Israeli Soccer Commercial

a comparison of an Israeli commercial and its real life application in Palestinian point of view.

The actual uncut Palestinian video is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et8VGyCDt10&feature=player_embedded

The Israeli Commercial is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=210H8wavqbc&feature=related

Haitham Sabbah

July 23, 2009

The row over a racist advert of Cellcom - an Israeli mobile phone operator, which shows Israel Occupation Forces soldiers playing football with Palestinians on both sides of the Apartheid Wall, continues.

In the Cellcom advert, IOF soldiers on patrol along the Wall stop their army jeep when it is hit by a soccer ball from the Palestinian side of the Wall. A game ensues, back and forth with the unseen Palestinians after a soldier dials up reinforcements, including two smiling women in uniform, to come and play.

The advertisement made by McCann Erickson, part of U.S. Interpublic Group, ends with the upbeat voiceover: After all, what are we all after? Just a little fun.

The advert has been extensively criticized for making light of the Palestinian suffering inflicted by the West Bank Apartheid Wall.

The Palestinians put controversial ad to test. A video recently posted on YouTube has tried to reenact the game in reality, and found that the result could not be further removed from the situation on the ground: when the Palestinians kick the ball to the other side of the Wall, what they get in return is a salvo of tear gas grenades and bullets.

Protesters in Bilin tested the fun claimed by Cellcom to find that it smells and can kill you if you play it with Israelis.

One of the activists in Bilin said: We wanted to show everyone how the soldiers really behave, contrary to what was shown in the ad. This is a message from the protestors on what really goes on at the separation fence ? this is what we get from the soldiers, tear gas.

The Israeli ad prompted Arab lawmakers in Israel to demand it be taken off air. MK Ahmed Tibi called to scrap this television commercial.

What the Israelis sees as Just a little fun is actually an Apartheid Wall that separates families and prevents children from reaching schools and clinics, yet the advertisement presents the Wall as though it were just a garden fence in Tel Aviv.

Cellcom, however, has remained defiant and stood by the commercial. We are a communications company that facilitates human interaction, they said. We dont deal with politics. Weve had very positive feedback about the advert. There was absolutely no cynical intention behind it.

The ad went out during the same week as Palestinians marked the fifth anniversary of a World Court ruling that Israels walls and fences in the West Bank were illegal.

Hagai Matar, an Israeli activist, said that the violent atmosphere near the fence was far from resembling the pastoral, pleasant atmosphere reflected in the Cellcom advert.

While the people of Bilin suffer from frequent and repeated harassments by the army, while the residents are subjected to nightly arrests, violence and tear gas, not only during rallies but also in their yards, the people of Bilin continue to use amusing and creative ways to protest the separation fence, he said.

I got really too nauseous watching the ad. You see the Israeli occupation forces playing with ?!? the people that they are incarcerating behind the Apartheid Wall. But the most grotesque and disgusting part of this TV ad is the fact that the Palestinians basically arent seen. Why? Because they are not there waiting for the football, but for ? This ad correctly portray the occupation as monsters or aliens ? This is the alienation that Israeli society feels toward the Palestinian people. In reality, if a Palestinian comes close to the Apartheid Wall to return a football ? he is likely to get shot.

Cellcom should take this racist commercial off the air immediately and appologies for the Palestinian people. Refusing to do so only confirms the fact that racism is a culture that is widely adopted, believed and practiced in Israel.

http://waronyou.com/topics/football-game-or-tear-gas-and-bullets-palestinians...

Content protected under the fair use act as non-profit and for educational purposes only... (not that law really matters on JIDF ruled youtube)

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Israeli
• Palestinian
• conflict
• Bilin
• Celicom

[jamironited4]

Hahah dear god... this video is just looking for a fight. What does palastine want? To just kill them all? Or to find peace? Because i think your just pushing back on a friendly commercial. Not to mention that Israel has alot of very powerful allys who agree that they have a right to their land and any right to defend it against those who oppose. I support Israel, if you know anything about them you know that ever since theyve existed theyve been persecuted, its about time they have their land

[YoelBenYsryael]

typical Eurocentric hubris... the fact that some other nations support the stealing of land from its inhabitants is not something a wise man would mention as a matter of fact. Any true student of history knows better than that to believe that persecution nonsense... and especially would not use it as a defense of Israeli war crimes in Palestine. You should be ashamed of yourself... but it isn't evident in your commentary... that you have the common sense to know why.

[daphinvation]

@YoelBenYsryael It is you who should be ashamed and who lacks common sense.

True student of history? Are you kidding me? You have obviously been brainwashed by the liberal media.....why don't you go to Israel and see whats really going on, talk to all kinds of people there living their lives!

[YoelBenYsryael]

@daphinvation hilarious. "Brainwashed by the liberal media.." hmmm by who wolf blitzer?? dingbat. We know who owns the liberal media and the bias is Pro Israel. CNN ABC NBC... all pro Israel... so go wave your six point star elsewhere sweetie...

[ayyadmed]

Sweet video!

as it happens, the gas canister you show in the last frame, '40mm special' is the same type they used, shooting directly at Bassem Abu-rahma's chest,  killing him, and Tristen in the head, leaving him in coma.

[YoelBenYsryael]

I didn't know people could actually be killed by those canisters until I saw what happened to Bashem. Those things are just like giant bullets.

[germanicus24]

What is more fascinating about the video, is how the commercial doesn't even show the Palestinians, but as subhumans behind a wall who doesn't even exist. What a most dehumanizing way of "showing" them.

[MrSpoonieluv]

Well what would you expect when they have to live every day of their lives under the oppression of the Jewish scourge?

[funkyllool]

fuck you israel

[Sexisttroll]

...jews.... later on they were probably thinking on selling the ball back to them for a high price....

[superlircha]

@daciuss Oh pls?! go read a book!

[kanaiboded]

loooool nice

[daciuss]

I am 100% agree with you.And i am not a muslim,i am an european christian.Israel is criminal nazi state who controles USA with $ and are behind all the wars in the world today.Alone,they are just cowerds killing inocent children in Gaza.

[sef209]

isreal are a bunch of bullies using extreme force. I wish china or some other supepower would even the odds and supply weapons to palastine. then maybe the israeli cowards wouldent be so quick to shoot!

[sef209]

perhaps theres a reason they were always persecuted....look at israel now...personaly i thinhk the world would be a better place if israel did not exist. Also how do a people "decide" that the land of palastine belongs to them...who are they to decide what belongs to whom. israelis were only given palastine becasue of the wests guilt over the holocaust.