First published by the Middle East Monitor on 5/11/2025

As a British Palestinian Brummie (hails from Birmingham), I am troubled that Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli team is coming to play Aston Villa in my hometown. Our peaceful town which is made up of people from all religions and none and from many different ethnicities, prides itself on its residents’ tolerance for others. It also prides itself on its solidarity with the weak and oppressed, including the people in Palestine. 

We have had major marches and weekly protests to show our solidarity with the people of Palestine, which we consider have been subjected to war crimes, ethnic cleansing and a genocidal war since 7th October 2023. The people I have spoken to over the months accept that atrocities took place against Israelis on the 7th October but have seen Israel’s barbaric attacks on civilians, aid workers, doctors and journalists for the past two years. They have also been angered by Israel’s lies portraying its brutal behaviour as self-defence.

They recognise that 7th October 2023 was one day, one date in the history of the Israeli injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people. They recognise the Nakba of 1948 in which the terrorist Zionist groups and then the Israeli army evicted more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland. Since then, Israel continued to expand its occupation and to build settlements illegally on Palestinian land without accountability for its breaches. In addition to the daily cruelty Palestinians face, the Apartheid policies and the repeated attacks on Palestinian holy sites in Hebron and Jerusalem, Israel has attacked Gaza repeatedly over the last couple of decades. Its claim that there was a ceasefire on the 6th October 2023 is simply a lie.

If it wasn’t for the blind support it receives from the West, especially the United States, which almost considers it as its 51st state, Israel would not be sustainable in its current format. Otherwise, how is it that although there are as many Palestinians as Israeli Jews between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, the two peoples do not enjoy equal rights. If it was any other area, the world would not accept the supremacy of one people over another and would insist on equal rights in one democratic state. Otherwise, the occupying state would be castigated and isolated until it accepted equal rights for the entire area and the people it rules.

READ: Tens of thousands of signatures gathered in England calling for Israel to be banned from football

However, Israel’s naked barbarism and genocidal policies towards the people it occupies and the superiority of its Jewish citizens towards Palestinians has not resulted in enough condemnation and isolation. That is except for the people of the world who have seen its actions and expressed their disgust on the streets of world capitals like London and Berlin. I estimate that in London alone 10 million people have attended the 33 marches that have taken place so far. 

Not only have people been moved by the atrocities committed by Israel, but they have also been appalled by the double standards shown by the West when dealing with Russia and Israel. Both countries are in breach of International Law because they illegally occupy another people’s land. Yet Western people have supported Ukraine through their taxes but hardly any taxes have supported the Palestinian people in any part of Palestine.

Exceptionally in Israel’s case, while it is not located in Europe, it takes part in the European music competition, EUROVISION and plays in football competitions in Europe.

Coming back to the forthcoming match, the people of Birmingham wonder why it is that while Russia and Russian clubs have been banned by FIFA and UEFA for occupying and oppressing Ukraine and Ukrainians while Israel and its clubs continue to play in FIFA and UEFA competitions. Surely, Israel and its clubs should have been banned years ago, even before October 2023 because more than 6 Israeli clubs are based in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and play matches on another Football Associations land, contrary to FIFA rules.

If the rules were applied equally on Russia and Israel, the forthcoming match would not be taking place on 6th November and the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, acknowledged to be violent hooligans, would not be coming to cause trouble in my city. However, the match will take place as planned, but instead of the British government accepting a police ban on safety grounds, it decided to side with hooligans calling on the West Midlands Police to reverse their decision, claiming this was a ban on Jews. That was disingenuous, wrong and dangerous.

The issue of Jews never came into the demand made by local independent member of parliament for Perry Barr, Ayub Khan. He did not want the Israeli team to come to Birmingham for the argument made above but who also respected the police decision to ban the Israeli fans for fear of the safety of his constituents. He has been vilified and accused of being antisemitic, an accusation that further devalues the term. The Government and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy refused to accept the police advice was correct following the cancellation of the Tel Aviv Derby due to the fans’ violence on the night a few days ago.

With Birmingham being home to a large Muslim population and the area of Aston mirrors that, I am concerned by the framing of right wingers of the whole issue as being a Muslim vs Jew issue. It fits the growing narrative being peddled by them, the Reform Party and the Zionist extremist Tommy Robinson, that Islam is responsible for so many problems in the UK, which is simply not true. Some have even labelled Aston as run by Islam. That is also not true.

A demonstration by the people of Birmingham calling on the match to be cancelled, even at the last minute will be taking place prior to the match and the organisers have promised that it will be peaceful. There is likely to be a counter demonstration on the night, which appears to have little to do with match and more to do with the right wingers’ attitude towards Muslims. The police have announced there will be 700 officers to manage the demonstrations. I sincerely hope the night passes off peacefully and Birmingham shows the world that it stands in solidarity with the oppressed, rejects double standards, and that it demonstrates peacefully. 

While the football team I support is not Aston Villa, I will be supporting the Villa on the night, Come on the Villa.