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Soccer Thugs Killed a Palestinian Boy in Jerusalem

(Tablet) Liel Leibovitz - Like so many of the narratives beamed out of the Middle East by pale Western journalists who know so painfully little about the region and its inhabitants, this story, too, is difficult to understand. If you want to understand the gruesome murder of 16-year-old Muhammed Abu Khdeir in the hands of six young Israelis last week, don't turn to Bibi or the Bible or Hamas or Abbas: turn to Beitar Jerusalem, the favorite soccer team of Israel's undivided capital. All six suspects are fanatical Beitar fans. Members of the murderous cabal are all affiliated with La Familia, a small group of several thousand Beitar fans known for their anti-Arab opinions and a more general penchant for thuggery. The truth is that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Palestinian Authority, settler rabbis and Hamas all have nothing to do with the terrible events that unfurled after six lowlifes forced a sweet-faced kid into their car and burned him alive. Soccer does. So please, enough with the ancient hatreds and the cycle of violence. The death of Muhammed Abu Khdeir is a terrible tragedy, but it's not one unique to Israel. Anyone who watches soccer more frequently than a few matches every four years understands that intuitively.
2014-07-08 00:00:00
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