In Malaysia, antisemitism is not just the characteristic of former prime ministers. Nor does it characterize solely the government, or the (unholy) Leftist-Islamist political opposition. No, Jew hatred is a defining feature of Islam as a whole, and hence is characteristic of many if not most Malaysians in general. This became especially clear in a recent football match, when Chelsea Football Club was invited to Malaysia for a ‘friendly’ match that, at least for Chelsea’s Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun, was decidedly unfriendly. From “FAM sorry over abuse at Chelsea player”, The Star, 30 July 2011:
KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has
apologised to English Premier League side Chelsea after anti-Semitic
abuse was allegedly directed at Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun during
a friendly last week.
In a statement released yesterday, the FAM did not confirm the abuse took place at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 21 but said that if it did, it was only from a small
minority of the 80,000 supporters in attendance.
“The FA of Malaysia would like to strongly register that we do not condone any form of racism in football,” the statement read.
Racism is a disingenuous term for what is really going on — Islamic-condoned religious hatred is more like it. Doesn’t this sound ‘moderate‘ to you?
“If such an incident did happen, we would like to apologise to the player concerned and also to Chelsea FC.
“From our initial observations, it would have involved a small section of spectators at the match.
“This surely does not reflect the feelings of the majority of fans in this football-loving country.”
That last statement is no doubt based more on hope — or fantasy — than reality. And besides, at least some of that allegedly small minority probably reads the government-owned newspapers. Or perhaps the crowd in the stands are all members of the Malaysian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Who knows? Perhaps this treacherous Israeli midfielder is part of the vast Jewish conspiracy plotting against the Melayu (Malay) republic, yes?
Given the incontrovertible facts about Malaysia’s hard-core, unacknowledged and unapologetic hatred of Jews, a halfhearted apology from the Football Association should not count for much.