The Nazis believed that Jews were a source of disease. Hitler and other Nazis referred to Jews as "bacilli", "parasites" and "germs"; the mere presence of Jews was enough to infect German society.
That belief, it seems, is shared by a cadre of supporters of Celtic Football Club, the storied Scottish champions who are currently looking for a manager to replace Martin O’Neill, the 74-year-old who last season pulled off one of the great footballing feats in taking Celtic to their 56th league title.
The front runner for the job is Robbie Keane, the former Irish striker and an ex-Celtic (and Spurs) player. Keane has made an impressive start to his managerial career, winning league titles in his first two jobs. He is regarded as one of the most promising young managers and looks an excellent fit for Celtic. Except for one thing.
For a section of Celtic supporters, Keane is toxic. A parasite. Infected. Because one of those managerial jobs was with Maccabi Tel Aviv, with whom Keane won the Israeli league in 2023-24. For those Celtic supporters, any connection with Israel – with Jews, if we are being clear about what is really going on here – is enough to render Keane beyond the pale.
Keane is not Israeli. He is not Jewish. He is an apolitical figure who has never at any point expressed support for Israeli action in Gaza or elsewhere. All he has done is work in Israel.
For these Celtic fans, the mere fact that he has breathed the same air as Israelis is enough to make him toxic. He has, in their eyes, been infected by those around him in the Jewish state and he cannot be allowed to bring that infection to Celtic.
They don’t put it like that, of course. Jew haters rarely do. They couch their hate in terms of supposed antizionism, as if it has nothing to do with Jews. But the statement signed by a number of supporters and fan groups trots out many of the familiar old tropes: “Robbie Keane's decision to manage Maccabi Tel Aviv during the genocide in Gaza is impossible to ignore. To choose to manage a club in Israel while, less than 40 miles away, the same country was using indiscriminate weapons of mass murder against a defenceless people is unconscionable.”
As Sylvan Adams, president of the World Jewish Congress, has put it in response: "Anyone trying to destroy Robbie Keane’s career because he coached in Israel isn’t standing up for human rights – they are practising pure, unadulterated bigotry dressed up as virtue. If you think a football manager becomes "impure” simply by breathing Israeli air, you don't need a political debate, you’re a bigot, pure and simple…They are now resurrecting ideological ‘purity laws' that belong in the darkest chapters of 1930s Europe.”
None of this is surprising, given how Celtic has become the club of choice for hard-left pro-Palestinian types, exemplified by groups such as the Green Brigade, comprised of 250-300 youngish hard-left Celtic supporters who have turned Celtic Park into a base for regular pro-Palestinian protests. Naively, the club initially welcomed their presence for the colour, noise and choreographed displays (tifos) they brought to the ground. Initially they behaved much like any other group of “ultra” football fans. But soon the hard-left political types muscled in. One Celtic fan friend compared their entryism to that of Militant in 1980s Labour.
It’s critical to note that this is really about Jews, rather than any sort of humanitarian concern. On the afternoon of October 7 2023, for example, Celtic were at home to Kilmarnock. On the day 1,200 Jews were massacred by Hamas, the Green Brigade displayed supportive flags and a banner with the slogan, "Victory to the resistance”. So much for their supposed concern with genocide: when Jews are being slaughtered, they celebrate.
It’s pointed to note that Celtic once had a genuine and proud record of standing up for human rights. After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Celtic were drawn in the European Cup against Hungarian champions Ferencvaros (ironically the same club later managed by Keane, who won the league with them). The Celtic board refused to play in Hungary in protest. Its chairman, Bob Kelly, said: “In view of the illegal and treacherous invasion of Czechoslovakia by Russian, Polish and Hungarian forces and in support of the Czech nation, we, the Celtic Football Club, do not think that any western European Football Club should be forced to fulfil any football commitment in any of these countries.” Others followed suit and some Warsaw Pact countries then pulled out of the competition. UEFA then staged a new draw.
That history has been replaced by a cadre of supporters who have tuned Celtic into a club with one of the most antisemitic fan bases on the planet – and who have now decided to turn their fire on a man who isn’t even Jewish. Merely working with Jews is now enough to be damned.
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