As a Jewish Aston Villa fan, I am worried for my city - The Jewish Chronicle

On Thursday night, after two years of violent incitement, targeted campaigns, and many outright fabrications, Israelis were officially banned from part of the UK. In this case, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from the away end of Villa Park for their upcoming Europa League match against Aston Villa.

As an Aston Villa fan, I am disappointed. Here was my team seemingly accepting a decision to exclude Israeli fans from Villa Park. The same Villa team that famously refused to do the Nazi salute on a tour in Germany in 1938. But times have changed. The face of antisemitism has shifted, and allyship is rarer. Sport, which should be something that unites, has become a cudgel to further drive division and hate.

As a Birmingham Jew, I am worried. The police had declared that they could not provide a safe environment for the visiting Israeli fans due to expected protests. I have tickets to the match—near the Maccabi bench. Would my son and I be safe? What about in everyday life? Should I be worried about running outdoors whilst wearing a top from the Haifa half-marathon?

My little corner of Birmingham has been a hotbed of anti-Israel feeling straight from Oct 7: From the 10-foot Palestinian flag on top of the local café to “takeover day” when the Moseley Village Green was literally turned into a Gazan Village replete with the usual threatening chants and signs to the giant mural of Bibi Netanyahu with inverted scales of justice made to look like Hamas paragliders.

The newest addition, in plain view, just down the street from the only Jewish school between Manchester and London, is a large piece of graffiti that shows a raised bloodied fist, crushing a dove, and bearing the ominous slogan “You can’t separate peace from freedom”, against a backdrop of a Palestinian flag. Of course, I reported this loosely veiled call to violence to the police.

At first, they ignored my report, as they have almost all my other reports over the last two years. After the Manchester terror attack on Yom Kippur, I followed up, which earned a comment that the relevant teams are aware. Of course, weeks later, this call to violence sits in plain view, centre stage in Moseley village. When the police take no action on simpler matters, they embolden the most brazen to escalate further.

So, it’s really no surprise that the police have declared that they cannot keep Israelis safe in Birmingham.

It’s not just the police who have failed to act. The graffiti appears in a “conservation zone”, where even changing the colour of an awning requires planning permission. I reported it to the city, who state a commitment to remove all hate graffiti within 24 hours. Years ago, when I spotted a swastika and reported it, they did remove it quickly. In today’s world, no action.

I followed up with a note to my city councillor, who, though sympathetic, enumerated all the reasons that the city was powerless (unwilling?) to intervene. It’s one thing when individuals are brazenly antisemitic, but it’s quite another when it feels like the government and police are not on your side in the battle.

I moved to the UK 12 years ago from North America. My family and I were welcomed into the local community in Birmingham, both Jewish and otherwise, and built a life for ourselves here. We became British citizens. Our kids went to the King David School, which we dubbed “World Peace School” because of the harmonious relations with the high percentage of Muslim students. We became regular attendees at Villa games, cheering them on from the Championship to the Champions League. But Oct 7 has laid bare just how fragile that welcome was. I suspect we are not the only ones looking for the exits.

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Topics:

Birmingham

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Football