Israeli Football

Two Arab Israeli citizens – there are 1.2 million of them comprising more than one-fifth of Israel’s population ─ are the stars of Israel’s national soccer team. Abbas Suan and Walid Badir are cheered by all Israelis during their international competitions – Muslim, Jewish and Christain. In Israel, as elsewhere, sports have been an equalizer. Israel’s integrated national squad “isn’t just a team” said Suan. “It’s a symbol.”

Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 reaped a surprise benefit in the Muslim world: diplomatic recognition from Muslim countries from Tunisia to Indonesia. The diplomatic opportunities in Asia and North Africa are allowing Israel for the first time to interact with the Muslim world in the 21st century. The failure of Muslim nations to condemn Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s verbal attacks on Israel was disappointing, but understandable ─ any wonder Iran and Iraq are boosting their economic and military ties?

What’s ironic is that the five-meter wide anti-Israel and anti-Zionist banners in Iran, a physical reflection of Ahmadinejad’s declaration that the Jewish state should be “wiped off the map,” were created with technology made in Israel.

Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, was seated close to Israeli President Moshe Katsav at the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005 and the two shook hands and chatted briefly. Katzav was born in the Iranian city of Yazd, which is Khatami’s hometown. Khatami had proposed a dialogue among civilizations and pursued a policy of détente ─ a path Iran will again embark on once the current mullahocracy is replaced with true democracy. Khatami has expressed an interest in visiting Israel.