Forever Pure

[Dwyer]

Forever Pure examines the clash between personal identity, politics, money and sports, and explores how racism has the potential to destroy not only a team but an entire society.

Beitar Jerusalem Football Club, formed in 1936, is the most popular and controversial soccer team in Israel, a symbol of right-wing politics and the only club in the Premier League never to sign an Arab player. Midway through the 2012-13 season a secretive transfer by the owner, Russian-Israeli oligarch Arcadi Gaydamak, brought two Muslim players from Chechnya onto the team. A powerful bloc of Beitar fans known as La Familia, began a racist campaign against the two Muslim players, the team’s management, and any player who supported them. Spewing hate-filled chants and unfurling banners reading “Forever Pure. No Arabs,” they created a national scandal that sent the team spiraling out of control.

For more than two decades, right-wing Israeli leaders have known that the road to victory passes through Teddy Stadium, home of Beitar Jerusalem Football Club. They have sat in the East Stands, listening to La Familia’s anti-Arab chants, and Gaydamak spent millions on the team, hoping to use the fans’ rabid loyalty to become Mayor of Jerusalem. To many of those fans Beitar is much more than their home club — it’s their identity, along with the racism they embrace.

pbs.org/independentlens/films/forever-pure/

And also: Free to watch through May 28th courtesy of PBS’s Independent Lens:

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