Israel are playing against England in Tel Aviv on March 24th in a Euro 2008 qualifier. The Boycott Israeli Goods campaign is calling for this match to be cancelled as Israel is a racist Apartheid state. Sports boycotts are an effective tool for civil society to show their condemnation of Israel’s Apartheid policies where states will not.
Write to the Football Association to complain about Israel’s inclusion in Euro 2008 and England’s qualifier match with Israel in Tel Aviv on the 23rd March:
Complain to the FA at info@thefa.com or call them on 020 7745 4999. You could copy in UEFA at info@euro2008.com
Please also write to Kick Racism out of Football about the inclusion of Apartheid Israel in Euro 2008 while Palestinian footballers are excluded from international football:
email them at info@kickitout.org or email their chairman Lord Herman Ouseley at hermanouseley@aol.com. Contact them on 020 7684 4884.
Please email boycott at palestinecampaign.org to let us know if you receive a reply
More info on sports boycott and on the repression of Palestinian international football:
Sport boycott as a Political Weapon – India ENews
PA Football Team Unable to reach the Asian Cup qualifier because of Israeli Gaza travel ban
Website of Goal Dreams – a Film about Palestine’s national football team
Activists plan to Kick Israeli Apartheid Out of Football – Stop the Wall
Last summer the campaign for a sporting boycott of Apartheid Israel gathered momentum after Israel’s bombing of Lebanon. In July a large picket was held outside the Davis Cup Israel-Britain tennis tournament in Eastbourne. On the 3rd August a planned Israel-Scotland cricket match was cancelled after protests were announced. Protests are planned over Arsenal’s sponsorship deal with the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
The sporting boycott was an integral tool in the movement against South African Apartheid and can be used effectively to highlight Israeli apartheid. Sporting boycott actions often receive significant media attention in the UK, Israel and Palestine.