The Justice Ministry and Beitar Jerusalem held an anti-racism workshop for youth team players on Thursday.
The Justice Ministry has been running several anti-racism training workshops for young football fans since the beginning of Israel’s football season in August.
The training sessions are part of a larger governmental project which aims to fight against racism.
The sessions involve joint coordination between the Justice Ministry, the State Attorney’s Office, the Israel Football Association, the Israeli Professional Football Leagues, the Culture and Sports Ministry, and the Israel Police to combine forces and eradicate racism from the football pitches of Israel.
The training was given to Beitar Jerusalem‘s Youth Team players at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
The training was coordinated with “Matzmihim,” an organization specializing in building a unique model to counter violence, racism, and alienation, which was chosen to lead the training.
The workshops delved into the concept of racism, discussed the place of prejudices in society, and explored how to create a space that does not allow racism in society.
Representing the club and its values
The youth players met with Ismaila Soro and Zohar Zasno, players from the senior team, to discuss how racism impacts the club.
They focused on the players taking responsibility to represent the club with respect, with an understanding of their social role as role models for young players and fans.
A similar training session was held with players from the Maccabi Haifa Youth Team and another session is planned for Hapoel Beersheba youth team.
The Justice Ministry plans to expand the training sessions to include players from the entire Israeli Premier League.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com