Manchester Jews condemn lobby attacks on Guardiola for opposing genocide

The Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine (MJAP) group has condemned a local Israel lobby group for attacking Manchester City football manager Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola, who has a consistent record of solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people, spoke out against Israel’s slaughter again on 4 February. The BBC amplified the manufactured pearl-clutching of the — apparently entirely unelected — so-called ‘Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region’ (JRCGM) that Guardiola should stick to football and not get involved in politics.

While it calls itself a council, JRCGM is in fact a company, registration number Company registration: 8953235. It is one of numerous self-appointed ‘representative’ organisations that act as lobbying groups for Israeli interests.

In a statement, MJAP condemned JRCGM for its whitewashing of the “horrors perpetrated by Israel”. It also pointed out the lack of condemnation by footballing bodies for the ‘right’ kind of political statement and their failure to take appropriate action against the genocidal colony. And it reminded the ‘council’ that as a city — Manchester, including many of its Jews — is united against the crimes of the ethno-supremacist occupation:

Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine (MJAP) welcomes Pep Guardiola’s recent comments decrying Israel’s pursuit of a genocide in Gaza and calling on us all not to turn a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinian children. Guardiola’s heartfelt statement that “to completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me” captures our collective pain as we’ve watched the horrors perpetrated by Israel over the last two and a half years. Guardiola’s brave comments build on expressions of solidarity with Palestinians from many other prominent football figures, including Jurgen Klopp, Mo Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona.

MJAP disagrees profoundly with the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester (JRCGM) in their criticism of Guardiola. They say that he “is a football manager” and “should focus on football” rather than “straying into international affairs”. It is not Guardiola who is bringing international affairs into football. The Premiership were quick to organise official displays of solidarity with Ukraine in grounds across the country, and FIFA suspended Russia from international football competitions within days of the invasion of Ukraine. Yet football supporters are not allowed to take any expression of solidarity with Palestine into games (not just flags, but even badges), and after two and a half years of genocide, FIFA has still not suspended Israel from international football competitions. Guardiola is simply expressing a different view on international affairs to those of the Premiership, the FA and FIFA. In doing so, he is giving voice to millions of football supporters, around the world, in the UK and in Manchester.

The JRCGM does not speak for all the Jewish people of Greater Manchester. Many of us are horrified by the genocide that has been pursued in our name by Israel, and have joined countless marches and rallies to oppose it. “Never again” means never again for anyone, including the Palestinians. In failing to call out the crimes of the state of Israel against Palestine the JRCGM have effectively acted as apologists for the genocide.

Israel has murdered thousands of footballers in Gaza – professional and amateur, adults and children – and has deliberately destroyed countless football stadiums, pitches and facilities. Israel has encouraged illegal settlers and their football clubs to operate in the West Bank, against the rules of FIFA.

MJAP supports the demand of football supporters around the world to “red card Israel”, calling on FIFA to suspend Israel’s national teams and clubs from international football competition until Israel ends its genocide, withdraws from illegally occupied land, drops the siege of Gaza and dismantles all its apartheid laws.

In particular, MJAP supports “A City United for Gaza”, a local campaign who have been rallying outside games at Old Trafford and the Etihad for the last two and a half years, collecting signatures for a petition to FIFA.”

Israel was condemned this week by one of its own top generals as modern-day ‘nazis’, doing to the Palestinians what Germany did to the Jews eighty-odd years ago. Solidarity with Pep Guardiola.

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