According to the Polish Press Agency, Israeli media report that Maccabi Haifa fans were attacked by Poles after the Thursday match in Hungary. What do Israeli portals say?
Israeli media on the match with Poles
“Polish fans forced the bus with Israeli fans to pull over on the roadside and then threw stones at it, even breaking one of the windows. None of the parties stated that anyone was injured,” says PAP. “Israel Hajom” described the attackers as having “murderous looks.” Another fan said it was an incident of antisemitic nature in every respect. VIRTUAL POLAND reports that authenticity of the footage was confirmed by Hungarian police. Kan, Ynet, and Haaretz wrote that the Israeli fans’ banner “Murderers since 1939” was a response to a banner hung a week earlier in Częstochowa, which read in Polish: “Israel murders, and the world is silent,” referring to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Ynet described this as a provocation against Poles for their participation in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust.
Scandalous incident during the match
On Thursday, August 14, during the football match between Raków Częstochowa and Maccabi Haifa at the Hungarian stadium in Debrecen, a scandalous incident occurred. Israeli fans in the stands displayed a banner reading “Murderers since 1939.” It happened during a Conference League qualifying match. The Israeli embassy in Poland condemned the gesture, emphasizing that it does not reflect the majority of fans. Statements were made by officials such as Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, Minister of the Interior Marcin Kierwiński, and former U.S. ambassador Thomas Rose in Poland.
Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement condemning the behavior of the Israeli fans. The director of the Department of Africa and the Middle East in the MFA spoke on Friday about the matter with the Ambassador of Israel Ya’akov Finkelstein. He expressed highest indignation and thanked for the clear condemnation of the behavior by the Embassy. The Polish Ambassador in Israel will discuss the incident with the Israeli MFA. “Polish-Israeli relations cannot, and will not, be destroyed by extremists,” the statement read. Previously, the head of Polish diplomacy Radosław Sikorski posted on social media that diplomacy is not a football chant, and noted that the banner was not put up by the State of Israel but by “those damned heads.” He announced that if Hungary helps identify the responsible individuals, they will be banned from entering Poland.
More information can be found in the article: “Sharp reaction of the future U.S. ambassador in Poland regarding Israeli fans. ‘Angry, outraged, disgusted'” (link).
