Israeli fan has ‘free hostages’ banner removed as pressure groups scream ‘blood libel’

 Israeli fan banners at European club matches is causing increased conflict in political circles after the brother of an Israeli hostage was banned from bringing signs demanding his release into the qualifying round of the Conference League between Beitar Jerusalem and Riga last week.

Beitar were playing Thursday’s home leg of their third-qualifying-round tie at Romanian club Petrolul Ploiesti’s Ilie Oana Stadium.

Rom Braslavski’s brother, Amir, said the decision to remove the banners was “hypocrisy” the a day after the governing body displayed its own sign on the pitch when Tottenham played Paris St-Germain in Udine, Italy, calling for an end to the killing of children and civilians.

The banners reportedly read: ‘Bring back Rom’; ‘I want my brother’; and ‘The voice of my brother’s blood is calling to me from the tunnels – Bring Rom and the rest of our hostages back home’.

Braslavski was quoted in Israeli media saying: “We demand that Uefa reverse this shameful decision and allow us to hold his flag and signs until he returns home alive and well.”

Jewish activists have been quick to condemn the incident and used the opportunity to counter UEFA’s own banner at the Super Cup final with their own complaints.

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), reported by the Daily Telegraph, said: “Rom Braslavski has been held captive by terrorists for nearly two years in conditions deliberately intended to prolong his suffering. To European football, Jewish lives don’t matter.

“Uefa has said nothing about the Jewish hostages kept in barbaric captivity for almost two years, nor about the incessant attacks on Israeli civilians throughout this war from terrorists in Gaza and throughout the Middle East.

“But all of sudden, they have chosen a Spurs match – a club commonly associated with the Jewish community – to unfurl a banner reading ‘Stop Killing Children – Stop Killing Civilians’. For centuries, Europe has traded in the blood libel that Jews kill children, and clearly the trope remains as popular as ever. Uefa says that ‘the message is clear’.

“After two years with no acknowledgment of the Jewish children murdered, maimed and traumatised by this war, the message is clear indeed. This selective outrage tells us everything about the double standard that still poisons European discourse on Jews.”

UEFA’s banner neatly side-stepped wider political debate and didn’t identify Israel directly, saying it referred to all wars were innocent civilians were being killed, though the message to Israel was clear. Israel’s activists, by making it about themselves, have made it increasingly clear – perhaps the intention.

Criticism in Europe from human rights organisations has been that UEFA should have named Israel.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Meanwhile, Amir Braslavski’s brother Rom, remains in the tunnels in Gaza as his captivity is used for deeper political points scoring.

A UEFA statement said: “All clubs participating in European club competitions are required to submit in advance any choreographies and banners intended for display in the stadia for prior assessment. This was not complied with on this occasion and, as customary in such cases, decisions are made by officers on site in coordination with local authorities.”