MK Ben-Ari vs. Arab soccer player
Knesset member urges FIFA to ban Weaam Amasha from national team as he 'doesn't recognize Israel'
MK Ben-Ari goes on the offensive: National Union Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari sent an official letter to the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) Monday, urging it to ban a Golan Heights Druze from playing in Israel's national soccer team.
Weaam Amasha, who plays for Maccabi Haifa, was born in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the Six Day War and annexed in 1981 - a move that has not been recognized internationally.
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Golan Druze are entitled to Israeli citizenship since the annexation, but most of them, including Amasha, have not taken up the offer, citing historic links to Syria.
Last month, FIFA announced that it will permit Amasha to play for Israel even though he is not a citizen of the state.
Taking special interest in soccer - Ben-Ari (Photo: Yaron Brener)
Ben-Ari, who was among anti-Arab Rabbi Kahane's students, wrote in the letter that Amasha does not hold an official Israeli identification card in principle, because he does not recognize the existence of the state.
The member of Knesset noted that any other country would have regarded him as a fifth column, adding that there was no precedent for a player being admitted to a national team without holding a passport or identification card.
In the letter, Ben-Ari demanded that Amasha be allowed on the team only after he agrees to carry an Israeli identification card.
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