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New stadium a ray of hope for Israel's Arabs
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-10 11:26 HIGH POINT
Bottom-of-the-table Sakhnin, who have both local Arab and Jewish players in
their team as well as a few foreign imports, are in their third straight season
in Israel's top flight.
They became the first Arab side to play in a European club competition when
they competed in the UEFA Cup in 2004 after their historic State Cup victory the
same year.
That victory was seen as a high point for Israeli Arabs, who complain of
discrimination and say the government fails to give the same funding to their
towns, schools and other infrastructure as it does to the Jewish majority.
"Discrimination is so obvious, people in Sakhnin hope that this win will open
the door for real and concrete partnership and equal rights," Sakhnin Mayor
Mohammed Bashir said after the memorable cup win in May 2004.
Israeli officials deny any policy of discrimination, noting that there are
Arab deputies in parliament.
Israeli Arabs, who number some 1.1 million, about a fifth of the population,
are descended from families who stayed while hundreds of thousands fled or were
forced out during the 1948 war of the Jewish state's founding.
Film maker Jerrold Kessel has followed the club and their fanatical
supporters for two years while making a documentary. He said soccer was one way
by which Israel's Arabs could express their allegiances.
"As passionate as the Sakhnin fans are, they never fly flags. Their soccer
success allows them to express their Israeliness without raising the Israeli
flag, just as it allows them to express their Palestinian identity without
raising the Palestinian flag," he said.
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