Over 130 Palestinian football clubs and sports associations called on German sportswear giant Adidas to end its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association (IFA) over its inclusion of football clubs based in illegal Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land.
The letter notes, according to the PNN, that UN Security Council Resolution 2334 denounces Israeli settlements as flagrant violations of international law and cautions the world’s second largest sportswear manufacturer that its sponsorship of the IFA makes it eligible for inclusion in the UN’s database of complicit companies doing business in or with Israel’s illegal settlements.
The Palestinian clubs further warn that the company’s continued complicity with Israel’s settlement enterprise may expose it to consumer-led boycott campaigns in the Arab world and globally.
Former Palestinian national team player Mahmoud Sarsak said:
Hind Awwad from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) said:
In their letter, the Palestinian clubs recall the widespread protests, calls for boycott and government condemnations of Adidas over sponsorship of Israel’s so-called Jerusalem Marathon, which illegally passes through occupied East Jerusalem. Adidas rightly ended its sponsorship of the marathon, they say, and must now withdraw sponsorship of the IFA until it ends its involvement in Israel’s grave violations of international law and human rights abuses against Palestinians.
Among the clubs signing the letter are the Jenin Athletic Club, the oldest Palestinian club in the West Bank, founded in 1940, as well as former Premier League champs Shabab Al-Khalil and top clubs Tulkarem and Shabab Alsamu.
PACBI has also launched a petition calling on Adidas to end its IFA sponsorship as Palestinian children and their families are being pushed from their homes to give way to the settlements hosting IFA league matches.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was initiated in 2004 to contribute to the struggle for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality.
PACBI advocates for the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, given their deep and persistent complicity in Israel’s denial of Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law.
Source: Palestine Chronicle
