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October 28, 2015

In Blog News

WATCH: Beitar Jerusalem fans chant name of Yitzhak Rabin’s killer

Beitar Jerusalem is known for its blatantly racist fans, including a core group that goes by the name ‘La Familia,’ a reference to the Italian mafia.

By JTA | Oct. 27, 2015 | 11:26 PM |  1

Fans of Israeli soccer club Beitar Jerusalem chanted the name of Yigal Amir, the Israeli extremist who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

Footage of the incident, which took place Monday night in Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium during a game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, aired on Israel’s Channel 2.

November 4 is the 20th anniversary of Rabin’s death. Amir is serving a life sentence for shooting and killing the former prime minister at a rally in Tel Aviv.

Beitar Jerusalem is known for its blatantly racist fans, including a core group that goes by the name “La Familia,” a reference to the Italian mafia.

In July, a group of Beitar fans threw smoke bombs, flares and firecrackers onto the field at a Belgium stadium during a match between the club and Belgium’s Sporting Chaleroi. After the incident, the team’s owner decided to sell the team, citing the outlandish behavior of the club’s supporters.

​After the lynching of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir, which was seen as a revenge attack for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the summer of 2014, Israeli police arrested 6 members of “La Familia” as part of its larger investigation.

In early 2013, fans protested the team’s signing of two Chechen players by setting the team’s offices on fire and holding up anti-Muslim signs during games.

In March 2012, hundreds of Beitar fans beat up a group of Arab employees at a shopping mall in Jerusalem.