AFTER ARGENTINA CANCELS JERUSALEM MATCH, IS ISRAEL FACING SPORTING ISOLATION?

Did Netanyahu turn Argentina game into a political football?

One of the most effective tools used against Apartheid-era South Africa was the sporting boycott, with a growing number of teams and players pulling out of tours to South Africa. This had a really demoralising effect on White South Africans and played its part in the downfall of White power there.

Now the same scenario may be developing with regard to Israel and its policy towards the Palestinians, after the Argentinian soccer team decided to pull out of a friendly match against the Israeli national team scheduled to be held in Jerusalem this Saturday (June 9th):

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was smarting on Wednesday from a symbolically powerful setback after Argentina cancelled a friendly football match against Israel following pressure by Palestinians and their supporters.

The cancellation was painful, not only because it disappointed fans, but also because it marked one of the biggest successes yet for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement that seeks to isolate Israel.

Palestinian groups welcomed the news of the cancellation, saying Israel, through the friendly, had been attempting to “sports-wash” abuses against Palestinians, including recent killings by snipers of unarmed Palestinians at the Gaza border.

The sold-out match, scheduled to take place on Saturday evening at the Teddy Stadium in West Jerusalem, had been eagerly awaited by Israelis anxious for a glimpse of Lionel Messi in Argentina’s final warm-up before next week’s World Cup in Russia.

Opposition politicians blamed the cancellation on Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for over-politicising the match:

Israel’s opposition did not accept the explanation at face value. It said the government had triggered the Argentinian cancellation through its own actions.

“Turning the game into a political event caused its cancellation,” Zuheir Bahloul, a member of the Knesset from the Zionist Union party and a former football commentator, told The Independent.

The cancellation of the match also sets a powerful new precedent that could lead to growing pressure from the BDS movement for other teams and sportsmen to boycott Israel. 

Israel's national sport?