Not a single case of organised racist chanting was observed in 2018 by fans of Beitar Jerusalem, the football club whose fans developed a reputation for their infamous trademark “Death to Arabs” chant.
The record has been hailed as a breakthrough for the campaign to eliminate racism from Israeli football.
For successive seasons Beitar’s fans scored bottom in “Fairness Index” figures compiled by Kick It Out Israel (KIO), an anti-racism campaign run by the New Israel Fund.
But over the years, major progress has been made in combating the Beitar fans’ behaviour. A combination of media exposure and educational efforts, new legislation outlawing racist chants with subsequent arrests, and convictions, and penalties imposed on the club by the Israel Football Association have all had their effect.
