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Pro-Palestinian Mob in UK Plotted to Hunt Down Visiting Israeli Soccer Players
(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Jane Prinsley - Anti-Israel activists plotted to hunt down players from Maccabi Tel Aviv's soccer team during their visit to Birmingham, leaked WhatsApp messages seen by the Jewish Chronicle reveal. The Israeli side became the target of a coordinated plan involving hotel stakeouts and surveillance by protesters determined to track the team and have the match cancelled. The game on Thursday went ahead without any Maccabi fans present in the stadium. Chants of "death to the IDF" and "intifada revolution" were shouted by a crowd of Gaza protesters, while a smaller group of pro-Israel counter-protesters were confined to a caged basketball court by police. In a leaked WhatsApp message, organizers of the Gaza protest outside the stadium planned a "search for Maccabi team" the day before the match. Activists intended to track down the players in Birmingham hotels and shared a link with the players' faces so they would be able to identify the Israeli side. A message from the West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said: "We need volunteers for Wednesday for MISSION CRITICAL search actions. We can still cancel this match if we obstruct team Maccabi from attending the match." The messages appears to mirror similar attempts when the Israeli team played in Amsterdam in November 2024. Messages from anti-Israel activists shared at the time called for a "Jew hunt."