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Bnei Sakhnin F.C.

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Bnei Sakhnin F.C.

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Bnei Sakhnin F.C.

by

Jesse Mechanic

A Dissertation Presented to
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF ANNENBERG
SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
December 2022

ii

Table of Contents
I. Abstract………………………………………………………………………..……..iii
II. Reflection………………………………………………………………….…………1
III. Documentary Script……………………………………………………..……….....8
IV. References…………………………………………………………………………15

iii

I. Abstract
In this paper, I will examine the coexistent aspects of soccer between Arabs and
Jews in Israel in light of the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict. In order to capture
the community of soccer, I spent a few weeks filming with Bnei Sakhnin F.C., the top
predominantly Arab soccer club in the Israeli Premier League. Although Bnei Sakhnin
exemplifies co-existence in a microcosm of cultures within Israel, the Knesset has
occasionally taken advantage of the successes of the team to feign a veil of equality in
a country where Arabs are still treated by the government as second-class citizens.
While using documentary storytelling creates empathy by putting a face to issues that
otherwise might feel distant, ultimately my goal is to reveal the middle ground that exists
for the two major opposing religious groups in Israel.

1

II. Reflection
Bnei Sakhnin F.C. is a short documentary about the top Arab soccer team in the Israeli
Premier League.
1
Bnei Sakhnin F.C. is a soccer club that exemplifies the potential for
coexistence between Arabs and Jews in a country where, historically, they haven’t gotten
along.
2
In addition to closeness exhibited by the players on the team, the documentary
shows the that sports can bring people together despite persistent economic and political
hostility.
Despite military conflicts between Palestine and Israel and the ongoing tension
between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel, Bnei Sakhnin has succeeded by embracing
cultural differences and brushing off racist behavior from fans of other teams, primarily
those of Beitar Jerusalem.
3
Members of the team declare that they owe their success to
their ability to give the Arab minority a sense of belonging in a country where they are
oppressed.
4
However, although the team manages to progress through the years with
confidence and pride, my film explores the racism and oppression that Arabs still
experience in the Premier League.
As a documentarian, I aspire to capture slices of human life in underrepresented
or misrepresented communities around the world. In Western civilization, many people
know little about cultures outside their own, which causes a sense of superiority that
results in further colonialism and oppression.
5
My goal is to reveal a side of people

1
2020. “The Secret to their success? ‘Our Coexistence.’” Forward.
2
2018 “Israel and Palestine: a story of modern colonialism.” openDemocracy.
3
2021. “Arab-Israeli soccer players offer symbol of coexistence.” AL-MONITOR.
4
2020. “The Secret to their success? ‘Our Coexistence.’” Forward.
5
2021. “Colonialism and the Epistemology of Ignorance: A Lesson from Afghanistan.” Critical Legal Thinking.

2

mostly known from a surface level by those in outside communities. Additionally, I would
like to provide a voice to those in need, so they can share their story and provide a
different perspective of religious, racial and ethnic groups stereotyped by much of the
world. I believe that revealing a global story through documentary is effective because it
puts a human face to an issue that might initially feel distant and unrelatable. A written
piece about a cultural group halfway across the world may seem irrelevant, but a visual
narrative might reveal a personal connection to the story for the viewer, because some
human truths are undeniably relatable despite different cultural upbringings.
6
The
empathy triggered by a visual representation of a topic can elicit a stronger emotional
response.
People in the U.S. are generally somewhat split in terms of supporting Palestine
or Israel, but according to a study conducted by Pew Research Center, a majority of
respondents feel strongly in favor of one side over the other, with an increasing amount
of support for Palestine in the recent years.
7
As a response to some vehement opinions
held by those outside of Israel and Palestine, I wanted to show that a middle ground
exists.
Many sides of different conflicts have their own reasons for their actions. Often,
the good intentions get muddled with power abuse and an overcompensation of
enforcing stubborn beliefs.
8
When I visit Israel, I rarely witness acts of racism or hate
between Arabs and Jews. Most of the time, I see the exact opposite. In Tel Aviv, I

6
2018. “Cross-Cultural Differences and Similarities in Human Value Instantiation.” Frontiers.
7
2022. “Modest Warming in U.S. Views on Israel and Palestinians.” Pew Research Center.
8
2014. “Good Intentions: Norms and Practices of Imperial Humanitarianism.” The New Imperialism

3

almost always see people from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds
coexisting. The goal of my documentary is to show that many people directly affected by
such a conflict between governments are simply people and that even though media
portrays a constant religious and cultural clash in Israel, there are citizens who want
nothing more than to live in harmony. This is represented by Bnei Sakhnin, which
consists of people from various cultures coming together for their love of soccer.
9

Although Bnei Sakhnin does face a fair amount of racism from other teams’
fans,
10
the soccer field serves as a microcosm for different people finding common
ground through their love of sport. Bnei Sakhnin F.C. reveals the conflict between Arabs
and Jews on a human level and demonstrates that a common passion can bring people
together.
Before setting out to film the project, I contacted Monder Khalaila, an Arab
spokesperson for the team. Khalaila assured me that he was excited by my idea and
that would have full access to the team. To my dismay, when I arrived in Sakhnin, I
discovered that none of the players were aware of the project. While some were initially
skeptical about an American Israeli graduate student filming their practices and
requesting interviews, they welcomed me for the most part. My biggest problem was
getting access to the players off the field. All of them lived up to an hour away from
Sakhnin and did not want to take time out of their busy schedules for my interviews. The
two soccer players whom I interviewed gave me about 15 minutes before leaving for

9
2020. “The Secret to their success? ‘Our Coexistence.’” Forward.

10
2018. “BEITAR JERUSALEM AND BNEI SAKHNIN: DREAM AWAY.” BabaGol.

4

prior engagements. As a result, I was unsure of what to do when I realized the majority
of my footage were shots on the field and around the city of Sakhnin.
Outside of the club, I quickly managed to get an interview with Zouheir Bahloul,
the first prominent Arab sports broadcaster and a member of Knesset.
11
Bahloul is a
celebrity in Israel, well-known in sports. He welcomed me into his home in Acre and
gave me as much time as I needed. I felt the interview went well, beyond some
technical problems I experienced.
My interview with Khalaila also went very well. As the spokesperson for Bnei
Sakhnin, he was knowledgeable about the history of Bnei Sakhnin F.C. and well-versed
in all soccer-related matters. Khalaila’s interview was better than I could have imagined
because he put the club’s recent successes into perspective and described the
discrimination the team has faced at the hands of the Israeli Premier League.
Finally, for my expert, I interviewed Tamir Sorek, History professor at
Pennsylvania State University. Sorek has published articles and books about Arab
soccer in Israel and directly discusses Bnei Sakhnin’s role in Israel’s sociopolitical
climate. Sorek acknowledges the soccer club’s ability to show what is possible between
two cultures but criticizes the team’s role in masking underlying issues Arabs face in a
Jewish state.
12
He states that the Israeli government tends to use success achieved by
Arab-dominant sports to falsely display a greater equality between Arabs and Jews in
Israel. I felt that Sorek would be a great expert to add depth to my story since my other

11
2016. “MK Bahloul staying true to himself.” Ynetnews.
12
2021. “The Palestinian Flag is Back.” Israel Studies Review.

5

characters all spoke so highly of the team. It felt one-sided to not include a different
perspective, especially when dealing with such a controversial subject.
Even though I didn’t have much variety in the visuals, I enlisted the help of a
drone operator named Yishai Beit-Halachmi. He helped me capture the essence of
Sakhnin and the surrounding mountainous region. The footage looked fantastic, but
during post-production I got carried away and used too many aerials. Even though I still
ended up with a lot of drone footage, the images help establish the setting of the town
and provide a glimpse of the atmosphere in relation to the soccer team. Moreover, the
shots that revealed the major church, mosque and synagogue in Sakhnin suggest the
possibility of a successful coexistence exhibited in the town between the various
cultures represented on the team.
I believe that the story of Bnei Sakhnin is much more powerful when told through
a documentary as opposed to a text story. Physically seeing people’s faces and how
they interact and play soccer together allows the viewer to better understand the nature
of the subjects in the piece. Watching a story unfold affects an audience much more
than reading an article and having to imagine one’s own interpretation of the story.
Additionally, in my film, Khalaila describes problems Arabs still face in the Israeli society
with emotion. I believe that his recounting the sociopolitical issues Arabs deal with daily
paired with visuals of protests and racist fans is powerful and will stick with the viewer,
especially when juxtaposed with the more positive message of coexistence within Bnei
Sakhnin.
Looking back on my experience making this documentary, I learned the
importance of pre-production research. Fully understanding the topic and reading

6

scholarly articles on different perspectives and historical aspects is necessary to
creating a well-rounded and accurate film. I realized that a documentarian should know
just about everything there is to know about their topic beforehand so that they can
accurately report and provide context while selecting and interviewing experts and
sources. I also discovered that a documentarian should choose a topic they are
genuinely excited about. The research should come naturally to the filmmaker,
especially since the filmmaker plans to dedicate much of their time and energy to the
process that accompanies the project. As a student who switched my topic three-fourths
of the way through the fall semester, I learned from my lackluster approach to research
for my original idea that the most important quality a documentarian must embody is
passion for their topic.
When I initially began the research process for my documentary, I did not
understand the depth and complexities of my topic. From the initial articles I read, I
assumed that Bnei Sakhnin could simply pose as a microcosm for a solution to cultural
and political differences in Israel. I believed that if a soccer team can dispel stereotypes
and bring Jews, Arabs and others together despite such historical opposition, then
maybe other civilians in the country could possess a similar mindset and find a similar
outlet that would help bridge gaps. Unfortunately, even though the team serves as an
exemplary case of coexistence, the success of Bnei Sakhnin comes with negative
consequences as well. Bnei Sakhnin’s win in 2004 marked the first year a
predominantly Arab team won the State Cup in Israel.
13
In response, members of
Israel’s Knesset took advantage of their success by portraying the country as one that

13
2010. “AFTER THE CUP: SONS OF SAKHNIN UNITED.” PopMatters.

7

doesn’t discriminate against Arabs and marketed the win as proof that Arabs are
successful and equal in the nation.
14

I hope that with my thesis, I can show that Arabs and Jews and other cultures
can coexist by setting aside differences and uniting through sport in a country viewed by
the rest of the world as politically split between cultures.
15
I hope my documentary
demonstrates to viewers that although Israel has a long way to go in terms of political
stability and equality, the two historically opposing religious groups are able to exist
together in a community that puts humans first and brings people together through
sport.

14
2021. “The Palestinian Flag is Back.” Israel Studies Review.
15
2022. “Modest Warming in U.S. Views on Israel and Palestinians.” Pew Research Center.

8

III. Documentary Script

Video Audio
Intro:
CU: soccer ball being kicked around

Nat sound

Tracking shot: Ball is kicked into empty goal

Intro Music

TITLE CARD

BEGIN MONTAGE

-Various shots of team during scrimmage and
games

END MONTAGE

FADE TO BLACK

Prologue music

BEGIN MONTAGE

-Journey into the mountains en route to
Sakhnin, Israel

SOT Mahmoud Kannadli
Bnei Sakhnin Goalie
0198 0:14
I've been here since 2006.
That says everything. I love this place
SOT Anthony Varenne
Bnei Sakhnin Striker
0:22

Roads & mountains
In the city of Sakhnin, we have very good
atmosphere; very good feelings, so I think it’s
a very good way to show, you know, people
in the world that we can coexist together.
SOT Monder Khalaila
Bnei Sakhnin Spokesperson
0325 0:37

Roads & Sakhnin Sign
The unique thing about this club, the Bnei
Sakhnin club, is that it represents the Arab
community in the Israeli soccer Premier
League.
SOT Zouheir Bahloul
First Arab sports broadcaster and former
member of Knesset
Sakhnin, by definition, is the Arab team in
Israel.

9

0:57
SOT Khalaila
0325 1:04

Sakhnin Stadium

END MONTAGE
But what's more special is that this club
always valued familial hospitality and unity
between Arab players, Jewish players,
Christians…

SOT Bahloul
1:46
We are so happy about Sakhnin… in order to
improve that Jews and Arabs can live
together… Despite the fact that by definition
Israel is… a Jewish country.
SOT Tamir Sorek
Liberal Arts Professor of History
1:25:33
Being an Arab in Israel is complicated by
itself. Being an Arab soccer player on an
Israeli team means your connected to the
public sphere in a very intimate way.
SOT Bahloul

Sakhnin is the great and amazing proof that
Jews and Arabs can live together in this
country despite the fact that by definition
Israel is not only a Democracy but also a
Jewish country.
SOT Khalaila
8:26
It is possible to live side by side despite all
the news articles and political clashes that we
witness in the Israeli society and the Middle
East in general.
SOT Kannadil
0198 2:32

Sprinklers turn on in the stadium

Three players kick a ball around
I have been playing for Sakhnin since 2006…
in 2011 I was named first goalkeeper for the
team.
SOT Kannadil
0198 2:56

Kannadil in the goal

Coaches meeting
Honestly, I have been a fan of
Bnei Sakhnin since I was a little boy and
would watch their games.
SOT Kannadil
0198 3:04

Goalie drills
This is the number one team in the
Arab community, and since I have known it,
there have always been Jewish, Arab and
foreign players playing together on the same
team.
SOT Kannadil That's the secret to our success and what

10

0198 3:23

Team runs together
makes it one of the top teams in the Israeli
Premier League.

SOT Varen
3:41

Soccer Scrimmage
Striker shots
I am from Paris. I came in Israel in 2014 as a
football player… Now I signed my first year in
Sakhnin. I am very proud to be in Israel as a
Jewish person. I think it’s like a symbol: a
Jewish playing in Sakhnin. Also the way Arab
players are playing for a Jewish team for an
Israeli club.
SOT Bahloul
7: 56

Sakhnin church and mosque

Pan from city to stadium
Sakhnin cannot fix the reality, but Sakhnin
can change a little bit the reality. Sakhnin is
the best scene in Israel when we are talking
about coexistence. In this way it can change
the stereotypes that we are not against the
country… we are citizens of Israel… We are
looking for coexistence, looking for our right
to fulfill and achieve equality.”
SOT Sorek
1:23:57
Players moving goal together
Sakhnin beyond soccer is a symbol of the
resistance of the Palestine citizens of Israel
against the attempt of the state to conquer
the land from them.
SOT Khalaila
0325 8:54

Players move goal together

Striker/goalie drills
We succeeded to brand the club as a team
that represents peace; a team that makes
coexistence and mutual respect its mission
statement. And the message is that it is
possible To live side by side, despite all the
news articles and political clashes that we
witness in the Israeli society and the Middle
East in general.

SOT Khalaila
0325 11:04

Doha Stadium shots
We’ve been the lowest budgeted team
throughout our history. We were able to keep
going.
SOT Khalaila
0325 15:12

Doha Stadium shots
“We received a very generous donation of 7
mil shekels (~$2.1 mil) from the Qatari Emir…
We thanked them by renaming the stadium,
‘Doha,’ because they donated twice… a direct
contribution to the team itself.
SOT Kannadil
0198 4:20

Warm up for game
“When it made it to the Premier League back
in 2002… the entire Israeli-Arab community
loves and supports this team”

11

SOT Khalaila
0325 9:42

Preparing for game
In 2003, we advanced to the Premier
League… [and] won the state championship.
A historic event on two counts: First was that
an Arab team has won the state
championship… first time Arab soccer team
was going to compete in Europe.
SOT Kannadil
0198 4:20

Archival footage: Bnei Sakhnin vs. Maccabi
Tel Aviv
Many feel that the fact this team exists, they
exist in this country, and so everyone
supports the team and wants it to stay.
SOT Varenne
1:15:24

Bnei Sakhnin vs. Maccabi
It makes people feel the same way, and we’re
supporting the same team to the same sport.
So, I think it’s a very good way together all
the countries.

SOT Sorek
1:31:19

When Sakhnin won the state cup, officials
were very happy to embrace Sakhnin and use
it as a statement, ‘cause if an Arab team is
successful, they can win the Israeli cup, as if
it’s a representation of the political dynamics
that are taking place outside of the stadium.
SOT Khalaila
0325 12:25

City streets

Recent game

Soft Arabic music
People have been talking lately about an
increase in harsh and brutal violence in the
Arab community. In Sakhnin, which is a pretty
big city and a leader of public opinion, the
degree of violence is one of the lowest in the
community. I’m not saying it’s because
there’s a local soccer team here… the club
plays a big part in mitigating the violence by
getting people involved with the club and
maybe they spend their free time on those
activities instead of trying to fill that void with
things that will expose them to violence and
cause them to deviate from the right
educational path.

SOT Bahloul
1:09:09

Shots of kids playing soccer from afar
We need to have a good atmosphere within
the kids within the new generation to prove
for all of us that Arabs and Jews can live
together in Israel.
SOT Sorek
1:34:02

Arabs and Jews are treated differently by
police. Sakhnin was also one of the centers of
the events of October 2000’s when Israel

12

Police at demonstrations police killed demonstrators inside the green
line.
SOT Bahloul
1:08:32

Al Aqsa footage
We had a big confrontation between the
Arabs and Jews in Israel in May… It was a
sad confrontation between the both sides.
SOT Khalaila

Al Aqsa footage

Protests by Arabs and Jews
Sometimes the political circumstances in our
society affect the club as well… Al Aqsa
events happened last year… high political
tension… and the club kept functioning.
Jewish players kept coming and they were
welcomed as well as in their own families…
Our fans were conducting themselves
cleverly, were respectfully received,
respected others in return, and we kept going.
SOT Kannadil
0198 1:50

La Familia marching
There have been many instances, mostly in
games against Jewish teams such as Beitar
Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv, that there
were some racist fans, but I never paid
attention to it. I never mix politics and sports.
SOT Kannadil
0198 2:44

Archival: Beitar Jerusalem vs. Sakhnin
I have fans in Beitar Jerusalem as well. That’s
a team known for the most racist fans. They
chat with me on Facebook, Instagram, and
the same goes for the rest of the teams.
SOT Khalaila
0328 30:47
0325 17:52

Archival footage: rowdy fans at Beitar
Jerusalem vs. Sakhnin game
There were instances in the past where we
got into stadiums and people greeted us by
saying: ‘Death to Arabs.’ What did our fans
do? They clapped. Through the club, which is
mainly constructed of people from every
corner of the Arab community. They enter the
stands where they sit with thousands of both
Jewish and Arab fans and basically succeed
to break the tension and to slowly stabilize
the social dynamic and to continue the social
way of living side by side. Gradually the
courts realized that it’s unacceptable. These
days we don’t hear that anymore… We
definitely don’t hear “Death to Jews” in
Sakhnin, and we were able to mitigate it.
SOT Khalaila
0328 31:58

Fans chanting hurtful messages at Bnei
Sakhnin soccer game
There are other types of chants like ‘Your
village should be burned to the ground’...
those are not punishable by law. These kinds
of chants are hurtful. But it doesn’t matter.

13

“Go fuck yourself”
“Your wifes a whore” (Chants from fans)
SOT Khalaila
0328 32:43

Fans cheering at soccer game
I know this professor that said: ‘the day
people stop cursing in the stands is the day I
stop going to soccer games.’ Let people
unload but within reason. Don’t be hurtful.
Don’t give up on the idea that the objective of
soccer is to be enjoyable and to create a
social life.
SOT Khalaila
0325 18:38

Soccer match

Archival game footage
Even our fans sometimes make mistakes. Not
in terms of nationalism or racism, in terms of
violence. As with all fans around the world,
sometimes they throw objects into the field,
the fans fight with other team’s fans… The
painful thing is that when these things happen
in Sakhnin, the whole world cries out… and
extremists start to outrage and say that
Sakhnin should be shut down… If you take
those same acts and apply them to a harsher,
cruder crowd profile of a Jewish team’s fan
base–silence. All those people that came
after Sakhnin are not saying a word.
SOT Varenne
1:14:24

Striker drills
In the politics, in life in general, it is very
complicated… I think in sports, we have a lot
of Jewish players playing for the Arab team,
and the atmosphere is very nice between us.
I think it’s a good way to show people we can
coexist and live together.
SOT Kannadil
0198 2:35

There are also good people out there, who
love soccer, love coexistence, who love to
live peacefully side by side.
SOT Varenne
1:18:37

Striker drills
We can show people the best way we can.
But you know, the decision to take the
mentality of people, we can’t control it. I
would like to be ambitious, but I’m not sure
that it’s going to work.”
SOT Khalaila
0328 36:30

Shots of religious buildings around town

Team scrimmage

Politicians need to come here and stay here
for a day or two and to examine how we can
really coexist and respect one another, and to
make a livelihood together and to keep living
in this country side by side, and to make
peace and to let others live peacefully without
war, without conflict and to let everyone live a

14

quality life. It is such a possible thing.
SOT Khalaila
0328 35:45

Scrimmage
“Wars are meant for competition. A
competition for progress… A war should be
fought on the field. A war in the competitive
sense, in the sense that each person brings
their capabilities and competes and advances
and wins and uses that win to promote social
agendas and advance society in general.”
SOT Dider Drogba
Striker, Côte D’Ivoire

News footage of Drogba and Côte D’Ivoire
team
Men and women of Côte D’Ivoire … We
proved today that all Ivorians can co-exist and
play together with a shared aim: to qualify for
the World Cup. We promised you that the
celebration would unite the people. Today, we
beg you, on our knees.
SOT Sorek
1:30:48
Athletes, when they are superstars, they gain
the attention of the media and this is
opportunity for them to bring the problems of
their own people.
SOT Drogba

Continued news footage of Drogba and Côte
D’Ivoire team
Forgive! The one country in Africa with so
many riches must not descend into war.
Please lay down your weapons. Hold
elections. All will be better. We want to have
fun, so stop firing your guns.
SOT Bahloul
1:11:11
As Didier Drogba said, let us fight in soccer
and not in weapons. This is the best way in
order to create a good reality everywhere,
and we need it.
CREDITS

15

IV. References
1. Alper, Becka A. (May 2022). Modest Warming in U.S. Views on Israel and
Palestinians. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/05/26/modest-warming-in-u-s-views-on-
israel-and-palestinians/
2. Avelar, Daniel & Ferrari, Bianca. (May 2018). Israel and Palestine: a story of modern
colonialism. openDemocracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-
asia/israel-and-palestine-story-of-modern-colonialism/
3. Bernstein, Alina & Mandelzis, Lea. (2009). Bnei Sakhnin through the documentary
looking glass: telling the story of Arab football in a Jewish state. Sport in Society. 12.
1054-1064
4. Birenberg, Y. (February 2016). MK Bahloul staying true to himself. Ynetnews.
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4771333,00.html
5. de Sousa Santos, Boaventura. (August 2021). Colonialism and the Epistemology of
Ignorance: A Lesson from Afghanistan. Critical Legal Thinking.
https://criticallegalthinking.com/2021/08/30/colonialism-and-the-epistemology-of-
ignorance-a-lesson-from-afghanistan/
6. Forte, Maximilian C. (2014). Good Intentions: Norms and Practices of Imperial
Humanitarianism. The New Imperialism (4)
7. Fuchs, Cynthia. (May 2010). AFTER THE CUP: SONS OF SAKHNIN UNITED.
PopMatters. https://www.popmatters.com/126262-after-the-cup-sons-of-sakhnin-
united-2496187268.html

16

8. Hanel, P. H. P., Maio, G. R., Soares, A. K. S., Vione, K. C., de Holanda Coelho, G.
L., Gouveia, V. V. … Manstead, A. S. R. (May 2018 Cross-Cultural Differences and
Similarities in Human Value Instantiation. Frontiers.
9. Kraft, D. (September 2020). The secret to their success? "Our Coexistence."
Forward. https://forward.com/news/455082/the-secret-to-their-success-our-
coexistence/
10. Medina, Yossi. (September 2018). BEITAR JERUSALEM AND BNEI SAKHNIN:
DREAM AWAY. BabaGol. https://www.babagol.net/blog/2018/9/21/dream-away
11. Sorek, Tamir. (2021) The Palestinian Flag is Back, 34 ( 3 ): Israel Studies Review;
83 - 99
12. Sorek, Tamir. (2003). Palestinian Nationalism Has Left the Field: A Shortened
History of Arab Soccer in Israel. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 35.
417 - 437
13. Zaken, D. (May 2021). Arab-Israeli soccer players offer symbol of coexistence. AL-
MONITOR. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/arab-israeli-soccer-
players-offer-symbol-coexistence

Abstract (if available)

Abstract In this paper, I will examine the coexistent aspects of soccer between Arabs and Jews in Israel in light of the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict. In order to capture the community of soccer, I spent a few weeks filming with Bnei Sakhnin F.C., the top predominantly Arab soccer club in the Israeli Premier League. Although Bnei Sakhnin exemplifies co-existence in a microcosm of cultures within Israel, the Knesset has occasionally taken advantage of the successes of the team to feign a veil of equality in a country where Arabs are still treated by the government as second-class citizens. While using documentary storytelling creates empathy by putting a face to issues that otherwise might feel distant, ultimately my goal is to reveal the middle ground that exists for the two major opposing religious groups in Israel.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Mechanic, Jesse Southern (author)

Core Title Bnei Sakhnin F.C.

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Degree Conferral Date 2022-12

Publication Date 09/01/2022

Defense Date 09/01/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Bnei Sakhnin,coexistence,conflict,futbol,Israel,OAI-PMH Harvest,Palestine,Sakhnin,Soccer,War

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Birman, Daniel (committee chair), Rosenthal, Justine (committee member), Winston, Diane (committee member)

Creator Email jmechani@usc.edu,jmechanic12@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC111645202

Unique identifier UC111645202

Legacy Identifier etd-MechanicJe-11170

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Mechanic, Jesse Southern

Type texts

Source 20220906-usctheses-batch-977 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu