Maccabi game furore a 'blow for inclusivity'

A PROMINENT member of Birmingham's Jewish community has described events around the Villa-Maccabi Tel Aviv football match as “a dark day”.

- JANE HAYNES News Reporter

Pro-Palestine protesters at Villa Park on Thursday

Simone Schehtman had previously condemned the original decision to ban the Israeli club's fans as “antisemitic”.

But as Thursday night’s pre-match protests and police operation played out, she spoke emotionally of the profound legacy she believed it would have on the city and the Jewish community in the UK.

“This is a hammerblow for inclusivity and I am extremely sad and angry about it” she told the Mail.

“It makes Jewish people here question if they can safely stay in this city or indeed this country. It has caused deep uncertainty and we feel targeted, of course we do.”

She said the fan ban had emboldened people who wished to wipe out Israel, adding: “This has been a deliberate antisemitic attack on our communities and it has ramifications across the globe”