Not the Israeli flag but a finger in the eye: the defiance of waving the flag in front of Sakhnin

An act of national pride or cowardice by someone who is not confident enough in the Israeli experience?

Nir Kipnis defines himself as an Israeli patriot, but admits: When I see him in the games against Sakhnin, I am automatically in favor of the sector's team

Nir Kipnis

02/01/2022

Sunday, 02 January 2022, 13:30

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Summary: Bnei Sakhnin - Maccabi Haifa 6: 0 (Sport 1)

It seems that this has already been a familiar phenomenon in Premier League games: it could be Maccabi Haifa or Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Beer Sheva or MS Ashdod, not to mention Betar Jerusalem: for games against Sakhnin, fans come with the Israeli flag.

We will reach the act soon

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This ugly hoisting of the state flag actually hurts the games against Sakhnin, but first of all a clarification: I am a patriot, I love this place very much, I am moved to tears by the siren of Remembrance Day, proudly waving the Israeli flag over my balcony on Independence Day, sometimes even holding a small pennant above For the car and even in the sporting context: cheers for every goal of the Israeli team and is exploded with pride when an Israeli athlete stands on the top of the podium, the flag is raised to the ceiling of the stadium or hall - and the anthem plays in the background.

I'm also old enough on the football fields to remember how Israeli flags were a common encouragement accessory in the 1970s, even a little into the 1980s.

The reason, by the way, was not patriotic feelings, but the fact that there were no branded accessories at the time: you wanted a scarf in the right color - you had to ask mom to knit.

Did you want a flag in the right color?

The standout was between dipping the Israeli / red / yellow Israeli flag or stealing a sheet from the neighbors' laundry ropes (I still remember how the manager of a Discount Bank branch stood outside the branch and scratched his skull in embarrassment after the bank's green-and-white flags hung for Independence Day were stolen By Maccabi Haifa fans and hoisted in Kiryat Eliezer).

I personally stole some greenish Nahal flags for my friends who support the wrong team of the city, in the years I still parganed for their sporting successes.

More on Walla!

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Tonight: Hapoel Beer Sheva - Bnei Sakhnin (20:15, Sport 2)

To the full article

Not pride - defiance.

Israeli flags at Doha Stadium (Photo: Maor Elkelsi)

These childhood memories came only to say that I have no problem with the Israeli flag on the football field, not on Saturdays properly and certainly not in the games of Israeli teams in Europe. I hated the Hapoel Tel Aviv fans who wanted to exclude themselves with the sign "representing Hapoel and not Israel", also because whether they like it or not - they represent Israel and were supposed to warmly embrace every lover of Israel who came to support them in team games in Europe. And also because if they are not Israelis, they are welcome to be deleted from registration with the local football association and re-register with one of the neighbors, maybe there they will be able to transfer Kobi Refuah under control.

And despite this long introduction, perhaps precisely because of it, I am disgusted by the fans who bring the Israeli flag with them to the pitches specifically for the games against Bnei Sakhnin and wave it - not proudly but defiantly, in front of Sakhnin fans. If they are supporters of Ben Gvir, Gupstein, La Familia or Lehavah, the context is at least clear: you are racists, do not want Arabs in your team and do not want an Arab team in the Premier League in football. Even if it's distorted in my eyes, I hope the authorities will find a way to keep scum like you from the football fields in Israel, but you really are not the issue.

The theme is "ordinary" fans who snatch the nationalist twist every time they see Sakhnin in front of them.

It is not an act of national pride but an act of cowardice on the part of those who are not confident enough in the Israeli experience - and moreover, it is an act of provocation.

What exactly does the flag-waving player want in the game against Sakhnin?

I am a Jew, you are Arabs, this is the land of the Jews and you have no part in it, not only around the government table but not even on the football field.

Every lover of Israel who supports them in Europe should be embraced.

Hapoel Tel Aviv fans (Photo: Berni Ardov)

If you hold these opinions, as stated - I have no problem, that is - I have and how, but I will not waste even another letter on you. If not here's a new product just for you! For example, I was furious at Sakhnin's waste of time against Maccabi Tel Aviv, until the moment when Bloomfield's 11 goal looked like Mount Herzl on the eve of Independence Day - from that moment I hoped that Sakhnin would score a victory goal.

For example, I was delighted by Maccabi Haifa's performance on the field last Saturday (although I am, as mentioned, a fan of Hapoel Haifa), even by the impressive singing in the stands - until the moment when the stands began to look like my childhood home in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood of Haifa, where celebrations took place. Independence every year.

If it is allowed to mix sports with culture, then before my eyes came the character of Tupela Totorito, the hero of Shalom Aleichem who waved "Matal with Dedel" in rounds of Simchat Torah, or if you will Arkady Gaydamak who stood alone in the empty stands during his team's game, Betar Jerusalem Against Sakhnin.

I die for the Israeli flag, and as mentioned, I have no problem if he does good to someone on the football field, as long as it is someone who can not say goodbye to the Star of David every Saturday. Of one who even after about 74 years of independence is not confident enough, until they have to provoke the audience opposite, whose whole fault is that he is not a Jew.

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• Bnei Sakhnin

• Israel flag