La Familia (Beitar supporters' group)

La Familia are a far-right, football supporters' group of the Israeli Premier League club Beitar Jerusalem,[1] primarily consisting of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish descendants of the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries.[2][3]

La Familia
Founded2005
Years active2005–present
TerritoryJerusalem
EthnicityMainly Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews
ActivitiesFootball hooliganism, riots, vandalism

Organization

The organization began in 2005 and occupy the eastern sections of Teddy Stadium. Estimates of the group's numbers vary. A reporter put the number at a few hundred[4] while a leader of the group said that it encompassed a network of 3,000 supporters.[5] At a home match in 2008, a correspondent for the BBC said that the group was about 20% of the crowd. They are the most vocal in the stadium and some local fans follow their chants.[4][5]

Primarily consisting of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish descendants of the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries, La Familia is proud of its Jewish identity. The group is notorious for chants that insult Arab players, and for displaying the flag of the banned Kach party.[4] Cheers with lines such as "death to the Arabs"[6] and "Muhammad is a homosexual"[7] are common. Unlike other top clubs in the country, no Arabs have ever played for Beitar. La Familia has continuously raised strong objections to any Arab transfers.[8] The group was adamantly against the signing of a Nigerian Muslim (who lasted half a season in 2005) and the 2013 transfer of two Chechnyan Muslims.[9]

The team has roots in the Betar Zionist youth movement and has been supported by several Israeli politicians on the political right throughout its history. La Familia has similarly been labeled far-right and is openly against those they view as being on the left.[6][10] The club has publicly condemned the group and has gone as far as barring it from a match.[9] Some Beitar fans have expressed embarrassment over the organization and openly oppose their ideals.[9][11]

Incidents

During a December 2007 Toto Cup semi-final game between Beitar Jerusalem and the Israeli-Arab team Bnei Sakhnin, La Familia sang provocative chants insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Israel Football Association (IFA) punished Beitar by forcing them to play their next game against Sakhnin with no fans present. Vandals set fire to the IFA's offices and left graffiti threatening the life of the IFA chairman. The graffiti included the initials "LF" for La Familia, but the group denied involvement.[12][13] Bnei Sakhnin is the only Arab-Israeli club in the Premier League. Matches between the clubs often result in violence and arrests.[14]

Beitar was disciplined in 2008 after fans disrupted a minute of silence to mark the death of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Later that year La Familia led a pitch invasion in what would have been a title-clinching win against Maccabi Herzliya. The IFA deducted two points from Beitar and ordered that the next game be played behind closed doors.[15][16] In December 2011, fans yelled "Give Toto a banana"[4] towards Nigerian-born Toto Tamuz. The IFA again punished Beitar with a two-point deduction and another game in an empty stadium.

Supporters stormed the Malha Mall after a match in March 2012 while chanting "Death to Arabs". It was reported that Arab workers were harassed and beaten.[8] A few months later, a group of Beitar fans attacked a McDonald's where Arabs were among the staff.[17]

The club's 2013 signing of two Chechnyan Muslims, Dzhabrail Kadiyev and Zaur Sadayev, raised anger from the supporters. Members of La Familia set a team office on fire after the announcement.[9] Fans walked out of a match in March that saw Sadayev score his first goal for Beitar.[18]

During the second qualifying round of the Europa League, on 16 July 2015 at Sporting Charleroi, the game was delayed for three minutes due to the unruly behavior of the Israeli supporters when they threw flares on to the game's field and the Charleroi goalkeeper, Nicolas Penneteau, was hit by an object.[19] This caused the owner, Eli Tabib, to decide to leave the club.

In 2016, undercover police infiltrated La Familia over a one month period, resulting in 56 arrests including nine soldiers and two minors on suspicion of selling weapons and violence.[19]

References
  1. Montague, James (26 November 2006). "How racism is holding back Arab footballers - Rockets, riots and rivalry". The Observer. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  2. Rubin, Shira (3 September 2015). "Sickened fans set up a non-racist Beitar in Jerusalem". Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  3. "Beitar Jerusalén, club insignia de la derecha de Israel que no ficha a árabes". www.efe.com.
  4. Heller, Aron (20 January 2012). "Israeli club paying price for racist fans". Associated Press.
  5. Goldblatt, David (23 April 2008). "Football and politics in the Holy City". BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  6. Montague (17 September 2012). "Football and the wall: The divided soccer community of Jerusalem". CNN. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  7. Keret, Etgar (5 June 2011). "In Israel, a Soccer Game Reflects a Divide". The New York Times. p. MM24. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  8. Prince-Gibson, Eetta (9 April 2012). "Jerusalem mall violence shines light on dark side of Israeli soccer". JTA. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  9. Barshad, Amos (19 March 2013). "How Soccer Explains Israel". Grantland. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  10. Dorsey, James M. "Beitar Cross the Line - Again!". CleatBeat. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  11. Moran, Dominic (25 August 2009). "Israeli Football: The Politics of Play". International Relations and Security Network. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  12. Last, Jeremy (17 January 2008). "Vandals set fire to IFA offices. Police investigation launched after 'Betar fans' daub graffiti threatening Avi Luzon on walls". The Jerusalem Post. p. 12.
  13. Last, Jeremy (18 January 2008). "IFA remains defiant after arson". The Jerusalem Post. p. 12.
  14. Sterman, Adiv; Justin, Jalil (24 November 2014). "Police arrest 4 after Sakhnin defeats Beitar 1:0". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  15. Goldblatt, David (24 April 2008). "Football in the Holy Land". BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  16. Rothman, Tomer (20 May 2008). "Beitar Jerusalem vs. Maccabi Herzliya / Herzliya braces for tonight's crucial rematch with Beitar". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  17. Tharoor, Ishaan (10 July 2014). "How Israeli soccer hooligans fanned flames of hate". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  18. Dawber, Alistair (4 March 2013). "'It's not racism. The Muslim players just shouldn't be here': Beitar Jerusalem fans walk out over signing of two Muslim Chechen players". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  19. Beaumont, Peter (26 July 2016). "Israeli police raids target Beitar Jerusalem football hooligans". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
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