English FA criticised for ‘weak response’ to Israel and Palestine conflict

England's Football Association (FA) has been condemned for its “weak response” to the Israel and Palestine conflict by a Jewish communal organisation.

The FA had faced calls to illuminate the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag before Friday’s friendly between England and Australia, following attacks by Hamas militants on the country’s territory last weekend.

The FA announced in a statement on Thursday that players would wear black armbands and that a period of silence would be observed instead to remember the victims of the conflict.

Wembley remembers the victims of the conflict in Israel and Palestine.

— The FA (@FA) October 12, 2023

The Hamas attacks have led to the Israeli government responding with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, with a ground invasion also reported to be a possibility.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews criticised the FA statement, pointing out that it made “no mention of the mass terrorist murders of hundreds of innocent Israelis last Saturday”.

Marie van der Zyl, the Board of Deputies’ president, added: “After the Bataclan massacre in 2015, when 90 were murdered at a Paris nightclub, La Marseillaise was played at every Premier League stadium the following weekend.

“When hundreds of innocent Israelis were murdered, raped and kidnapped in a co-ordinated terrorist campaign, unequalled since 9/11, the FA’s response is ‘to remember the victims of the conflicts in Israel and Palestine’. This weak response brings no credit on the FA.”

The FA’s statement read: “On Friday evening, we will remember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine. Our thoughts are with them, and their families and friends in England and Australia and with all the communities who are