WhatsappCheering on a favorite team at sports games includes waving the country’s flag. Amidst so much antisemitism, is the answer to have the Israeli flag banned?
‘To prevent anti-Semitic incidents’: French police BAN Israeli flags before football match
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) July 27, 2019
Anti-Semitic attacks in France rose 74% this year!
This is the most intense wave of anti-Semitism to hit Europe since WWII, spurred by mass immigration, Jews are forced to flee to Israel. pic.twitter.com/cEtzuyzSHx
Israeli Flag Banned
Before a football match in France, the French police prohibited fans from waving the Israel flag in the streets. Although the ban has since been rescinded, is the answer to trying to stop antisemitic acts to have the Israeli flag banned? That just lets antisemitism win. Banning fans from cheering on their team in a peaceful way such as waving a flag does not fight antisemitism. It shows weakness. And although apparently the ban was for both sets of supporters and not just Israeli fans, the decision to ban any flag should never have been made.
Authorities should be ensuring the safety of all fans during sports games. Sports are supposed to be a way to bring different people together, not to impose restrictions. No one should have to be afraid.
Don’t Let Antisemitism Win
The French police may have meant well with their intentions to prevent any attack, but decisions like these have many ramifications. Antisemites do not feel that they were served a blow because of a ban like this. In fact, quite the opposite. That is exactly what they want. They want to stop Jews from having pride. They want to instill fear in the authorities.
So even though the authorities tried to stop an attack at a sports event, they ended up losing. They ended up allowing antisemitism to dictate how we live our lives.
