Bnei Sakhnin through the documentary looking glass: telling the story of Arab football in a Jewish state

摘要

Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin Football Club made history when it became the first Israeli club representing an Arab town to win the Israeli State Cup in May 2004. As part of a wider study, this essay looks at the documentary films produced in its aftermath. Analysis of these films shows how this unusual story highlights deeply embedded attitudes of the Jewish majority in Israel towards the Arab minority. It further highlights the fact that Israeli football is intertwined with national aspects since Jewish-Arab tensions are never far removed from the long-running and wider Arab/Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Israeli national identity is never far removed from a religious (Jewish) identity. Moreover, it shows how a moment of unity between majority and minority quickly fell back to the deep separation of the Israeli national collective. All three documentaries, in varying ways, nevertheless express hope there might still be a chance of a brighter future for Israeli society.