When Sports Mirror Politics

There have been several anthropologists and sociologists that have noticed general similarities between sports and warfare, but yesterday in Israel, a soccer game reflected a real political divide.

Bnei Sakhnin, which is the only Arab-Israeli team in Israel's first division was playing Beitar Jerusalem. These two teams are rivals, as one represents the Arab population and the other is associated with right-wing politics in Israel and is the only team in the division never to have enlisted an Arab player. Rock-throwing fights often result from the matches between the teams, and this game could easily be no exception.

Why? If Bnei Sakhnin loses, it will drop to the second division, and so winning this game is essential to Arab fans. One fan, Ali from Tamra, explained that for Arabs, soccer is "the only place where [they're] equal in this stinking country."

After an intense game, Sakhnin ended up winning 1-0 in the 85th minute. A few fans were injured, but to the Arabs, the athletic and political victory was well worth it.

To read the original article click here.

-Gracie Hollister