Israeli Apartheid & the Power of Sports
By Chad Collins
With Amnesty International’s decision to label Israel an apartheid regime, more and more eyes are opening up to the reality that Palestinians have known for last 74 years. The world's scales of justice are finally starting to tip in the favor of the long oppressed and occupied daughters and sons of the land of Jesus—Palestine. The term “apartheid,” though it may sting still in some ears, is being used more and more freely, as it is indeed accurate. The world is beginning to realize what many of us have known for decades: Israel is committing the crime of apartheid by its government’s systematic, violent oppression of our beloved Palestinian sisters and brothers.
Beginning with the mass expulsion of one million indigenous Palestinians from their homes in 1948, Israeli apartheid has been terrorizing the children of the Holy Land for nearly 80 years, maintaining to this day a systematic, murderous regime of oppression and control over Palestinians. Israeli apartheid impacts every aspect of Palestinian life, from water access to housing rights, the restriction on movement, the freedom of worship in holy sites, and even the ability to play football/soccer.
As was the case during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, with the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott, and in South Africa, with the South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee’s (SANROC) successful campaign to ban South Africa from the Olympics between 1964–1992, we must challenge apartheid wherever and whenever the opportunity arises. With the World Cup to be played this November in Qatar, one such opportunity has come upon us.
In response, and in partnership with our friends at Just Peace Advocates, FOSNA has decided to take on Israeli apartheid by campaigning against Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinian footballers and by campaigning to have FIFA suspend the Israel Football Association (IFA) as a result of the organization’s many violations.
Please join us this Saturday, May 28 at 1:00pm Eastern, for the webinar “FIFA: Suspend Apartheid Israel” to hear more about this campaign, as we keep our feet firmly planted in the struggle for freedom and justice in Palestine!! Panelists include Roger Waters, musician & activist; Gonzalo Boye, former head of the legal unit for the Palestinian Football Association; Jonathan Kuttab, Executive Director of FOSNA & co-founder of al-Haq, and others.
Please add your name and organization to the endorsement list below! And, spread the word!!
Finally, let us be uplifted in our efforts knowing that we stand on the side of the God of Justice and Liberation! See you Saturday!!
Take Action!
Endorse & Share
FIFA: Suspend Apartheid Israel. (FOSNA w/ Just Peace Advocates) 50+ organizations around the world & several hundred athletes, artists, academics & activists have already said, "FIFA, Suspend Apartheid Israel!" Join them in signing the declaration below. Read the full statement to FIFA (available also in Spanish, French, Arabic), and sign on below as an individual and/or on behalf of an organization.
Endorse & Share
Freedom to Worship, Freedom to Be: A Letter to President Biden. (FOSNA w/ Sabeel Jerusalem) President Biden is on his way to the Holy Land. In response, FOSNA is seeking endorsements for the letter below asking the US administration to address the concerns of local Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem. We ask the president to meet with local church leaders as well as representatives of local Christian organizations to hear of their desire for a shared Jerusalem, open and accessible to all and not the exclusive domain of Jewish Israelis. Please read the letter and complete the form at the link below to endorse. Time is of the essence.
Contact Your Representative
Tell Congress: Stop the forced displacement of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta. (JVP Action) The Israeli High Court has approved one of the largest forcible transfers of Palestinians from their land since 1967. Approximately 1,300 Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta in the Southern Hebron Hills now face forced displacement by Israeli forces on a moment's notice. In other words, the Israeli High Court just approved a war crime and ethnic cleansing. What more glaring reminder could we have that the Nakba is still ongoing? Pressure Congress to act!
Get Involved!
FOSNA invites you to join us in the following events and activities:
May 28
FIFA: Suspend Israeli Apartheid. (FOSNA w/ Just Peace Advocates) Join us for what promises to be an illuminating webinar on a topic of global concern. Israel has violated the principles of FIFA in a variety of ways that would normally warrant disciplinary actions and even a suspension of its membership. However, the politics of FIFA have prevented it from taking action, even amending its by-laws to make it more difficult for the Palestine Football Association to demand such action. Consequently, it is now the responsibility of civil society to apply the popular pressure necessary to bring this about.
Read & Share
#StandWithStephen. (FOSNA) Last week, FOSNA asked you to #StandWithStephen. Our dear friend Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer is facing spurious accusations in response to his tireless advocacy for Palestinian human rights and brilliant scholarship on the historical and theological influence of Christian Zionism. With his very future as an Anglican vicar at stake, Stephen is facing this week a Church of England tribunal. Read the words of those who chose to #StandWithStephen below.
We Are Hiring!
FOSNA is seeking a talented, dynamic, and passionate Communications and Campus Outreach Coordinator to join our team of remote staff located across the United States.
Weekly
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Jerusalem) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of critical concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.
Kumi Now! Week 21: Preserving History and Culture. Israel continues to build and plant over Palestinian history and culture while simultaneously erasing it from street signs, historical markers, and history books. The biggest cultural losses, of course, came with the depopulating, destruction, re-appropriation, and planting over of the more than 450 Palestinian villages emptied in the Nakba. Ever since, there has been a concerted effort to erase Palestinian history and culture from the records and landscape. Here’s what you need to know about efforts to preserve Palestinian history and culture so that together we may rise up.
