Algerians root for their team - and for Palestinians in Gaza.
Echorouk al-Yawm, Algeria
Algeria's Elimination of
U.S. and England to Be a 'Love Letter' for Gaza
"The moment people see the
flag of Palestine flying over South Africa during matches featuring Algeria, they
will understand the elimination of the two countries most historically supportive
of Israel as perhaps the most fervent love letter ever written to the people of
Gaza."
Politics and sport: Algerians are very proud of their national team, in part for the political statements its victories represent. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, eliminating England and America will be seen also as a victory for Palestinians in Gaza.
Many
around the world didn't understand why Algerians were so overjoyed by the performance
of their heroic team against England, nor will they understand why they'll cheer
even louder if it wins against the United States, qualifying at the expense of two
of the greatest powers in the world.
The moment people see the
flag of Palestine flying over South Africa during matches featuring Algeria, they
will understand the elimination of the two countries most historically supportive
of Israel - from the Balfour Promise
to Camp David - as perhaps the most fervent love letter ever written to the
people of Gaza. It will be an effort on the behalf of the many people in the
world who are working to remove Israel's blockade, even as Great Britain and
the United States work to prevent an end to the siege.
[Editor's Note: In the Arab
world, the document called the Balfour
Declaration is known as the 'Balfour Promise'. The document stated the
British government's position in favor of a "national home for the Jewish
people in Palestine."]
In all sports, but particularly
in football, it is said that you win some and you lose some. Many games in football
history have been forgotten, and others have been definitively buried, but the
type and conditions surrounding particular confrontations are what make them
historic.
Algerians will never forget
what their team achieved in 1975 by defeating France in a playoff. While it was
an event that meant little to most people, since it was part of the Mediterranean Games
and is unheard of in three quarters of the world, it became etched in the
memory of Algerians because it was achieved just 13 years after independence
from France.
That is also why Algerians
will never forget it if they manage to qualify for the second round of the
World Cup at the expense of Great Britain and the United States, especially as
it will come at the same time as part of the blockade imposed on Gaza has been
lifted.
For those who say that simply
raising the Palestinian flag on the football pitch is to thrust politics into
the world of sports, I say that it is they who have always been the
first to politicize sports - and it is they who have always tried to say
through sports what they couldn't say politically. For example, no one is
convinced that the athletes on the stumbling French team were chosen free of
racism. Everyone considers these to be racially and politically motivated
decisions disconnected from the world of football.
Algerian supplies entering Gaza
is certainly not a military victory because it won't see the land returned, won't
expel the enemy, nor break his will. An Algerian defeat of the British and Americans
won't bring back the Golan or Jerusalem, but the accumulation of moral victories
always produces great strides. The German and Japanese superpowers are a good
example. The accumulations of small victories [since WWII] in many fields are what
made their greatest glories possible. Algeria, which has won a humanitarian
victory in Gaza over Israel, may win in the field of sports over England and
the United States of America. If that can be accomplished, it won’t be too hard
to achieve victories over nations in other areas, since small triumphs will
breed greater victories.
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WORLDMEETS.US
Overcoming England and the United
States in the football World Cup will be tempered by the ills of Gaza and the painful
history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which was mostly British, but since we don't
want blame the English alone, was planned and executed by both Britain and
America since the Balfour Promise … It is now for them to await the enemies of the
Balfour Promise to execute their own promises.
[Editor's
Note: The match between Algeria and the United States will be broadcast on Wednesday,
June 23, at 9:30am EST. Algeria played England to a 0-0 draw in their match on Friday. Number Crunching the World Cup].
