SIPTU calls on RTÉ to boycott Israel fixtures
SIPTU is also urging the Government to support a boycott of the fixtures
SIPTU has called on RTÉ not to broadcast scheduled football fixtures involving Israel and says it will support members who refuse to work on them.
In a letter to RTÉ, SIPTU Services Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane said: “The Irish government and the FAI must step up to ensure the matches don't take place. Should they fail to do so, SIPTU workers in RTÉ will not accept being put on the wrong side of history, assisting with sportswashing Israel's genocide against Palestinians.”
He added: “We note and praise the decision by RTE, along with other European Public Broadcasting Networks, to refuse to broadcast the Eurovision earlier this year. We are asking that RTE show the same moral courage on this occasion and refuse to broadcast the matches scheduled for September and October.
“There is widespread anger amongst the Irish public that these games are taking place when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel is plausibly committing the crime of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Furthermore, a UN Independent Commission of Inquiry and the International Association of Genocide Scholars concluded that Israel is committing a genocide.”
SIPTU is also urging the Government to support a boycott of the fixtures.
SIPTU Deputy General Secretary Greg Ennis said: “The IDF’s colonisation of Palestine continues. An Israeli Football Team, largely made up of veteran and reservist IDF soldiers, does not deserve to be in the same country, let alone the same football stadium as the Irish National Team, be it in Lansdowne Road, Budapest or anywhere else for that matter.
“Israel and its so-called Defence Force have been directly responsible for the deaths of almost 600 Palestinian Footballers in the last 32 months. Israel has destroyed multiple football facilities, including the Sports Club Stadium in Gaza and has used other football facilities as detention centres.
“There is no way that our Boys in Green should be left pondering these matters over the summer months. The Irish Government, which recognised the Palestinian State, needs to be consistent, show real leadership and deliver on the will of the Irish people.”
He added: “Moving these fixtures from Dublin to a neutral venue behind closed doors does not resolve the issue. It merely is an attempt to move the Palestinian picket line out of sight. Our position is clear - don’t pass that picket line in Dublin, in Budapest or anywhere else.”