Let the BDS crowd go ape:
FC Barcelona to tackle Israeli-Palestinian conflict through soccer
Israeli President Shimon Peres will meet Thursday evening with the president of FC Barcelona, one of Spain’s biggest soccer club, at the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel in Ramat Gan to discuss a new project aimed at restoring piece between Israelis and Palestinians through sport.
The talk will take place as FC Barcelona soccer players, including player Lionel Messi, prepare to play an exhibition game against an Israeli team composed of both Jewish and Muslim players on July 31, a game that organizers hope will be broadcast worldwide.
“Barca wants to make a modest contribution to build bridges of understanding and harmony between the Israeli and Palestinian people through sports and education,” said FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell in a statement Wednesday according to Yedioth Achronot. “This is the president’s vision, which the Peres Center for Peace is based on, and such a move could promote peace,” an aide to President Peres said. During the Thursday meeting Peres will receive a Barca shirt with the Spanish caption “Peres No. 1.”
So an exhibition game to promote co-existence, how bad could this be in the eyes of anti-Israel BDSers?
#BDS alert: @fcbarcelona planning 2 play in #apartheid #Israel fcbarcelona.com/club/detail/ar… tweet & tell them 2 respect call 4 #BDS
— Noa S(@pizandbooby) February 21, 2013
“FC Barcelona: basta de normalización y de equidistancia entre ocupante y ocupado en Palestina” @fcbarcelona_es #BDSnodo50.org/causapalestina…
— Aurelio de Paz (@AureliodePaz) February 20, 2013
Let’s not forget the beef (or is it horse?) between the anti-Israel bunch and Barcelona FC, for inviting Gilad Shalit to one of their matches in October 2012.
This should get interesting, we’ll keep an eye out for developments.
