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In normal circumstances, this space would be dedicated to lauding Ataa Jaber’s Man of the Match performance in Palestine’s maiden World Cup qualifier — a 0-0 draw against Lebanon. Instead, the player is currently battling a wave of hate directed his way for his decision to represent Palestine after serving as captain of the Israeli U21 team.
The common refrain from Israeli footballing circles is that Israel could not possibly be an apartheid state because of the Palestinian players that represent its national teams.
Of course, the P-word is never used. These players become simply Arabs or Muslims better even if they fall into the subdivisions the Israeli state created for them like “Druze” or “Bedouin”.
"The atmosphere in Israeli society is so toxic right now that many people have been dragged to prison for the crime of liking social media posts or following news accounts deemed unfriendly to the State"
When Israel took to the pitch with Mohammed Abu Fani, Ramzi Safouri, and Anan Khalaili took to the pitch against Switzerland many used their presence as evidence of the state’s tolerance and acceptance. A glittering example of Israel’s cosmopolitan, democratic, nature.
Never mind that Diaa Saba was unceremoniously dropped not for his words or actions but because his wife dared to post something about Gaza’s children. His contractual status is up in the air and at the time of writing it is unknown whether he will be included in the squad when Israeli football returns to action next week.
The atmosphere in Israeli society is so toxic right now that many people have been dragged to prison for the crime of liking social media posts or following news accounts deemed unfriendly to the State.
So, it should really come as no surprise that Ataa Jaber has been subjected to a hate campaign. This particular one is September’s leftovers reheated and served up for a baying public.
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In September, Ataa Jaber gave an interview to Arab News and explained his thinking behind the nationality switch. He told of his realisation that the sport and politics could not be separated and how the events in Sheikh Jarrah in May 2021 started a journey that ended in a first cap for Palestine in June 2021.
"When footballers switch allegiances between countries, government officials don’t bay for blood, former teams don’t petition the government to strip the player of their citizenship, and former teammates don’t accuse them of lacking basic human decency"
Normally, such a decision would generate little controversy. Jaber after all, never represented Israel at senior level and news of his exploits in Azerbaijan had ceased being reported by the media.
When footballers switch allegiances between countries, government officials don’t bay for blood, former teams don’t petition the government to strip the player of their citizenship, and former teammates don’t accuse them of lacking basic human decency. This of course is exactly what did happen.
The statements are nothing short of shocking: MS Ashdod the player’s former club issued a statement saying that “participation in the Palestine national team, especially in the light of the massacre on October 7th, and a time when Israel is under fire, is by definition treason…. We appeal to the Minister of Interior, Mr. Moshe Ariel, to consider the denial of Ataa Jaber’s citizenship.”
Yaniv Katan, captain of Maccabi Haifa during Jaber’s time there, went one further: “For you, I would arrange a special one-way taxi tomorrow morning straight to Khan Younis. By the way the IDF forces are on their way there.”
Former Premier League defender Tal Ben Haim said: “If they don’t deny him citizenship after this, it’s over.” The Sport 5 article was a smorgasbord of hate featuring quotes from eight different players many of whom played alongside Ataa Jaber.
The man who coached him and gave him the armband at the U21 national team level called his decision to represent Palestine “despicable” and said that “they didn’t want him in our national team but now he has no place in our country. He should not only get an orange ID card he should go directly to the orange bin. In Israel, it is important to "pollute as little as possible.”
The first calls for Ataa Jaber to be stripped of citizenship were made by Yoseph Haddad — a pro-Israel advocate who works closely with Israel’s foreign ministry — back in September. Haddad renewed the call this week in the aftermath of Palestine’s World Cup qualifier.
The player’s agent Dudu Dahan also cut ties with the player announcing “ScoutPush no longer represents him…. We will not tolerate any support of Gaza. We will sever ties with any player of ours who does so.”
Not satisfied with that, the press corps accompanying the Israeli national team in Hungary asked Mohammed Abu Fani — who is cap-tied to Israel — about Ataa Jaber’s situation and of course asked him to condemn what happened on October 7.
The fear of reprisal among many Palestinian footballers playing in the Israeli football pyramid is palpable. Now, not only can one lose his job by following the wrong account or simply valuing human life in Gaza, but should they choose to play for another national team they might be eligible for they could also see their contracts cancelled.
"This campaign against Ataa Jaber might have started as an attempt to get other footballers to fall in line but given the increasingly hostile nature of Israeli society, it might just have the opposite effect"
It would be impossible to envision a player losing his British citizenship if he chose to represent the Republic of Ireland. Or seeing a hateful mob spring into action based on which Irish team one played for. Make no mistake, Israeli football is not angry about losing the services of Ataa Jaber.
This is about Palestinian citizens of Israel not acting like the Uncle Tom the system wants them to be. For Israeli society, A good Arab is invisible. Obfuscated — much like the village his family was forcibly removed from.
Of course, it’s hard to hide 1.9 million people (over 20% of Israel’s population). So a new term was invented for them — Israeli-Arabs.
The first generation served a purpose — a cheap supply of labour. The second generation was better educated and became an important source of tax revenue. The third generation now serves in the public health system where they are overrepresented by a factor of two. That same generation is now overrepresented in Israeli football and many no longer will accept being told to “shut up and dribble.”
This campaign against Ataa Jaber might have started as an attempt to get other footballers to fall in line but given the increasingly hostile nature of Israeli society, it might just have the opposite effect.
In fact, since Ataa Jaber declared for Palestine three more Palestinian citizens have turned out for the Palestine national team.
Bassil Mikdadi is the creator of Football Palestine and an international football pundit. His work has been featured in the BBC, The Totally Football Show, and The Guardian
Follow him on Twitter: @BassilMikdadi
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