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Maccabi Haifa to play Belgian soccer club in front of empty stadium due to safety concerns amid Israel-Hamas war
(JTA) — In recent weeks, Jewish and Israeli teams and players have faced expulsion and demotion in connection with the Israel-Hamas war.
So it was hardly surprising when the mayor of a Belgian city announced that safety concerns over the war would impact an upcoming soccer match between the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa and the Belgian team KAA Gent.
The difference is that this time people are being banned from the stands, not the field.
On Feb. 21, the two teams will face off in Ghent, Belgium, in the second leg of their Conference League playoff. But because of safety concerns related to the war — which has accompanied a spike in antisemitism internationally — they will play in an empty stadium.
Ghent Mayor Mathias De Clercq made the call on the advice of local police, according to the Associated Press. Thomas Dierckens, a spokesperson for Mayor De Clercq, added that KAA Gent Arena does not have an outer perimeter, which could lead to disruptions in and around the stadium.
“Based on police information, serious problems are expected,” Dierckens told the Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.
“This not only has consequences for the safety of fans and players, but also sporting consequences,” he said. “If the match is stopped for more than half an hour due to disruption, UEFA will give KAA Gent a forfeit score of 0-5.”
Ceasefire protests have been occurring regularly in Ghent, according to the AP, including at the city’s New Year’s reception.
The Gaza war has affected international sports across countries, including in South Africa, where a young Jewish cricket star was investigated for hate speech and stripped of his leadership role with a national team over safety concerns stemming from his pro-Israel comments. In Turkey, an Israeli soccer player was detained for a public gesture marking 100 days of the war. Israel’s national hockey team was suspended from a tournament in Bulgaria, and then reinstated.
Israeli soccer teams have played all home games in neutral countries since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7. The Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA, had ruled that Israel could not host international games due to security concerns.
Israel’s national teams chose to play their home games in Felcsút, Hungary, while Maccabi Haifa, one of the top teams in the Israeli Premier League has been playing in Larnaca, Cyprus, and Budapest.
Sometimes known as “behind closed doors” events, the decision to keep stadiums empty has also been made in the past due to inclement weather, public safety and, most notably for U.S. sports fans, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The post Maccabi Haifa to play Belgian soccer club in front of empty stadium due to safety concerns amid Israel-Hamas war appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Treasure Trove: If you own a share like this, Israel could owe you some money
The Jewish Colonial Trust was established on March 20, 1899. The first Zionist bank was the brainchild of Theodor Herzl who understood that funding would be required to make his vision of a Jewish homeland a reality. Each share cost one English pound, the equivalent of $280 today. (Herzl bought the first 1,000 shares which was a […]
The post Treasure Trove: If you own a share like this, Israel could owe you some money first appeared on The Canadian Jewish News.
The post Treasure Trove: If you own a share like this, Israel could owe you some money appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Palestinian Detained after West Bank Terror Ramming
Illustrative: Israeli police at the scene of a car-ramming terrorist attack near a market in Jerusalem on Monday, April 24, 2023. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters.
JNS.org – A Palestinian rammed his vehicle into a cop car in the West Bank on Saturday in what the military was investigating as a terror attack.
The incident occurred at the Eli gas station, the scene of repeated acts of terrorism against Israelis.
“A Palestinian vehicle accelerated towards a police car and collided with it, there were no casualties,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Troops caught the terrorist and transferred him to security forces for further investigation,” added the statement.
On Sunday, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Tarqumiya checkpoint, some 7.5 miles northwest of Hebron in Judea.
They were named as Chief Inspector Arik Ben Eliyahu, 37, of Kiryat Gat, who is survived by his wife and three children; Command Sgt. Maj. Hadas Branch, 53, of Sde Moshe, who is survived by her husband, three children and granddaughter; and 1st Sgt. Roni Shakuri, 61, of Sderot, who is survived by his wife, daughter and granddaughter.
Shakuri’s other daughter, 1st Sgt. Mor Shakuri, 29, was killed on Oct. 7 while battling an attempt by Hamas terrorists to take control of the police station in Sderot, in southern Israel near the border with Gaza.
The post Palestinian Detained after West Bank Terror Ramming first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia
A missile unveiled by Iran is launched in an unknown location in Iran in this picture received by Reuters on August 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it was deeply concerned by reports about a possible impending transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.
In a statement emailed to reporters, the ministry said the deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.
CNN and The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, citing unidentified sources.
Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, the United States, a key ally of Ukraine, also voiced concern about the potential transfer of missiles.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said on Friday that Tehran’s position on the Ukraine conflict was unchanged.
“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” it said.
“Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.”
The post Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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