AS ISRAEL’S latest atrocities impel more people to speak out for Palestine, they face intimidation to silence them. As a prominent case, the Arsenal footballer Mohamed Elneny sent his 4.8 million Twitter followers a short message: “My heart and my soul and my support for you Palestine.” His tweet attracted many positive and negative comments.

As a sponsor of Arsenal Football Club, the Lavazza Group complained: “We’ll immediately reach out to Arsenal to remark we are concerned about the club [being] associated with such a message. Content of this post is totally not aligned with our company values. Lavazza Group is fully committed against racism and anti-Semitism.” 

Lavazza implied that the tweet had some anti-semitic intent, though its reprimand seems aimed mainly to protect its own profits. When the club signed up for a European Super League without consulting fans, commercial sponsors such as Lavazza remained silent. 

Arsenal defended Elneny, but with an implicit reprimand: “As with any employees of Arsenal, our players are entitled to express their views on their own platforms.  That said, we are speaking to Mo about this so he understands the wider implications of his post … As a club we are committed to confronting and eliminating all forms of discrimination and continue to champion the need for equality and diversity across all areas of life.”

Some Arsenal fans are asking their club to drop Lavazza Group as a sponsor and give its full support to their player Mohamed Elneny.


We the undersigned applaud footballers who express solidarity with Palestinians facing persistent attacks from the settler-colonial apartheid Israeli regime. 

We condemn any efforts to intimidate them into silence, especially by wrongly implying that their comments may be anti-semitic. Such efforts to silence them associate Israel with all Jews and so encourage anti-semitism. 

Statement coordinated by Football Against Apartheid. 
Endorsements should be sent by May 20 to John Tymon, [email protected]

Individuals representing organisations
John Tymon, Football Against Apartheid
Les Levidow, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG).
Beleigh Jbara, Director, THE PALESTINIAN
Ronnie Kasrils, Retired Government Minister, South Africa.
Essop Pahad, former Minister in the Presidency of President Thabo Mbeki, SA
Peter Smith, National Education Union & londonrecruits.org.uk/
Prof. Tony Booth, Cambridge.
Prof. Moshé Machover 
Paul Laverty, – Sixteen Films
Ken Loach, – Sixteen Films
Rebecca O’Brien – Sixteen Films
Mike Cushman, Chair, Free Speech on Israel
Abe Hayeem, Chair, Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine.
Dr Zulaiha Ismail, Trustee Perdana Global Peace Foundation
Dr Derek Summerfield, King’s College, University of London
Dr Paulina Palmer, Cambridge
Anne Mitchell - member BHPSC & Arsenal supporter
Tony Greenstein, Vice President, Brighton & Hove Trades Council
Richard Kuper, Jewish Voice for Labour 
Padraic Finn, UCU London Retired Members Branch/QPR fan
Sheila Guhadasan, Palestine Solidarity Campaign member
David Cannon, Jewish Network for Palestine
Suzanne Hotz, South African Anti-Zionist Jew 
Nana Asante, Secretary , IDPAD Coalition UK
Annie O’Gara, Sheffield PSC member, and Stop the JNF
Hughie Rose, New Black Panther Party  
Peter Downey, Bethlehem-Bath Links
Dr Jeff Rudin, South Africa
Andy Simons, Waltham Forest PSC & palestinebooks.net
Susan Buckingham, New book Gender and Environment 
Sue Sibany-King, Branch Secretary,Slough and East Berks PSC
Robyn Dasey, Chairperson Lambeth & Wandsworth PSC 
Angus Geddes, Portsmouth & South Downs Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSDPSC)
Averil Parkinson, Chair, Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Ian MacDonald, National Cttee, Scottish Palestine Solidarity

Other individuals in a personal capacity, with affiliation or role
Barbara Iqbal,  Manchester
Dr Yousef Quandeel, Planner, Retired
Dr Mujahid Islam. Cambridge
Giorgio Taverniti 
Paul Wimpeneyn,  Man City fan
Paula Milton, Reflexologist.
Malcolm Chapman
Declan Hickey, Merton PSC member
Angie Bertill, Lecturer, Hampstead & Kilburn Labour Party
Steve Taylor, Writer & Hampstead & Kilburn Labour Party
Sean Taylor, Musician & Hampstead & Kilburn Labour Party
Steve Roman
Alex Braithwaite, PSC member. 
Christine McMillan
Virginia Moietta, Retired Teacher
Sally Chandler, Labour Party, retired teacher
Sue Cooke, Palestinian Human Rights, & former Sheriff of York
David Ruffell, Hong Kong.
SimonCaixa
Peter W Crabb, retired civil servant
Reba Johnson, Retired & Activist for Palestine 
Kathy Hamilton (Cambridge UK)
Safiya O’Donnell
Deborah Darnes
Patrick Darnes
Elizabeth Morley, Retired teacher
Yael Kahn
Robert Langlands
Heidi Heslop
Sarah Sturge
Johathan Feldman, Sheffield PSC 
Paul Kelemen
Phil de Souza
Charlotte Moore, Highbury