[ [link removed] ]Karam, a football athlete in Gaza who shared his testimony with us
about being shot by Israeli forces while he was waiting for aid. His hand
and foot were injured in the attack, and he may never play football again.
Image caption: Karam, a football athlete in Gaza who shared his testimony
with us about being shot by Israeli forces while waiting for aid. His hand
and foot were injured in the attack. He may never play football again.
John,
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for to finally hold Israel to
account on the world stage for its horrific crimes in Gaza.
After facing growing pressure to ban Israel from football competitions,
FIFA said it would seek legal advice and hold a rare council meeting to
decide what to do.
Now the special meeting is just weeks away – and it’s a race against the
clock to make sure FIFA does the right thing.
First, we’ll hire a lawyer to submit a legal brief on why FIFA must stand
against Israel’s atrocities. Then we’ll deliver the voices of more than
360,000 Ekō members who signed a petition demanding Israel be banned from
competition with a powerful message projected onto FIFA headquarters to
show decision-makers that the world is watching.
This is about more than sports – it’s about FINALLY starting to hold
Israel’s government accountable for the horrors in Gaza. John,
can you chip in?
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$3[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$4
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$5[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$9[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate another amount
It’s huge we’ve gotten this far. After years of refusing to take a stand
on Israel’s treatment of Palestineans, earlier this year FIFA finally said
they wanted independent legal advice on whether Israel should be allowed
to play.
After reviewing the legal submissions, its main decision-making body, the
FIFA Council, will finally decide what to do in July.
The Council is made up of 37 senior officials from around the world. So we
have a plan to make sure they feel the pressure by bringing our message
straight to their meeting, playing a powerful short film that shows
wounded and killed athletes in Gaza to make it impossible to ignore the
horrific crimes committed by Israel.
Israel cares about its reputation – and football. If we can show its
government that the world will not stand by and allow it to compete as
usual while it continues its relentless assault on Gaza, it could finally
change its calculus.
But we just have a matter of days to pull this off. For this to work, we
need the Ekō community to make as big of a splash as possible right now.
Can you chip in to make this happen?
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$3[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$4
[ [link removed] ]I'll donate
$5[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate
$9[ [link removed] ]I'll
donate another amount
We know that pressure works. After Israel's 9-day siege on Gaza in 2021,
140,000 Ekō members called one of the world’s biggest sports brands, PUMA,
to drop its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association. And thanks to
our collective pressure, and the tireless work of Palestinian solidarity
activists over the years, PUMA announced it ended its relationship with
Israel’s football federation last year, months after Israel’s current
invasion.
Together, we can do it again.
Thanks for all that you do,
Allison and the Ekō team
---------------------------------
More information:
[ [link removed] ]Olympics and FIFA: Ban Israel from international sports now. Ekō
[ [link removed] ]FIFA to seek legal advice on Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel
from international soccer. Associated Press, 17 May 2024
[ [link removed] ]Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says.
The Guardian, 27 February 2024
[ [link removed] ]Palestine Olympic Football Team Coach Killed by Israel in Gaza – Over
1,000 Athletes Killed so far. Palestine Chronicles, 07 January 2024
Anything extra raised will power Ekō and our campaigns worldwide fighting
for people and the planet.
Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]