Saturday April 26, 2008
Group protests visit by Chelsea’s Israeli duo
PUTRAJAYA: A coalition of 21 Islamic and Malay non-governmental organisations is protesting the visit of two Israelis who are part of the Chelsea English football team.
The group handed the Home Ministry a memorandum yesterday.
Its spokesman Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said that allowing entry to the Israelis would be in violation of the Government’s ban on the country's citizens from entering Malaysia.
“The reason for the ban is to isolate Israel as a rogue state and to convey a message that it cannot have normal relations with other countries unless it recognises Palestine’s rights.
“If the footballers are allowed entry, the Government will be seen as being insensitive to the feelings of the Palestinians,” he said, adding that the NGOs would also like to remind the Government that Malaysia had previously been the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) chairman.
Among the NGOs in the coalition were PAS, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) and Muslim Consumers Association.
Chelsea, whose coach Avram Grant and midfielder Tal Ben Haim are Israeli citizens, and are set to play in Malaysia in July as part of their Asian summer tour.
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