Argentina’s Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said that his country’s players had felt “totally attacked, violated” by BDS bullies.
Anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) activists are again pressuring Argentina’s national team, led by superstar Lionel Messi, to stay away from playing in Israel.
An exhibition (“friendly”) match between Argentina and Uruguay is scheduled to take place on November 19 in Tel Aviv.
In a statement from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel posted by an extreme anti-Israel website, the boycott organizers boast, “Last year, letters from Palestine, a huge outpouring on social media and actions on the ground in Buenos Aires and Barcelona convinced Argentina to cancel a planned friendly match in Jerusalem.”
This is a reference to a match scheduled for June 2018 between Argentina and Israel’s national team, set to take place in Jerusalem just before the World Cup in Russia. The match in Israel was canceled due to threats made to Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi and pressure from the BDS movement.
In August 2018, FIFA, the international soccer federation, banned Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub from attending matches for a year and fined him about $20,000 for “inciting hatred and violence” after he called on fans to burn posters and shirts of Messi if the soccer star played in the game against Israel in Jerusalem in June.
A few months ago, an international sports arbitration court rejected an appeal by Jibril against the ban.
Argentina’s Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said that his country’s players had felt “totally attacked, violated” after images were circulated of red paint, resembling blood, staining the team’s white and sky-blue striped jerseys.
Undeterred, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott is at it again.
The virulently anti-Israel organization says that “groups in Argentina and Uruguay are mobilizing on the ground to convince the teams to stand with Palestinian footballers” by boycotting Israel and canceling the match scheduled for later this month.
We should tell the national soccer (football) teams of Argentina and Uruguay not to heed the voices of hatred and encourage them not to buckle to the continued pressure of anti-Israel elements.
Urge the National Football Teams of Argentina and Uruguay to Play Their Match in Israel!
1. Click here to send Argentina’s football team a message through Facebook.
2. Click here to send Argentina’s football team a message through Twitter.
3. Click here to send Uruguay’s football team a message through Facebook.
4. Click here to send Uruguay’s football team a message through Twitter.
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