Arab Israeli party leader Ayman Odeh called on the YouTube video platform to remove a “
racist
”
song
from supporters of an Israeli football club insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The Hebrew hymn of the group of ultras "
La Familia
", supporters of the Beitar Jerusalem club, insults Muhammad, in particular questioning his status as a prophet and the origins of his mother.
Read also: Cartoon dialogue between Erdogan and Charlie Hebdo
"
Any offense against a religious symbol is totally unacceptable,
" Odeh, head of the joint list of Israeli Arab parties, said in a statement in Arabic on Tuesday.
"'
La Familia' is a racist group (...) and in a truly democratic state this terrorist group would have been banned for a long time,
" he added.
The political leader has sent a letter to the YouTube channel in Israel to demand the withdrawal of the song, online since July 2016 but which is, he said, "
popular
" lately.
Youtube, a subsidiary of the Google group, has promised to study this request and respond to it, according to Odeh.
Beitar Jerusalem is known for anti-Arab violence from some of its supporters.
They conspire in particular the Arab players of the opposing teams by uttering insults against the prophet Muhammad.
But the club, heir to the Israeli nationalist right, has distanced itself in recent years from "
La Familia
" and has worked to change its image, receiving an award in 2017 for its fight against racism from Israeli President Reuven. Rivlin.
Read also: Protests against France: Paris invites its nationals to be careful
The appeal launched by the Arab Israeli deputy comes against a background of controversy related to Emmanuel Macron's remarks on the freedom to caricature the Prophet Muhammad.
The French president promised, during a national tribute to Samuel Paty, a professor beheaded in an Islamist attack in France on October 16 for showing caricatures of Muhammad in class, that France would continue to defend this type of press publications in the name of freedom of expression.
Emmanuel Macron's words sparked protests in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip where demonstrators burned photos of the French president, and in East Jerusalem where grocery stores boycott products French.
