Thursday’s UEFA Europa League soccer match between UK team Aston Villa and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv will proceed in Birmingham without visiting fans from Israel after a strange and politically charged saga. Many in Israel have accused officials in Birmingham, where Aston Villa is based, of blatant antisemitism, weaponizing soccer ticket sales as a tool to isolate Israel at a time of growing anti-Jewish sentiment around Britain. Police in the city say the decision was a necessary security measure as racist incidents at soccer games soar in Israel and across Europe. The controversy began when Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group, which...
Monitoring Antisemitism Intel
