Chilean Jews outraged by soccer club’s new jerseys

timesofisrael.com, Jan. 7, 2014

Shirts that include the numeral 1, show it in the shape of Israel and the Palestinian territories, implying all the land is Palestinian

SANTIAGO, Chile — A soccer shirt is igniting a war of words between Chile’s Jewish and Palestinian communities

The Palestino soccer Club of Chile’s first division recently released its new jersey. But many are outraged because shirts that include the number “1″ show the numeral in the shape of Israel and the Palestinian territories, implying all the land is Palestinian.

Gerardo Gorodischer is president of Chile’s Jewish Community. He tells The Associated Press that the group is demanding an apology from the club and asking Chile’s soccer association not to allow the shirts because they don’t recognize the Israeli state.

Chile’s Palestinian Federation said in a statement Monday that it backs the club’s choice of the shirt.

The country’s Palestinian community is among the world’s largest, with about 350,000 immigrants and their descendants.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

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