On Arsenal and Israel

It’s hard to be an Israeli and an Arsenal fan these days. Them lot up the road are seen as the “Jewish” club, but there are many Jewish Arsenal supporters in the UK, and thousands of Israeli Gooners too (10K followers of the Israeli Arsenal Facebook page, for example). Being a Jewish Gooner has always been complicated; I often went to Highbury as a kid, first as a Junior Gunner in the 1980s and then graduating on to the North Bank, but I couldn’t bring myself to go any more after people around me one afternoon started chanting “One man went to gas, went to gas a Yiddo” (to the tune of “One man and his dog”). But I’ve remained a fervent supporter, have taken my kids to the Emirates, and have continued to support the Arsenal even after moving to Israel in the 1990s.

Arsenal fans in particular should understand Israelis, because lately we’ve been going through the same psychological processes.

First of all, everyone hates us. Everyone hates Arsenal – for our supposed timewasting, for our shithousery at corners, for our reliance on set pieces, for our boring football – and everyone hates Israel – for our supposed genocide of Palestinians, for our war crimes, for our apartheid. The hatred leaves us bewildered. We know that it relies on facts taken out of context, on mistaken assumptions, on an inability to see the full picture. We reel off statistics to prove that the haters are wrong: there are plenty of other teams who take more time than us to restart play, we’ve scored more goals than any other English team this year, we’re only boring because opponents play low blocks against us; our terrorist-to-civilian casualty rates compare favorably to other wars, we’re fighting a terrorist organization which is itself genocidal and seeks our destruction while hiding behind civilians, Palestinian citizens of Israel have full and equal rights.

As an Arsenal fan, I look at all the criticism we receive, and I respond with indignation: what about Manchester City and the 115 FFP charges against them? What about the petro-dollars that fund Newcastle? What about Chelsea’s disciplinary record? As an Israeli, I have the same indignant response to critique: what about Iran’s decades-long support of terrorism throughout the world? What about the Palestinian Authority’s corruption? What about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record?

Why are you obsessed only with me?

Whataboutery isn’t a deflection from dealing with reality: it’s a demand to address the issue within the totality of reality.

But as an Arsenal fan, and as an Israeli, I also have to look at that criticism, and admit that on a certain level, there is some truth in some of what is said. I mean, as Arsenal fans, let’s be honest: David Raya does take a long time on goal kicks when we’re ahead. He just does! And we do kind of obstruct the opposing goalkeeper at corners, let’s not deny it, it’s part of Nicolas Jover’s strategy. And we are sometimes guilty of horseshoe football going forward, it’s not pretty.

In making these analogies, I don’t mean to make light of the tragedy that has gone on in Gaza over the past couple of years. There is a Hebrew phrase “l’havdil”, which literally translates as “to distinguish”, but means: don’t take the analogy too seriously, I’m making a rhetorical point, I understand that the cases are not the same.

So, l’havdil: as an Israeli, I also have to be honest: some of our soldiers did commit war crimes in Gaza, they even boasted about it on social media; Palestinian citizens of Israel have full rights, yes, but there is still plenty of discrimination and inequality of opportunity; what’s going on in the West Bank right now is outrageous and looks a lot like apartheid.

So, my fellow Gooners, this is a plea to those of you who call yourself anti-Zionist or who like to demonize Israel. Don’t. We, like the Gunners, are not perfect. Some of the things they say about us are true, and we have to live with that, look at ourselves in the mirror, and call ourselves to account. But a lot of what they say about us isn’t true, or is exaggerated, or is true of everyone, and to say those things only about Israel is obsessive and discriminatory and just wrong. As Arsenal fans, you should understand that. And remember, if Arsenal loses, there’s always next season; if Israel loses, that will mean the destruction of the state and the death of millions of Jews. Now there’s a l’havdil for you.

May we see peace, security, and self-determination for Israelis, Palestinians, Iranians, and all the peoples of this region. And may Arsenal win the quadruple.