Palestinian icon Handala waved by fans of Sakhnin. Date unknown. Image from the official Ultras Sakhnin 03 Facebook page. MER Article The Re-Politicization of Palestinian Soccer The past decade has seen the growing presence of political protest and expressions of Palestinian national identity in football stadiums in Israel, with Ultras Sakhnin setting a powerful example. Revisiting arguments made in his 2007 book, Tamir Sorek traces how interrelated local, regional and glob Tamir Sorek • 13 min read
MER Article Khazzoom, Shifting Ethnic Boundaries and Inequality in Israel Aziza Khazzoom, Shifting Ethnic Boundaries and Inequality in Israel: Or, How the Polish Peddler Became a German Intellectual (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2008). The ethnic divide among Jewish Israelis is an elusive concept and a rarely acknowledged reality. There are no discriminatory Tamir Sorek • 4 min read
MER Article Soccer Fandom and Citizenship in Israel Since 2003, when Ittihad Abna’ Sakhnin (in Hebrew, Ihud Bnei Sakhnin, or Sons of Sakhnin United) climbed up to the Israeli premier soccer league, its showdowns with Beitar Jerusalem, a team historically identified with the Israeli right, have been the biggest media attraction, and the biggest headache for the police, Tamir Sorek • 13 min read
