Maccabi Tel Aviv is scheduled to host Icelandic side Breidblick on Thursday in the fifth round of the Conference League, but there are calls in the country to cancel the meeting.
Heidel Hilmitir, chairman of the Iceland-Palestine organization, which has been active since 1987, sent an open letter this morning to the heads of the Icelandic group asking them not to go onto the pitch to protest what he called the "massacre of children and war crimes committed by the Israeli government."
Breidbilek players in Bloomfield. Will they take to the field?, Photo: Ami Shumen
"Recently, the world has been watching in horror the Israeli military attacks against the residents of the Gaza Strip." Hilmitir wrote: "Nothing matters, more than eleven thousand Gazans have been killed in airstrikes and massive attacks by tank and artillery forces firing at full speed in one of the most densely populated areas on the planet."
"By putting pressure on the government, the public can perhaps achieve policy change." Hilmitir argues: "But the most powerful weapon in the hands of the public is a widespread boycott in the fields of culture, sports and commerce. A boycott that continues as long as the Israeli government continues to violate international conventions and human rights that clearly state that Palestinians are entitled to full human rights and freedom from oppression."
"All the players who come here on behalf of Maccabi Tel Aviv are of the age when they are either soldiers in the Israeli army or in the reserves. I call on Breitblick to cancel the planned soccer match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, sending a clear message that Icelandic athletes support human rights," Hilmatir writes.
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Haidel Hilmitir, photo: from Twitter
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