Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar on Tuesday called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to expel Jibril Rajoub, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority, from his membership in the international soccer organization.
Zohar’s letter was sent following Rajoub's statements in which he praised Hamas’ massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, as well as his incitement to terrorism and violence.
Zohar referenced a recent interview with Rajoub in which he called for the continuation of attacks against innocent Israeli civilians – "All while encouraging the oversight and responsibility of the Palestinian Authority for these actions. The day after Rajoub's statement, several attacks were carried out in Israel, and three Israelis were murdered: a 70-year-old woman, a 73-year-old woman, and a 35-year-old man," Zohar wrote.
In his official letter to the FIFA President, Zohar stated, "Rajoub's statements are an insult to the values that international sport aims to promote — values of peace, brotherhood, and mutual respect. There is no place for individuals who encourage terror or violence within sporting institutions. Rajoub's presence in senior positions in the world of sport not only damages public trust but also sends a dangerous message that sport can be used for political purposes and the spread of hatred and violence."
The minister stressed his determination to act until Rajoub is removed from the global soccer organization, writing, "After he justified the October 7 massacre and called for continued attacks, I have demanded the removal of Palestinian Authority senior official Jibril Rajoub from his position in FIFA. I will not rest until he is removed from all his positions. There is no place for supporters and instigators of terror in sports."
Rajoub, who also serves as Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, regularly incites against Israel, and has in the past said that Jews deserved the genocide inflicted on them by the Nazis.
Prior to that, he declared that if the PA had a nuclear bomb, it would use it against Israel.
In one incident, Rajoub was filmed as he verbally confronted Border Police officers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, telling one of them to "shut up, go to hell."
In August, Rajoub said in a TV interview that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7 massacre, is a “pragmatic, patriotic, and realistic man” and that Israel is attempting to demonize him.
In 2018, Rajoub was suspended for a year from FIFA for inciting hatred and violence, after he called on soccer fans to target the Argentinian Soccer Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Messi when he was scheduled to play a friendly game in Israel.
He appealed the suspension from FIFA, but the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
