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<h1 class="title">Chilean football club sparks Israeli outrage with
pro-Palestinian uniform</h1>
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<p class="dates"><span class="published">Published <span
class="date-display-single">Thursday, January 9, 2014<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18172">http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18172</a><br>
</span> </span><span class="updated">
</span><span class="original"></span></p>
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<p>A Chilean football club has sparked debate over its new jerseys, in
which the number “1” is replaced by an outline of pre-1948 Palestine,
angering Israel which demanded the uniform’s removal, local media
reported.</p>
<p>Club Deportivo Palestino, a first division football club created in
1920 by Palestinian immigrants, revealed on Saturday its 2014 uniform,
on which the geographical outline of Palestine can be seen.</p>
<img class="autosized-media"
src="cid:part1.03040801.00030104@freedomarchives.org"
data-src-2x="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BdN9b_3IAAAM0la.jpg:large"
alt="View image on Twitter" title="View image on Twitter"
data-width="381" data-height="365" height="365" width="381">
<p><i>Yesterday, the Palestino football team revealed the historical
territory of Palestine on its jersey. Remarkable!</i></p>
<p><a
href="http://www.lanacion.cl/noticias/deportes/futbol-nacional/primera-division/israel-cito-a-diplomatico-chileno-por-camiseta-de-palestino/2014-01-07/175150.html"
target="_blank">Chilean newspaper <i>La Nacion</i></a> reported on
Tuesday that the Israeli foreign ministry had contacted the Chilean
embassy to express its discontent over the football club’s move.</p>
<p>According to a statement by the Israeli embassy in Chile, the
Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Director General for Latin America Itzhak
Shoham called the map a “provocation.”</p>
<p>The statement relayed Shoham’s "hope to avoid anti-Israeli
provocations such as presenting a map in which the state of Israel
appears as part of Palestinian territories, with the evident intention
of denying the existence of Israel."</p>
<p>Shoham added that "while Israel is determined to generate a positive
step towards a two-state solution, it seems inappropriate to use sport
for political ends."</p>
<p>The former president of the Jewish Community of Chile (CJCh) Gabriel
Zaliasnik reacted to the news on Twitter and accused CD Palestino of
“importing” the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying the uniform
controversy was a sign of “hate and fanaticism.”</p>
<p><i>We have to be forward. It is shameful that the leadership of
Palestino is tarnishing Chilean football. Hate and fanaticism don’t
have limits.</i></p>
<p><i>The issue here is different: The responsibility that leaders of
each community and their institutions must show. Importing conflicts is
irresponsible.</i></p>
<p>On Monday, CJCh Executive Director Marcelo Isaacson demanded a
public apology from CD Palestino, removal of the jerseys and sanctions
from the Chilean National Association of Professional Football (ANFP)
and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).</p>
<p>Isaacson argued that the jerseys were an “act that affects the
dignity of spectators at a sporting event and a use of the sport as a
platform of political demands,” <a
href="http://www.lanacion.cl/noticias/deportes/futbol-nacional/primera-division/comunidad-judia-exige-a-palestino-disculpas-publicas/2014-01-06/181119.html"
target="_blank">Chilean newspaper <i>La Nacion</i> reported</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.oicpalestina.org/?p=13967"
target="_blank">Palestinian Federation of Chile</a> expressed its
support of the football club in a statement released on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“We deplore the hypocrisy of those who express outrage at the
presence of this map, as they talk about the occupied territories,” the
statement read. “We deeply regret that Chilean Zionists seek to import
the Middle East conflict to our country" by "tarnishing the history and
the fundamental contribution that CD Palestino has made to the
development of this sport in our country.”</p>
<p>The federation also expressed its thanks to Chilean nationals, “and
especially the Jews of our country,” who have spoken out in solidarity
with the football team.</p>
<p>Chile is home to the largest Palestinian population outside of the
Middle East, with an estimated 500,000 citizens of Palestinian origin.</p>
<p><i>(Al-Akhbar)</i></p>
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