(JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — September 4, 2019) – StandWithUs has issued an Action Alert that calls upon FIFA, the international soccer association, to ensure that the Qatari government will issue entry visas to Israeli fans wishing to attend the FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar in 2022. To date, Israel is not included in Qatar’s online list of nearly 250 nationalities and territories eligible for an entry visa. Like most Arab states (with the exceptions of Egypt and Jordan that have peace treaties with Israel) Qatar does not recognize Israel and bans Israelis from entering. Standwithus has set up a letter writing campaign to send a clear, strong message here: https://tiny.cc/hii6bz
FIFA’s Code of Ethics unambiguously forbids the banning of people based on their country of origin. Article 22 proscribes “offend[ing] the dignity or integrity of a country, private person or group of people through contemptuous, discriminatory or denigratory words or actions on account of race, skin color, ethnicity, nationality, social origin, gender, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason.”
“We call upon FIFA to uphold their Code of Ethics, which is based on protecting international football from ‘illegal, immoral or unethical’ practices. If Qatar is allowed to ban fans on the basis of national origin, this would be a clear violation of FIFA’s guidelines,” said Roz Rothstein CEO and Co-Founder of StandWithUs.
“StandWithUs urges FIFA’s Ethics Committee to investigate and judge the conduct of the Government of Qatar in this matter to ensure that football fans from all states, nationalities and territories will be allowed entry to Qatar so they may participate in the 2022 World Cup. If Qatar is allowed to ban Israeli fans from entering, this will reflect negatively on FIFA, which has made inclusion a primary hallmark of their sportsmanship ethics,” Rothstein said.
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an eighteen year-old, international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Based in Los Angeles, the organization has 18 chapters and offices throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK, Canada and Brazil.
For the last 6 years, SWU has consistently received the highest ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum)
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