Pro Palestinian crowds shrieking and yelling at the Aston Villa Park Stadium

And yet, it has been reported that there were arrests on both sides?

So, I take it that the pro Israeli people were standing quietly and not shrieking and yelling?

Who is Oliver Brown?

Darn. Missed the post.

Whitewavemark2

*reasonable people* is the important phrase here.

In my opinion that post should be reinstated.

Agreed!

I am dismayed at some of the racist overtones to the comments about Birmingham. Birmingham is a lively, diverse and welcoming city

bmacca

reasonable people is the important phrase here.

In my opinion that post should be reinstated.

I’m a Villa fan. I was at last night’s game. It was a great result for Villa doing Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0. Great result for the locals from Aston & the surrounding area who came out to say the football drenched in apartheid & genocide isn't welcome in Birmingham or anywhere else.

There were around 200 pro Palestine protesters and around 70/80 pro Israel protesters. The pro Palestine group were grouped in the park/playground area which is across the street from Villa Park. They did not prevent any Villa fans getting into the ground. There was one incident where police tried to close a gate on some Villa fans but once it was clear they were fans with tickets and not protesters, this was quickly resolved.

The pro Israel group had sent trucks with electronic messages on to circle the ground. This group congregated on the opposite side of the ground but wanted to march along two roads to the playground area. They did this under a police escort. The police stopped them when they reached the start of the playground area where there is a basketball court. This was not a “Jew cage” and they were not locked in.

We saw people being arrested from both sets of protesters. A couple of arrests also appeared to be teenagers who were filming on TikTok and refused to move when told to by the police.

There were a number of Maccabi supporters in seats inside the ground. They displayed scarves & T-shirts showing their support. They were not subjected to any abuse from Villa fans, apart from a bit of banter about being Londoners.

I am dismayed at some of the racist overtones to the comments about Birmingham. Birmingham is a lively, diverse and welcoming city

Assessment from ChatGPT regarding Jenrick’s comments:

“the effect and the language used make it clear that many reasonable people interpret the comments as racist or at least racially insensitive.

Factors supporting that view:
•The repeated emphasis on “white faces” as a marker of integration is inherently racial.
•The framing of the area as degraded (“slum-like”) in connection with its non-white majority raises serious concerns.
•His comments were widely condemned by local community leaders, religious figures, and political opponents as harmful and divisive.
•Even if the stated intent was about “integration,” the rhetoric used and the implicit assumptions (e.g., that a community with very few white people is failing) betray a racialised lens”

Correction - I stand by my assertion.

Whitewavemark2

FGT is free to reject the opinion that her remarks agreeing with Jenrick are racist, but people should be free to call out racism when in their opinion they see it.

Agree totally 💯
And is fine by me if FGT has other reasons for saying what she did. But o stand by me assertion.

FGT is free to reject the opinion that her remarks agreeing with Jenrick are racist, but people should be free to call out racism when in their opinion they see it.

Babs is not alone. I googled Jenrick’s remark and this is what I found.

“Robert Jenrick's remark about a district of Birmingham has been widely condemned, with trade unions and other politicians, including the West Midlands mayor, labelling his comments as racist and "dangerous". Jenrick has strongly rejected the claim that his comments were racist”

“Local response: Many local residents and business leaders in Handsworth rejected Jenrick's description, highlighting the area's vibrant multiculturalism and strong community spirit. Bob Balu, chairman of the Soho Road Business Improvement District, said Jenrick was "totally wrong" and that the area was well-integrated”

That’s ok GG. I expected as much.

Babs03 I have reported your post.

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Onside*

Netanyahu doesn't want a ceasefire. He was just keeping Trump inside. If the war ends he will be facing criminal charges so it's in his best interest to keep fighting.
As for Hamas the lull in fighting will give them time to regroup and recruit.
I don't believe either side want peace.

Oreo

Thankfully just six arrests and eventually the Villa fans got into the ground but not before they were hassled and pushed around and had to argue with police.The protesters were far too close to the stadium.
In the end there wasn’t up to 5,000 as the protestors wanted but police estimated hundreds. It was still a very expensive policing event and high time all the protests and marches ended, there’s a deal for peace in Gaza now.

Has the deal started working finally then?

When I went to bed last night it had been breached umpteen times by the IDF and showed every sign of never actually coming into practice ever. Unless things have literally changed overnight = there is no ceasefire.

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Well what I find truly shameful. … If the police can deal with the religion-fuelled hatred that exists between Rangers and Celtic fans twice a year (at least) without putting one sect in a cage outside the ground, why not in Birmingham?

FriedGreenTomatoes2

From The Telegraph today:

Oliver Brown
“Discrimination wins on shameful night at Villa Park”
A supposedly tolerant society allowed anti-Semitic messages to be expressed as pro-Israeli protesters were herded into a ‘Jew cage’

The hyperbole is a disgrace! Deliberate conflation

There is a rise throughout the world of both anti-semitism and Islamaphobia - both unhappy bi-products of politics and violence.

That does not mean however, that citizens should give up their right to protest peacefully at what governments are doing throughout the world, we cannot allow the conflation of the two to succeed. We are thinking empathetic beings.

AGAA4

Lathyrus3

I was pondering the banner that said “Keep killers out of football”

As far as I know, none of the Israeli football team have killed anyone.
Presumably then the poster has equated the Israeli government and army actions with the football players who have killed no one, just because they are both Jewish .

Would you say that was antisemitism?

No. There's a difference between being anti Israel because of the killing of Palestinians and razing their infrastructure to the ground and anti-Semitism.

Sigh. Yet again it would appear there are people who would conflate the two. Of course there's a difference!