Tale of neglect: how Beitar Jerusalem became infected with racism

When can you say that an organisation is a racist one? Is Beitar Jerusalem a racist club? While there’s a vast group of fans that are openly racist, the Israeli Premier League club tries, now and sporadically in the past, to fight them. “Here they come, the racist team of the country,” they sang for many years. But they’re a minority among Beitar fans. Were the English clubs racist entities during the 1980s when fans threw bananas at black players? Are they racist now because some fans abuse players online?

Beitar, six-times national champions, isn’t a racist club but an organisation deeply infected with racism. Numerous owners and chairmen tried to fight the racists and paid a personal price. If Beitar could get rid of racism and racists they would do it but it’s getting harder and harder. It could have been done in the past more easily but now it looks like a herculean task.

Most fans would love to have a normal club but they don’t call the shots. When Aviram Bruchian, Beitar’s captain in 2009 and nephew of club legend Uri Malmilian, said he would be happy to play alongside an Arab player, he was summoned to an urgent meeting with La Familia, the club’s far-right fan group. The next day he released the following message: “I am sorry for the pain that I’ve caused the fans and I do understand that I’ve hurt them. It is important for me that they will know that I’m with them in all circumstances. I’m not the one who takes such decisions but if the fans don’t want an Arab player, there will be no Arab player in Beitar.”

When these kind of fans decide on club policy you have a serious problem. You just need to listen to their songs:

Witnesses are the stars in the sky For racism that is like a dream The whole world will