said that a boycott resolution would be put to the council at earliest practicable time. Shavannah Taj , Regional officer of PCS union told the meeting of the strong support that the union nationally gives to the cause of the Palestinian people and assured us that the Wales section is equally committed. This wholehearted level of support was reiterated by Roger Bevan, UNISON International officer.

A presentation by four of the Easton Cowgirls, an anti racist football team which had visited the West Bank, showed that there are many creative ways in which we can support Palestine in our everyday lives.

The contributions were inspiring and suggestions were made that a Palestine Day, including a football tournament should be held in Cardiff in the summer, that the Wales Football Association be lobbied to send football coaches out to Palestine, that we reach out to students, including those at Atlantic College, and that dual language literature should be provided.

Baroness Jenny Tonge closed the conference emphasising the need to constantly keep the issue of Palestine to the fore. She described how this persistence did get results, as in the changes amongst MPs and peers over the last 15 years, but that BDS campaigns were an essential element in publicly exposing Israel’s violations of international law in order to bring pressure to end the impunity afforded Israel by our governments.

The conference agreed the following declaration:

We believe that all sporting links with Israel should be broken and as part of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy, we call for a boycott of the Wales v Israel European Championship qualifying match on 6 September 2015 in Cardiff.

The apartheid Israeli state oppresses the Palestinians who face constant violence, harassment and murderous attacks—most recently last summer in Gaza. Newly elected Binyamin Netanyahu has declared that there will be no Palestinian state and no halt to settlement building. The situation is a clear violation of international law and requires world wide action against the Israeli state.

In particular, Israel has launched a war on football in Palestine: footballers have been killed, stadiums bombed and players have been refused permission to travel to matches. There can be no normal sport in the abnormal situation that exists between Israel and Palestine. We stand for a free Palestine and an end to occupation and Israel apartheid.

We will work to build a major campaign against the Wales v Israel match involving all who oppose injustice but in particular Palestine campaigners, trade union and labour movement organisations, students, faith organisations and anti-racists.

We also call on UEFA and FIFA to suspend the membership of the Israeli Football Association because it maintains its links with the Israeli state that practices occupation, colonisation and apartheid.


Palestine Solidarity Campaign:

Wales v. Israel – March and rally in Cardiff

Don’t Play Israeli Apartheid: Fair Play for Palestine at UEFA Championships

Our campaign, Fair Play for Palestine, part of Red Card Israeli Racism, is gathering in strength. But we need your help. On September 6th Israel is playing Wales at the Cardiff City Ground and we must show them that they are not welcome.

Israeli PR is already working to promote its image as ‘good sports’.  This match gives us a huge opportunity to say loud and clear that Israel is an apartheid state and must become a pariah state.

Speakers at the rally outside the Cardiff ground are being arranged.  These will include Welsh MEP Jill Evans, currently in Palestine, Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian Ambassador.   The plan is to meet at Cardiff City Hall and then march to the Cardiff City ground for a big rally before the game kick-off at 5 pm.

The Palestinian BDS movement calls for a sporting and cultural boycott. We need to keep the momentum going in support of the suspension of Israel from FIFA and UEFA. Wales has drawn Israel in the qualifying round of the 2015/2016 UEFA Championships. There is no fair play in Israel, a country which is illegally occupying Palestine. Wales will be playing against a country which routinely prevents Palestinian people from playing football and competing in tournaments, a team which should be kicked out of UEFA and FIFA. The rules of FIFA and UEFA are clear that there should be freedom of movement for all players around the world and no racism in football. But Israel violates both principles with impunity.

We have the support of PCS and UNISON trade unions and other groups and this support is growing. We very much hope that you will be able to help us, we can be contacted through our email address, cardiffpsc@gmail.com , our  facebook page facebook.com\cardiffpsc or follow us on twitter @cardiffpsc

Book your seat on a coach from London: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/cardiffrally/

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