Worked on all of us with our eyes: a balance of scoundrels revealed his true face

The man who headed Bnei Sakhnin Hethel for years in the media and football fans, who were captivated by his smile and believed in talk of coexistence and football that bridges between Jews and Arabs.

This week he removed the masks

Moshe Boker

08/06/2022

Wednesday, June 08, 2022, 12:30 p.m.

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Ticked: Today's Summary Clip, 8.6 (Sports 1)

For years Mazen Ghanaim has managed to mislead the sports press.

Thanks to the smiles he scattered everywhere (his hallmark), thanks to the gentle, polite speech, command of the Hebrew language and especially thanks to the declarations of coexistence between Arabs and Jews, statements he scattered everywhere.

Above every stage and under every open microphone, a balance of genes was expressed in favor of coexistence, which is why he very quickly enjoyed the coveted title - a symbol of an existing duo.

His smile, the one that melted every journalist who interviewed him, every person who met him, his courtship of the Jewish audience and his desire to prove to everyone that through football can lead to change, that thanks to football Jews and Arabs can live here in peace.

Ghanaian scattered declarations of coexistence at every opportunity.

"Sakhnin is an example of coexistence and a real partnership between Jews and Arabs," he said more than once.

A former building contractor, he worked for years to build a bridge between Arabs and Jews.

The historic victory of the people of Sakhnin in the State Cup has made many of us realize that the bridge that Ghana has been building for years is cast and strong.

Fact is, many football fans (and not only) celebrated with Ghana the victory in the cup, many said then that if there is anyone who deserves the title, he balances Ghana.

The man who became a symbol of coexistence, the man who captured the hearts of many of us.

The truth?

It was hard not to fall for his charms.

He always showed patience towards the media, always (almost well) he was polite, gentle and sympathetic.

For the first time in the history of Israeli football, his popularity earned him a place in the association's secretariat, a kind of football government.

His struggle for coexistence paved the way for Sakhnin's mayor's office.

More on Walla!

MK Ghanaim: "I will continue to vote according to a conscientious order, Bennett must take responsibility"

To the full article

The truth?

It was hard not to fall for his charms.

Ghanaim (Photo: Kobi Eliyahu)

Some of the statements of those who have become a symbol of coexistence have become an integral part of the political landscape in the world of football.

"It strengthens me and gives me hope that if we have not been able to make a real coexistence through politics, then at least we have done it in football."

Ghanaim said these moving things (then) when Ehud Olmert, then finance minister, betrayed Arkady Gaydamak, who financially supported Bnei Sakhnin.

At that time Ghanaim sharpened the tone for coexistence, took care at almost every opportunity to talk about the importance of cooperation between Arabs and Jews and repeated the sentence burned by many of the old journalists: "Sport is a bridge to peace and coexistence."

Mazen Ghanaim quickly became the most popular figure in the Arab sector, a man for whom prime ministers and presidents open their offices.

He became a kind of consensus (good except for Betar fans), and seemed to enjoy the bridge he built from the time he was a contractor. The

popularity of Ghanaim skyrocketed, even his unfortunate statement during Operation Cast Lead that he was proud of the martyrs, received relatively gentle criticism and many journalists (not just the sports journalist) were quick to give it a strange interpretation. For those who fire missiles at an entire country, it has failed to harm anyone who has become a symbol of coexistence, who has laboriously built the bridge to coexistence.

Ghanaim said at the time that the interpretation given to him by the media had not been translated correctly.

He was offended, the storm passed and his melting smile returned to melt us all, because we just wanted to believe the scoundrels that he really built a concrete bridge and not a light waterfall.

We were quick to refer to his shocking statement as a minor accident on the bridge.

His entry into the Knesset has planted in many of us hope that the symbol of coexistence will take advantage of the historic moment in which an Arab party (of which he is a member) is a member of the coalition.

The hope was that Ghanaim would take advantage of the stage and its popularity, and with the help of the conquering smile would first get on the bridge to a real partnership.

This is the moment when we believed (at least some of us) that he had a golden opportunity to shatter his own statement, from the time he was chairman of Bnei Sakhnin: "It strengthens me and gives me hope that if we did not succeed in real coexistence through politics, In football. "

All the declarations of coexistence and the desire for unity between Jews and Arabs were one big nonsense.

Ghanaim (Photo: Kobi Eliyahu)

On the night between Monday and Tuesday of the week, Mazen showed Ghana in a live broadcast that he worked on all of us with his eyes (at least on most of us).

The moment he voted against the coalition bill (of which he is a member), to extend the criminal law regulations in Judea and Samaria, was the moment he proved that the things he said about martyrs were not a mouthful, nor a mistake in understanding speech.

Until Ghanaim was given the opportunity to strengthen the coexistence and partnership between Arabs and Jews through politics, he was frightened by the size of the class and preferred to make political calculations - how many votes would be added to him in the race for mayor of Sakhnin.

In one moment Ghanaim proved to us that he had walked in front of us all these years with a mask.

He showed us that all the declarations of coexistence and the desire for unity between Jews and Arabs were one big nonsense.

one man show.

The Ghanaian contractor has shown us that he knows better than anyone to outwit everyone.

He he proved he did not forget to mix the plaster.

And he mixed it well.

Admittedly, Ghana has worked on us all these years.

He did not really want coexistence, he did not really want a real partnership.

He simply acted out of personal motives.

So he wanted to win the sympathy of the Jewish sector, today he wants to win the sympathy of the Arab sector again (in the election for mayor of Sakhnin).

Ghanaian fell from the bridge he himself built, he lost the love of the crowd, he lost the magic, he lost the consensus he enjoyed all these years, he is probably no longer a symbol.

Mazen Ghanaim was discovered (very late) as the juggler who hit us, smeared us and was mostly busy with himself.

We would like to believe it's just a sport.

But this is, no.

It's much worse.

• sport

• Israeli soccer

• Super League

Tags

• Balance of scoundrels

• Bnei Sakhnin