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Writer: Issam Khalidi
Genocide in Gaza – Western Hypocrisy and FIFA’s Double Standards
By Issam Khalidi Sports is not a marginal component in Gaza’s society. There was a time when Gaza was the center of gravity for Palestinian sports. In the same way that many others are concerned […]
Palestine’s Sports in the Arab National Consciousness
By Issam Khalidi Even seventy-four years after the Nakba, its repercussions and effects still remain, and sympathy for the Palestinian cause continues to exist. In spite of the dire economic and political conditions in the Arab […]
The Palestinian Body: A Pillar of Existence and Resistance
By Issam Khalidi There have been many legends depicting Palestinian resistance to the Zionist colonial expansion and occupation throughout modern Palestinian history. Heroism in Palestine was a byproduct of body resistance and bravery. It was […]
The 2022 Mondiale: For Palestinians, Football is More than Just a Sport
By Issam Khalidi Hundreds of millions of people are eagerly awaiting the World Cup to be held in Qatar in November this year. Even though Palestine is not one of the 32 teams participating in […]
Dispersion of Palestinian Sports: A Stumbling Block to Sports Development
By Issam Khalidi Palestinian sports movement is unique in the modern age because no other people have experienced catastrophes, displacement, or dispersal as the Palestinians have. During the years before 1948, this movement was marked […]
Hypocrisy and Double Standards: The FIFA Message to Palestine, the World
By Issam Khalidi The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the international sympathy with Ukraine illustrate the hypocrisy and double standards the West employs to handle this issue as opposed to the silence and superior handling […]
Palestinian Sports Will Miss Shireen Abu Akleh
By Issam Khalidi I did not know Shireen Abu Akleh personally, and I didn’t know that she was interested in Palestinian sports and its history. However, in November 2021, I received an email from her informing […]
Palestine Goes International: On Palestinian Achievements in Sports throughout the Decades
By Issam Khalidi Throughout decades, sports were a mirror that reflected Palestinian reality and portrayed it with all its details. The Palestinian struggle has always been multilateral and sport was one of them. Sports developments […]
‘Fruits of Peace’: Beitar Will Remain a Bastion of Israeli Racism
By Issam Khalidi Just recently Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, a member of the UAE royal family, has pledged to invest 300 million shekels, or about $90 million, into the Beitar (Jerusalem) club over […]
Palestine Media Watch: A Trumpet for Zionist Propaganda
By Issam Khalidi The more Israel is internationally criticized for its repressive and brutal practices against Palestinians, the more it creates circumvented malicious methods and means to cover and justify its behavior and continue achieving […]
Why Should Palestinians Write Their Sports History?
By Issam Khalidi Palestinian modern history is unique, not only because of the Nakba (i.e. catastrophe) of 1948, and the expulsion of the 750,000 refugees from their land, but because this history consistently has been […]
Palestine and Olympics: A Creation of a Collective National Consciousness
By Issam Khalidi When thirty-two-year-old Majdi Abu Marahil crossed the finish line in the men’s 10,000-meter race at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and thus became the first Palestinian athlete to compete in the leading international […]
Oslo Accords and Palestinian Sports: One Step Forward, Three Back
By Issam Khalidi Though Palestinian sports had made remarkable progress (especially internationally) since the Oslo Accords in 1993 until now, however, this progress was on the account of many national values accumulated throughout the period […]
When Palestinian Sports Become an Israeli Nightmare
By Issam Khalidi Just recently Israeli police stormed the YMCA in Jerusalem in order to cancel a memorial service for the late sports activist Ahmed Adela. The ceremony also included the honoring of his colleagues […]
Do FIFA and Its President Infantino Publicly Declare Their Absolute Complicity with Israel?
By Issam Khalidi Just recently at the United States-brokered conference in Bahrain FIFA pledged to build more football pitches in the Palestinian “Territories” to present the economic side of a settlement plan for the Israeli-Palestinian […]
Palestinian Sports: Decades before and after the Nakba
By Issam Khalidi Most of sport sociologists believe that nothing awakens national feeling so easily and strongly as sporting success. Glorious history, royalty, a splendid army, democracy and the welfare system, ancient ideals and traditions […]
When FIFA Abandons Its Principles for the Satisfaction of Israel
By Issam Khalidi Sport has never been isolated from social, economic or political aspects. Certainly, the existence of sport outside the political arena is rare, and in many cases, we see the overlap between sport […]