Israeli foreign minister calls the move “an unfortunate surrender to economic interests” in the following Jerusalem Post exclusive report. Voice your complaint!
Fox Sports–Middle East wiped Israel off the map, and then – following complaints – it got rid of the map altogether.
The sports network broadcasts in Israel, and a weekly schedule can be found online, especially important for American football fans interested in knowing what games will be broadcast on any given Sunday.
Up until Thursday morning, the website had a “select your country” button that accessed a drop-down list of 23 countries in the Middle East, from Algeria, through KSA (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), all the way down to Qatar and Yemen.
Israel did not appear, though “Palestine” did.
Following a Jerusalem Post inquiry to the Fox Broadcasting Network, the website was changed on Thursday. However, instead of adding Israel, the list disappeared altogether, and now the games are listed according to Greenwich Mean Time.
Scott Grogin, the Fox Networks Group’s senior vice president for communications, said from Los Angeles that “Fox is not a political entity, we provide entertainment and sports programming.
“In order to ensure that all our viewers across the region receive accurate information, we will be eliminating the pull-down menu that lists countries and will provide listing in all venues in Greenwich Mean Time,” he said.
Fox Sports Administered by Qatari Sports Investments
Fox Sports – Middle East, it emerges, is administered by a third party – beIN Sports, which is a global network of sports channels that is owned and operated by Qatari Sports Investments.
QSI, according to its own website, was founded in 2005 as a 100-percent Qatari private shareholding company specializing in sports and leisure industries, with the goal of investing in profit-bearing projects within Qatar and internationally.
BAYT, a leading Middle East jobs site, lists QSI as a joint venture between the State of Qatar and the Qatar National Olympic Committee.
What is obvious from the elimination of the drop-down list of countries on Fox Sports – Middle East is that the Qataris will go to great lengths to avoid listing Israel as a country.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that the incident seems an “unfortunate surrender to economic interests with an anti-Israel ideological edge.”
Issue Not Trivial; Each Small Step Against Israel Adds Up
This issue is not as trivial as it might seem at first, Nahshon said. “We are engaged in a long fight against people, organizations and interests who want to delegitimize Israel,” he said.
“Each small step adds up to a very large picture, and we have to be vigilant,” he said. “No fight is too small, because small steps against Israel have an incremental effect and leave the impression that there is something wrong and illegitimate with us.”
The elimination of the list because of an unwillingness to include Israel illustrated a cut-your-own-nose-to-spite-your- face obsession with Israel, because it would be much easier for the consumers in each country to pull up their own schedule, rather than having to translate the times from GMT, Nahshon said.
This incident reflected a very problematic state of mind, he said.
Qatar’s Ability to Host 2022 World Cup Questioned
Another diplomatic official said the incident raised questions about Qatar’s ability to host the 2022 World Cup, as is currently planned. If the Qataris were unable to even list Israel as a country, how will they be able to host an Israeli team if it “miraculously” qualifies for the premier soccer tournament, the official asked.
Fox News, which like Fox Sports is part of the Fox Broadcasting Company, is considered the most pro-Israel English-language news network outside of Israel.
Written requests for comment on the matter submitted to the New England Patriots and New York Giants went unanswered.
The Patriots are owned by Robert Kraft, who has given generously to Israeli programs over the years, including to the Israel Football League and to build the Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem.
And the Giants are owned in part by Steven Tisch, who served this year as president of the Tel Aviv International Student Film festival, and whose family sponsored the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem.
The Post has learned, however, that the Giants immediately contacted the National Football League about the matter, which in turn turned to Fox.
Act Now for Israel!
United with Israel urges supporters of the Jewish State to act in defense of the Jewish State and against caving in to demands by Qatar, an Islamic country which, according to numerous sources, bankrolls terror.
To voice your objection, contact Scott Grogin, Senor VP for Communications, in the US at 310-369-4733 or email scott.grogin@fox.com
OR
Shannon Ryan, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications, in the US at 310-369-4409 or email shannon.ryan@fox.com.