El Arsenal Football Club apoyará el Apartheid israelí

Triste noticia: el Arsenal ha firmado un acuerdo con las autoridades israelies para esponzorizar Israel como destino turístico. El acuerdo es por 350.000 libras y ello permitirá:

• Que la publicidad de Israel se muestre en las pantallas publicitarias del estadio, en la web y en la revista oficial del equipo.
• La publicidad en el campo alcanzará un público de 198 paises.
• El ministerio de turismo de Israel tendrá los derechos de propiedad intelectual y el uso del logo del Arsenal, al igual que el permiso para utilizar fotos del equipo y sus jugadores en sus promociones.
• El ministerio de turismo de Israel podra organizar eventos en el estadio del Arsenal.
• En el estadio se venderán camisetas de promoción de Israel.
  

El objetivo de este penoso acuerdo es conseguir que Israel atraiga a dos millones de turistas adicionales cada año.

Es paradojico que el compromiso del Arsenal Football Club contra el racismo en los campos de juego sea olvidado de manera tan ramplante en este acuerdo. Esta firma supone promover la negación continuada de los derechos humanos de la población palestina en los territorios ocupados y por tanto fomenta el racismo y el terrorismo de Estado israeli.

Decenas de asociaciones se han unido en la campaña contra este acuerdo. Esta campaña intenta que el Arsenal deje de apoyar el Estado de apartheid israelí. Para ello se proponen distintas acciones. Una de ellas es la de mandar e mail a la dirección de correos de este equipo de futbol informandoles de nuestra indignacion por este acuerdo.

La direccion a la que habría que mandar los correos es esta: marketing@arsenal.co.uk

Esta campaña propone una carta tipo para ser mandada a dicha direccion de correos:

Dear Mr Edelman

RE: Sponsorship deal with Israel

I am writing to express my deep concern about Arsenal FC's recent sponsorship deal to promote Israel as a tourist destination. Arsenal FC has hitherto enjoyed an excellent reputation for fighting racism and this deal will seriously put this reputation at risk.

Israel is a racist apartheid state built upon the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Arab population from Palestine. It has been so recognized by none other than anti-apartheid campaigners such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Both have called for a complete boycott of Israel similar to that which ultimately resulted in the toppling of the apartheid South African regime.

Israel is currently constructing a vast steel and concrete barrier through the West Bank and Jerusalem. Dubbed the "apartheid wall" by human rights activists, because it forces communities apart and grabs land, it has been held to be in violation of international law by the International Court of Justice. Israel's carving up of the West Bank and apportioning pieces of territory to the Palestinians are also comparable to South Africa's "bantustans" - the nominally independent homelands into which millions of black men and women were herded. Even an Israeli human rights organisation has described segregation of West Bank roads by the military as apartheid.

Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do. Palestinian Arabs have no place in a "Jewish" state. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children.

For Arsenal to sign a deal to promote such apartheid state as Israel is to go against the very principles of the 'Let's Kick Racism out of Football' campaign. I urge you to pull out of this deal as only economic pressure, similar to that which toppled the apartheid South African regime, will end apartheid in Israel.

I look forward to hearing from you soon on this urgent matter.

Yours Sincerely,


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