FOREVER PURE

Beitar Jerusalem is not your average football team. To its rabid fans, it’s a lifestyle. But their enthusiasm can sometimes be disturbing. Chants from the stands sound more like rhetoric at a political rally than a sports game. In 2013 what had long been known, but largely ignored, became blazingly clear: many members of their fan-base are indeed right-wing extremists. Until that year, they had been the only club in their league without an Arab player. The acquisition of two Muslim athletes from Chechnya set off a firestorm among the team’s most die-hard supporters. Soon Jewish fans started waving banners with the words “forever pure.” What began as stinging boos and offensive chants (“here we are, the most racist football team in the country”) quickly escalated when fans turned to violence to voice their disapproval. At one point, a bomb is launched into a stadium’s memorabilia museum. The hatred displayed in FOREVER PURE is unsettling to say the least, but it’s clear that turning a blind eye is no longer an option. (In English, Hebrew, Russian, Chechen, and Arabic with subtitles) —E.F.