International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: With visible displays of support for Palestine at the Qatar World Cup, we delve into the nature of this support and also the sanctions faced by those who have protested for the cause.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar has provided us with many firsts.
It’s the first World Cup to be hosted in an Arab and Muslim country. It’s the first World Cup to be hosted in winter.
However, with today marking The UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it must be highlighted that this is the first World Cup, as well as an international football tournament, that’s seen the most uncensored and widespread support for the Palestinian cause in history.
“Palestinian solidarity within a footballing space has always been restricted. Governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA have constantly made examples out of players, teams and fans for outwardly protesting Israeli apartheid and its human rights abuses”
Ahead of the 2010 World Cup, Somali-Canadian artist K’naan released the football anthem of the century, “Wavin’ Flag”. For those who have seen their voices silenced for a lifetime, this song holds a symbolic meaning.
We’ve witnessed Palestinian flags waving high in the stadiums as well as fans from all backgrounds sporting Keffiyeh’s, the native Palestinian headdress, which has become a symbol of resistance.
These homages signify the solidarity of football fans and their sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people. As the culture and information spread to other visitors from across the world, the hope is that this imagery inspires a new generation of activism.
?? Palestine supporters wave their flags high at the Qatar World Cup.
Despite Palestine not qualifying for the tournament, its national flag, and other symbols of solidarity can be spotted in various matches.
Which flag are you waving in the tournament?@FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/57ZMiFkcm0
— Doha News (@dohanews) November 26, 2022
Another sentiment present among fans is their disapproval of normalisation between the Arab countries and Israel. In September 2020, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel. Mediated by the United States, these agreements are formally known as the “Abraham Accords”.
Prior to this, the only two Arab countries to formally recognise Israel were Egypt and Jordan, in 1979 and 1994, respectively. December 2020 and January 2021 saw Morocco and Sudan follow suit and join the Abraham Accords.
This was a move that rocked Moroccan civil society. On this day in 2021, thousands of pro-Palestine protestors took to the streets in 36 cities across the kingdom to protest a visit by Benny Gantz, the Israeli Defence Minister, to Rabat.
Groups of Moroccan fans were heard singing songs of resistance in Qatar:
“To our beloved Palestine… Where are the Arabs, are they asleep? Oh, the most beautiful of all countries. Resist!
May God protect you from the oppression of your enemies and those that want to take from you.
We won’t let anything happen to you, oh Gaza, even though you’re far away. Oh Rafah, and Ramallah, the Arab world is sick…”
This displeasure at normalisation has manifested most commonly in the rejection of Israeli news reporters. Dozens of videos have gone viral of fans refusing to participate in Israeli coverage of the tournament, many making their stances towards the illegal occupation felt very strongly.
One particular video that surfaced focused on three Lebanese men who were being interviewed in Arabic by an Israeli reporter. Upon asking him where he’s from and finding out, they immediately walked away from the camera in disbelief. The reporter continued to speak to them. After one was heard saying “Free Palestine”, he retorted “You say Palestine. I say Israel”. The video clip ended with the Lebanese man insisting to the reporter “Israel doesn’t exist”.
"الحبيبة يا فلسطين، يا الي عليك القلب حزين، وين العرب نايمين، آه يا زينة البلدان ربي يحميك من ظلم العديان".. شاهد جماهير المغرب في المونديال تنشد لفلسطين pic.twitter.com/WZdBMoUdoY
— مجلة ميم (@MeemMagazine) November 27, 2022
This conversation has been a common one for Israeli reporters, some of whom have resorted to unorthodox tactics to try and deceive fans into speaking with them. One Israeli reporter claimed that he is Ecuadorian, until a supporter off-camera raised the concern that Hebrew and Spanish are two completely different languages. The Spanish language, funnily enough, is closer to Arabic, with 8% of the Spanish dictionary deriving from Arabic root words.
Although the World Cup may have provided Israeli correspondents with awkward and uncomfortable scenarios, journalists are not being killed in cold blood. Some fans have made a point of holding up imagery of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist who was shot and killed by the IDF in May 2022 while reporting a raid on Jenin.
A football fan raises Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh t-shirt during today's Canada vs. Croatia match at #FIFAWorldCup in Qatar ?? pic.twitter.com/FzEiRWgkR4
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 27, 2022
Palestinian solidarity within a footballing space has always been restricted. Governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA have constantly made examples out of players, teams and fans for outwardly protesting Israeli apartheid and its human rights abuses. Let us delve into a few examples.
Scottish Solidarity
Football fans who keep Palestine close to their hearts will be acutely aware of the deep connection that fans of Scottish football club Celtic have to the cause, a stance that has landed the club in trouble in the past.
A 2014 Champions League game versus KR Reykjavik saw the club fined £16,000 after a Palestine flag was displayed in a stand. At this same time, Israel had launched Operation Protective Edge, but what was the result of this operation?
This was a military operation launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip from 8th July – 26th August 2014. Within that time frame, Israel killed 2,251 Palestinians, 551 of them being children.
The total casualties amounted to 11,231. The UNRWA reported that 3,436 children were injured, with approximately 1/3 of them facing lifelong disabilities as a result of injuries sustained in the operation. Almost half a million Palestinians were displaced internally within Gaza as a result.
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