Israeli football as an arena for post-colonial struggle: The case of Beitar Jerusalem FC

Abstract

The current study endeavors to place the case of Beitar Jerusalem FC and its fans, as depicted in media, entertainment and public discourse in Israel, within an Orient-Occident theoretical framework. For this purpose the study adopts an acknowledged theoretical framework of the relationship between East and West, which examines the relations between these two political and geographic cultural poles as a power struggle between those who are perceived as the conquerors (colonialists) and the conquered (natives). This theoretical framework, known as ‘post-colonial discourse’, deals with salient characteristics of power relations in a global society following the colonial period of the major European powers.

Keywords

• Beitar Jerusalem
• post-colonial struggle
• Israel
• football