{"id":295214,"date":"2023-10-23T17:25:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T17:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=295214"},"modified":"2023-10-23T17:25:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T17:25:39","slug":"exclusive-avram-grant-slams-the-fas-response-to-israel-palestine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/exclusive-avram-grant-slams-the-fas-response-to-israel-palestine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Avram Grant slams the FA&apos;s response to Israel-Palestine war"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea&#8217;s Israeli former manager Avram Grant opens up on the &#8216;tragedy&#8217; of the Israel-Palestine war, as he insists the FA was &#8216;WRONG&#8217; to not light up the Wembley arch and condemns &#8216;terrorist organisation&#8217; Hamas<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The conflict between Israel and Palestine has escalated in recent weeks<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Avram Grant has condemned Hamas following their attacks on Israel\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He&#8217;s also hit out at the FA for not lighting up the Wembley arch earlier this month\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Avram Grant pauses to take a breath. The football manager, one of the most recognisable Jewish figures in world sport, struggles to hold back the tears as he relives the moment his daughter Romi was informed her friend Ely had been murdered as a consequence of the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict.<\/p>\n<p>He then grabs a copy of the Quran.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You see this book? I\u2019ve read it &#8211; all of it,\u2019 he tells Mail Sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It doesn\u2019t say kill innocent people.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Pertinently, Grant\u2019s anguish isn\u2019t restricted to loss of Israeli life as he accounts the grief that&#8217;s engulfed him with his country at war.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76893763-12662163-image-m-78_1698068690349.jpg\" height=\"508\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chelsea&#8217;s Israeli former manager Avram Grant has spoken about his anguish at the current situation between Israel and Palestine<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76893697-12662163-image-a-79_1698068809852.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He feels heartbroken for those that have lost their lives on both sides of the conflict<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>His pain for Palestinian civilians killed following the Israeli retaliation weighs just as heavy.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I know many good people in Gaza, really good people,\u2019 he explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Any loss of life is a tragedy and my heart is with them.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>His words are powerful. Grant is heartbroken &#8211; but somehow finds it within himself to be positive.<\/p>\n<p>Inevitably football is at the heart of his optimism.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019ll let you into a secret,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Ten years ago I spoke to Tony Blair. I said I have an idea: let\u2019s build football pitches on the border between Israel to Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018First, to find talent but secondly for people to play football together.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Football can put people together. I spoke with Arsene Wenger, Kaka even Phil Jackson [legendary Chicago Bulls head coach].<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I believe it still can be done. I have support of Arab and Jewish people who have the money to fund it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This is my dream. Even more so today. I still believe in human nature.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Right now, Grant, 68, is living some of his darkest days.<\/p>\n<p>He was in Tel Aviv on Saturday, October 7 when the first wave of devastating attacks &#8211; led by political and military organisation Hamas &#8211; were launched.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76893995-12662163-image-a-82_1698069003984.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Grant has revealed he spoke with a number of sporting icons including Arsene Wenger (right) about the role sport can play in bringing people together from both sides of the conflict<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I can send you the photo &#8211; I saw two missiles,\u2019 Grant reveals.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There were alarms everywhere. I grew up in that area, it\u2019s not the first time we\u2019ve faced this.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The former Chelsea manager awoke that Saturday scheduled to fly to the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n<p>Grant is currently Zambia head coach and his side were facing Egypt in the UAE on Thursday, October 12.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I decided to stay until Monday and went straight to training. I felt like I needed to stay in Israel,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Why did I stay? Because this is my country. They are my people.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I have a lot of friends in Gaza and the West Bank &#8211; I didn\u2019t know what to do, so I stayed.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I decided this is where I have to be. If I didn\u2019t have a game I would have stayed.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018No matter what has happened in my life, I have always concentrated on the game ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That\u2019s the education from my parents, to respect your job. The game against Egypt is the first time in my life my focus was a little bit\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was concentrating on the game but not 100 percent because the videos, the suffering, was in front of my eyes.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Grant\u2019s pain is unmistakable. His emotions threaten to get the better of him throughout our chat. Sadness. Anger. Despair.<\/p>\n<p>His temper starts to flare as he speaks of his outrage at the brutal images he simply can\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My heart is with them [the Palestinians killed]. But we must recognise the difference,\u2019 Grant says.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76274543-12662163-A_rocket_is_launched_from_the_coastal_Gaza_strip_towards_Israel_-a-85_1698069410700.jpg\" height=\"410\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Grant has condemned &#8216;terrorist organisation&#8217; Hamas after they attacked Israel on October 7, which included launching rockets (pictured)<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Hamas deliberately targeted innocent civilians. If you rape a woman, it will free Palestine? Cutting children heads &#8211; will that give people of Gaza a better life?<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This is a terror organisation. They are against humanity. Nobody can tell me this is Islam.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I know Islamic people. They are nice people; they don\u2019t agree with this. They call me and say this is not Islam, we cannot support this. No human being can support this.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>All of a sudden, Grant\u2019s tone calms to the point he finds it difficult to talk. He can\u2019t fathom why certain figures, states and organisations are hesitant in condemning such barbarism.<\/p>\n<p>His crosshairs turn to the Football Association, who last week refused to light up Wembley\u2019s arch in Israeli colours ahead of the friendly versus Australia.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The FA have let themselves down. Absolutely, 100 percent,\u2019 Grant says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When they look in the eyes of their children they will have nothing to say. I don&#8217;t need the FA to condemn, it won\u2019t bring one child\u2019s life back.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The FA was wrong. The leaders that don\u2019t condemn are putting politics over humanity.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76893761-12662163-image-a-81_1698068926071.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Grant believes the FA let themselves down by not lighting up the Wembley arch for either of England&#8217;s fixtures earlier this month<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76894169-12662163-image-a-83_1698069256800.jpg\" height=\"429\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>A minute&#8217;s silence was held before kick-off for England&#8217;s games against Australia and Italy, but the arch remained unlit<\/p>\n<p>He holds similar views on the BBC\u2019s refusal to call Hamas terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m asking the BBC, if you don\u2019t call them terrorists then call them a peaceful organisation,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Compare them to Martin Luther King who fought for civil rights. Compare them to [Mahatma] Gandhi who fought for his country.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;If it&#8217;s not terrorism then what is it? They are not for peace. What have they done for their country?<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Did they give their children a good education? Give them a good medical department?<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Good football pitches to play on? The Palestinian people deserve their own state with proper leadership.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I don\u2019t ask anyone to choose sides. I just ask for people to choose the side of peace, life and love. All they are doing is teaching them to hate.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Hate. It\u2019s a term Grant struggles to comprehend.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the veteran head coach reveals the motives behind his decision to give this interview.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was raised by wonderful parents. My mother is from Iraq and my father was a survivor of the Holocaust,\u2019 Grant discloses.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My father buried his parents with his own hands when he was 13, they died of cold and hunger.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018His two sisters also died of cold and hunger. In spite of that, he was the most optimistic guy you would ever meet.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Always optimistic, always happy and positive. My father loved people. He loved life.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Arabs were in our home. I was raised to love not to hate.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/14\/76893765-12662163-image-a-80_1698068876840.jpg\" height=\"786\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>A young Grant with his father Meir, which means light, and his mother Aliza, which means happy<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Even though he suffered so much he was always wanted to see the good. This interview is for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And I\u2019m sure about one thing. If Hamas put all of their efforts into the future of Gaza\u2019s people and their quality of life instead of their rhetoric of hatred and destruction, Gaza would be paradise,\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Grant\u2019s mother&#8217;s name is Aliza &#8211; which means happy. His father is Meir &#8211; which translates to light.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s hoping happiness and light descends on the Middle East very soon.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12662163\/Chelseas-Israeli-former-manager-Avram-Grant-opens-tragedy-Israel-Palestine-war-insists-FA-WRONG-not-light-Wembley-arch-condemns-terrorist-organisation-Hamas.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea&#8217;s Israeli former manager Avram Grant opens up on the &#8216;tragedy&#8217; of the Israel-Palestine war, as he insists the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>EXCLUSIVE: Avram Grant slams the FA&amp;apos;s response to Israel-Palestine war - All My Sports News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/exclusive-avram-grant-slams-the-fas-response-to-israel-palestine-war\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EXCLUSIVE: Avram Grant slams the FA&amp;apos;s response to Israel-Palestine war - All My Sports News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea&#8217;s Israeli former manager Avram Grant opens up on the &#8216;tragedy&#8217; 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