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FIFA: ¡SUSPENDE EL APARTHEID ISRAELÍ!
Israel ha violado los principios de la FIFA de diversas maneras que normalmente justificarían acciones disciplinarias e incluso la suspensión de su membresía. Sin embargo, la política de la FIFA ha impedido en el pasado que la organización tomara tales medidas. Sus estatutos internos han sido incluso modificados para dificultar que la Asociación de Fútbol de Palestina (PFA) pueda exigir tales medidas. Por lo tanto, ahora es responsabilidad de la sociedad civil ejercer la presión popular necesaria para conseguirlo.
Desplácese hacia abajo para ver las organizaciones y personas que apoyan la campaña, hasta ahora.
Más de 70 organizaciones de la sociedad civil de todo el mundo se han reunido para nombrar las siguientes objeciones:
A) La Liga de Fútbol Israelí (IFL) permite a los jugadores, e incluso a cinco clubes de los asentamientos ilegales israelíes (legalmente bajo la jurisdicción de Palestina), jugar en su liga nacional sin obtener primero el permiso de la Asociación de Fútbol Palestina (PFA). Se trata de una clara violación de la normativa de la FIFA que debe abordarse.
B) Israel, mediante su administración y control militar de los Territorios Palestinos Ocupados, ha tomado una serie de medidas que perjudican al deporte del fútbol, entre ellas
- Restricciones a los viajes internacionales de los jugadores y entrenadores palestinos
- Restricción de la circulación de jugadores de fútbol entre Gaza, Cisjordania y Jerusalén
- La negativa a permitir la construcción de estadios e instalaciones en la zona C de Cisjordania, la única ubicación viable para dichas instalaciones
- No liberar el material deportivo palestino de las aduanas israelíes, ya que Israel controla todas las fronteras
- Detenciones administrativas de futbolistas y ataques, incluso con gases lacrimógenos, a eventos deportivos
C) Por último, nos oponemos a la prevalencia de consignas descaradamente racistas ("Muerte a los árabes") y a la violencia antiárabe asociada a los partidos de la IFL. Esto va en contra del objetivo declarado por la FIFA de hacer frente al racismo.
Y hacer una simple petición:
La FIFA debe suspender la liga de fútbol israelí hasta que se resuelvan las objeciones mencionadas.
Carta a la FIFA
June 17, 2022
Federation Internationale de Football Association,
FIFA -Strasse 20,
P.O Box 8044
Zurich, Switzerland
Secretary General Fatma Samoura
President Gianni Infantino
Dear President Infantino and Secretary General Samoura,
We write to you concerning aserious breach of FIFA’s own statutes as they relate to human rights, anti-discrimination, and equality for the promotion of football in a globally accessible and unifying manner.
In Section 3, the FIFA Statutes indicate a commitment to Human Rights:
FIFA is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights.” In the impunity provided to Israel in regard to violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, FIFA has breached this commitment.
Meanwhile, Section 2 of the FIFA Statutesinclude the following objectives:
a)to improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth and development programmes;
e)to use its efforts to ensure that the game of football is available to and resourced for all who wish to participate, regardless of gender or age;
The State of Israel’s brutal occupation makes the realization of such objectives impossible, as Israel continues to systematically practice ethnic cleansing and segregation against more than five million Palestinians suffering under its military occupation.
Palestinian clubs continue to be deprived of growing and developing the game they love due to the Israeli occupation that kills and arrests their players, destroys their facilities, and confiscates their land to build illegal settlements. Recently, the Al-Khader club lost two promising players who were killed in cold blood by the occupation. 15-year-old player Zeid Mohammad Ghneim and his distant cousin Mohammad Al-Ghneim were executed by Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian players cannot freely enter, exit, or travel within their homeland due to travel restrictions and Israeli checkpoints; their stadiums are often stormed by Israeli soldiers who throw tear gas canisters and shoot live and rubber bullets during the matches.
Non-Discrimination, Equality and Neutrality
Section 5 of the FIFA Statutes is very clear in regard tonon-discrimination, equality, and neutrality, specifically:
1. Discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.
2. FIFA remains neutral in matters of politics and religion. Exceptions may be made with regard to matters affected by FIFA’s statutory objectives.
When it came to South African apartheid, the prevalenceof discrimination and inequality led to South Africa being thrown out of FIFA.
Well documented and internally reported discrimination, accompanied by violence, threats, and anti-Arab bigotry, regarding the Beitar Jerusalem team have been ignored by FIFA. For example, in October 2020 The Washington Post indicated:
La Familia, is composed of infamously racist “ultras” who support the team Beitar Jerusalem. On their face, ultras are highly organized fans; at games, they lead raucous chants, unfurl massive bannersand set off flares. In practice, they can operate as members of a street gang united by criminality, ideology or a little bit of both.
Beitar is the unofficial team of Israel’s political right. It is the only club in the Israeli Premier League never to have had an Arab player on its roster, and it is Netanyahu’s favorite team. So as the summer’s protests swept Jerusalem, Likud activist Amnon Ben Ami put the call out for the ultras on his popular Facebook page: “La Familia, you are the medicine against those anarchists.
”Ben-Gurion University doctoral student Sophia Solomon concluded that the group’s violence benefits both the team and the politicians. Despite the fact that such widely reported specifics about racism, discrimination, racist chants (including “Death to Arabs”), and violence have been brought to the attention of FIFA, the organization continues to turn a blind eye.
In Section 5 of the Statutes, as a commitment to promoting friendly relations, FIFA indicates that it
shall provide the necessary institutional means to resolve any dispute that may arise between or among member associations, confederations, clubs, officials and players.
We ask you specifically: what has FIFA done in this regard? Considering the efforts to bring the many breaches of its own policy to the attention of FIFA over the last decade, FIFA appears to have “dropped the ball” and not taken any meaningful action to hold the Israel Football Association accountable.
Indication that any issues related to the IFA’s behaviour is political, if ever valid, was negated when FIFA on February 28, 2022 suspended Russia from international competition. This double standard reeks of hypocrisy.
The statutes related to member associations (Section 15) requires that member associations “must comply with the principles of good governance and shall in particular contain, at a minimum, provisions relating to the ‘following matters.’ In the case of the PFA, the Israeli military occupation means that, of these matters, the following cannot be realized:
b) to prohibit all forms of discrimination.
e) all relevant stakeholders must agree to respect the Laws of the Game, the principles of loyalty, integrity, sportsmanship and fair play as well as the Statutes, regulations and decisions of FIFA and of the respective confederation;
i) to avoid conflicts of interests in decision-making.
The Palestinian Football Association has long waited for Israeli footballers to condemn these actions.
But, instead of denouncing the actions of its government, or at least protesting the violence, the Israel Football Association is allowing more than six clubs, located on lands stolen from the Palestinian people, to play in its national league, while Palestinians are denied access to these same lands; it allows the racist fans of Israeli clubs like “Beitar Jerusalem” to chant racist and derogatory chants against Palestinians and attack them in the streets.
Football has a powerful role in building a culture of tolerance and respect and in promoting friendly relations among nations as indicated in FIFA’sown objectives.
It is in this context that civil society from around the world is coming together to make a strong but simple call for FIFA to sanction the IFA. In this regard more than 80 organizations and over 700 individuals from around the world havecome together thus far to send you this message:
Both Israel and the State of Palestine are members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and subject to its internal regulations.
Israel has violated the principles of FIFA in a variety of ways that would normally warrant disciplinary actions and even a suspension of its membership. However, the politics of FIFA have prevented the organization in the past from taking such action. Its internal by-laws have even been amended to makeit more difficult for the Palestine Football Association (PFA) to demand such action.
5In the past, it has also been the policy of FIFA to punish any raising of Palestinian flags by players and clubs who are not Palestinian, on the basis that “politics and sports should not mix.” The Palestine Football Association (PFA) fought a legal battle for years with integrity and had their case illegally shut down; however, FIFA did not even bother following the legal process in their suspension of Russia. The hypocrisy and double standards are unacceptable. Palestinians have been treated unjustly.
Our objections include:
A. The IFA (Israel Football Association) allows players and even five clubs from the illegal Israeli settlements (legally under the jurisdiction of Palestine), to play in their national league without first obtaining permission from the PFA. This is a straightforward violation of FIFA regulations that must be addressed.
B. Israel, by means of its military administration and control of the OccupiedPalestinian Territories, has taken a number of measures that harm the sport of football, including:
●International travel restrictions on Palestinian players and coaches
●Restricting the movement of football players between Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem
●Refusal to allow the building of stadiums and facilities in Area C of the West Bank, the only viable location for such facilities
●Failing to release Palestinian sports equipment from Israeli customs, as Israel controls all borders
●Administrative arrests of footballers and attacks upon, including the tear-gassing of, sports events
C. Finally, we object to the prevalence of blatantly racist sloganeering (“Death to Arabs”) and anti-Arab violence associated with IFA games. This runs counter to FIFA’sstated goal of confronting racism.
The ask is simple:
FIFA must sanction the Israel Football Association until the above objections have been resolved.
FIFA, as the umbrella organization for the sport of football in its entirety and its highest governing body, needs to carry out its legal and moral obligations.
The list of signatories includes human rights, faith groups, sports organizations and clubs, grassroots organizations, and others from six continents.
It includesmusician Roger Waters, author Yann Martel, journalist Chris Hedges, musician Lelia Sansour, award filmmaker Rifat Audeh, chair of the Jewish Network for Palestine in the UK, David Cannon, along with faith leaders, lawyers, doctors, academics, artists, athletes, fans, labour leaders, activists, and fans from Palestine, Israel, the USA, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Greece, the UK, Germany, Australia, Jordan and many other places. Those who have signed are included below.
We look forward to your response which can be sent to:
Jonathan Kuttab
Friends of Sabeel North America
PO Box 3192
Greenwood Village, CO, 80155-3192
We would also welcome a meeting with you.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Kuttab,
Esq.Executive Director
Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA
)cc: FIFA Council Vice Presidents, FIFA Council Members, FIFA Department Heads
Lista de organizaciones que ya han firmado:
#Africa4Palestine, South Africa
Academics for Palestine-Concordia, Montreal, Canada
Al-Haq
Al Marwa, Jordan
Australian Friends of Palestine Association, Adelaide, Australia
Australians for Palestine, Australia
Baltimore Nonviolence Center
Bashir Zmaili & Partners Co., Jordan
Bathurst United Church, Toronto
BDS Malaysia, Malaysia
Boycott from Within, Palestine 48 territory (“Israel”)
Cafe Palestina, Berkshires, Massachusetts
Canada Palestine Association, Vancouver, Canada
Canadian Arab Federation
Canadian Arab Society Of London
Canadian BDS Coalition
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
Canadian Women’s Declaration
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace for Israel/Palestine
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Victoria, B.C., Canada
COASAP, IA, USA
Dufferin Simcoe Film Society, Shelburne, Ontario, Canada
Edmonton Small Press Association
Episcopal Peace Fellowship – Palestine Israel Network, USA
FOSNA Pittsburgh
Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
Gaza Action Ireland , Ireland
Global Peace Alliance BC Society, Canada
Good Shepherd Collective, Palestine
Greater Toronto for BDS (GT4BDS), Toronto
Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine, Waitsfield, VT
Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Hettin Camp Club, Jordan
HR4A Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Independent Jewish Voices
Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, Indiana, USA
Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA
Jewish Voice for Peace, USA
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, USA
Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste, Canada
Just Peace Committee & ILPS Commission 4, Vancouver, BC
Knowledge Track Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Labor for Palestine, USA
Let Kashmir Decide
Middle East Justice and Peace Group of South Central PA, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Nawal al Abed, USA
NH Veterans for Peace, New Hampshire, USA
Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI), Ontario, Canada
Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel, Northfield MN USA
Oakville Palestinian Rights Association, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity), Montreal, Canada
Palestine Football Association
Palestine Higher Council of Youth & Sports
Palestine House -The Palestinian Canadian Community Centre, Mississauga, Ontario
Palestine Olympic Committee
Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Cape Town, South Africa
Palestinian Canadian Congress Canada National
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Wooster, Ohio
Regina Peace Council, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
RootsAction.org , United States
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
SE London Friends of Palestine
Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers – New Brunswick
Tadamun Antimili, Colombia
The Rosette Network Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Toronto Raging Granniesm Toronto, Ontario, Canada
UbiOrbi Denavar
UCC PIN National Steering Committee, USA
USACBI: US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, USA
Valley View Church, Pittsburgh, PA USA
Other sports teams, organizations and groups can add their support at: https://bit.ly/
Joining with them are hundreds of athletes, artists, academics, lawyers, clergy, activists, sports fans and others including:
Roger Waters, musician and activist
Saeed Mousa Alejawey, Previous President of Jaleel Club, Jordan-Irbid
Jehad Fathi Atieh, Manager of the Yarmouk Club, Amman, Jordan
Yann Martel, author
Chris Hedges, journalist
Carlos Robert Steiner, Military Veteran
Rabbi David Mivasair, Rabbi Emeritus
You can add your support at: https://bit.ly/
Firma la Iniciativa Ciudadana Europea de prohibir el comercio entre la UE y asentamientos de los Territorios Ocupados
https://stopsettlements.org/
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