Own goal

Last updated on June 10th, 2017 at 06:13 am

Ireland’s Palestinian Solidarity Group didn’t bother with too much research when it selected an Israel team member as the reviled face of its campaign to shun an Ireland-Israel soccer match.

The player turned out to be a Palestinian Arab – and, according to Ireland’s Freedom Institute, “one of the most popular players in Israel.”

1. Anti-Semites have been comfortable with lies and distortions for thousands of years and certainly aren’t to change their tactics and do research at this late date.

   Posted by blerp on 2005 03 31 at 09:59 AM • permalink

1. And he scored the late equalizers in both matches this past week – one against Ireland and one against France.

   Posted by Richard on 2005 03 31 at 12:51 PM • permalink

1. great story tim !
   how much flack must these Israeli soccer players be getting from great “sporting” nations like Ireland !
   Who heads the IPSG -Orla Guerrin ? there is a tinge of her accuracy in their reports.

   Posted by davo on 2005 03 31 at 03:56 PM • permalink

1. I watched the Israeli draw with France last night on television and the young Arab player’s goal was a ‘beaut’!

   (“Shitty little country” indeed!!! Heh.)

   Here’s hoping that the teamwork on display in Tel Aviv might draw that nation a little closer together as did the football teams in Iraq, France, and South Africa in their respective runs to glory.

   Posted by JDB on 2005 03 31 at 08:13 PM • permalink

1. Oh, and by the way, Israel’s draw with France actually helps out Ireland in it’s quest to qualify for the World Cup; so being anti-Israeli last night was tantamount to being anti-Irish.

   Ejit hoors!

   Posted by JDB on 2005 03 31 at 08:16 PM • permalink

1. Actually, Abbas Suwan scored the tying goal (at the 90th minute!) against Ireland, and Walid Badir scored the tying goal (at the 83rd minute!) against France. Both games were played in Israel. Both goals were scored by Israeli-Arab players. Only in Israel is this not a big deal, I guess.
   Unsurprisingly, the Irish team and their fans were treated much nicer by the locals than the French, who were booed the whole game. hehe…

   Posted by Naomi on 2005 03 31 at 09:17 PM • permalink

1. Time for the French to ask themselves, “why do they hate us?”

   Posted by PW on 2005 03 31 at 10:13 PM • permalink

1. Ireland is full of Jew haters.  I was living in Dublin when the 2nd intafada broke out.  I had to simply walk away from several conversations before I belted someone.

   Posted by murph on 2005 03 31 at 10:19 PM • permalink

1. I wonder why the Ireland is full of Jew haters. Hardly from personal acquaintance.

   There are fewer than 2,000 Jews in Ireland, and about 5,000 Muslims – mostly from Pakistan/India.

   But there have been at least 3 Jewish TDs (members of parliament), and Dublin has had a Jewish mayor.

   Posted by pog-ma-thon on 2005 04 01 at 12:47 AM • permalink

1. There is no accounting for the incidence of antisemitism pog-ma-thon.  It’s big in Japan too, and there are virtually no Jews there, nor have been, except a tiny number of expats working there.  Japanese bookstores used to have “Jewish Corners” full of antisemitic stuff and conspiracy-mongering moonbattery.  Daniel Pipes wrote about this in his book “Conspiracy”.

   Posted by Michael Lonie on 2005 04 01 at 11:52 PM • permalink

1. i think you have to look at the combination of historic strict roman catholicism (Christ killers etc) and support for revolutionary groups like the IRA(PLO – IRA) , to understand the antisemitism and anti israeli bias in Ireland.
   there also has always been a strong affinity towards ‘magical thinking” in Ireland making it easier to disseminate propaganda.
   OF course the BBC has given employment to some of the worst of these graduates of Israeli UNI hatred courses .

   Posted by davo on 2005 04 02 at 02:47 AM • permalink