Anti-Muslim: Fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team unfurl banner denouncing club?s signing of two Muslim players. Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink May 13, 2018

The best soccer team in Jerusalem announced Sunday that it was renaming itself to honor President Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.

Beitar Jerusalem praised the president on Facebook.

“For 70 years has Jerusalem been awaiting international recognition, until President Donald Trump, in a courageous move, recognized Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel,” the club wrote.

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“Beitar Jerusalem, one of the most prominent symbols of the city, are happy to honor the president for his love and support with a gesture of our own,” it added. “The chairmen of the club, the owner Eli Tabib and the executive manager Eli Ohana have decided to add to the club’s title the name of the American president who made history, and from now on will be called Beitar Trump Jerusalem.”

Beitar, currently in second place in the Israeli Premier League, is known for its support among right-wing Jews. Unlike other teams in the Israeli league, Beitar has long refused to sign Arab players. When the club signed two Chechen athletes in 2013 as their first Muslim players in recent memory, two fans lit the team’s office on fire in protest.

The team has publicly pledged to crack down on its most racist fans, including the hooligan gang “La Familia.” Nineteen members of the group were charged with attempted murder last year, The Times of Israel reported.

Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink

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