When politics suffocates sports
Op-ed: Everything was ready for the Argentine team’s arrival, but Prime Minister Netanyahu and Culture Minister Regev scored an own goal when they insisted on moving the game from Haifa. Jerusalem is our eternal capital and most important city, but that doesn’t mean everything related to Israel has to be held in Jerusalem.
When politics suffocates sports, this is the result: An Israeli-made own goal, accurately scored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev and the crazy coalition which lets its leaders run wild.
Everything was ready—sportive, clean, apolitical. A production company initiated the arrival of the Argentine team, which asked to play at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa. That’s indisputable.
At that stage, there was no strong resistance from anyone. But as far as our politicians are concerned, it wasn’t enough. Netanyahu and Regev sought to enlist Argentina to take part in Israel’s 70th anniversary celebration, no less.
Although the Argentine team—and the organizers—insisted on Haifa, Regev declared that the game would only take place in Jerusalem, apparently following Messi’s registration as a Likud Central Committee member.
It didn’t stop there. According to reports, Netanyahu himself sent a letter to Argentina’s president several months ago, inviting the team to play in Jerusalem.
They make a pit, dig it all out to trap the Argentines in it as part of a diplomatic-political capital declaration, and then fall right into the hole that they’ve made. Israel’s arrogant statements did the trick and sent the pro-Palestinian protestors to the street, and they did everything in their power to deter Messi and his friends, including holding blood-stained blue-and-white jerseys.
Let’s try to objectively put ourselves in the Argentines’ shoes for a minute: Why should they be politically affiliated with Israel? There’s no reason. Instead of letting sports talk, clearing the arena of signs of patriotism, we dragged them into the fire and even spent an unnecessary sum of NIS 2.7 million, to facilitate the most from the Sammy Ofer Stadium to the Teddy Stadium.
Jerusalem is our eternal capital, the most important city in Israel. That’s not a cliché, it’s a historical truth without a shred of cynicism. But that doesn’t mean that everything related to Israel has to be held in Jerusalem.
Mr. Prime Minister and Ms. Sports Minister, what was so wrong with Haifa, a mixed city, a symbol of Jewish-Arab coexistence for decades? Why it’s clear to you too that the Argentine team would have visited the holy sites in Jerusalem and that Messi would have posted a picture from the Western Wall on Instagram. You missed a double opportunity.
This isn’t the end. Netta Barzilai may have brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Israel, but we may lose that too just like we lost Argentina. The European Broadcasting Union has already conveyed messages that it is concerned of a politicization of the Eurovision in Israel. Apparently, they know how to Google there and have heard about the Shabbat wars and about our ministers’ attempts to take over the competition’s organization.
It’s time the politicians vacate the stage. We are not your toy, and neither is Leo Messi.
