Israel has accused UK police chiefs of allowing antisemitism, hatred and hostility towards Israeli and Jewish communities to be “normalised under the rule of law”. Diplomats blasted Craig Guildford, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, for his disastrous admission that the force sat on key pieces of intelligence ahead of the Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv football match.
Under intense pressure, it admitted local mobs planned to “arm” themselves and attack travelling Israeli supporters. But West Midlands Police had justified the decision to ban away supporters over hooliganism fears, with 500 “hardcore Maccabi supporters” who were “very well organised, uncooperative and militaristic” accused of carrying out “indiscriminate attacks on Muslim taxi drivers, flag burning, marches and Islamophobic chanting.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said: “The revelations concerning the conduct of the West Midlands Police toward Maccabi fans are utterly disgraceful.
“There is a specific term for the phenomenon of scapegoating Israelis and Jews while exonerating the true perpetrators – jihadists seeking to harm Jews. It is called antisemitism. Regrettably, this is the reality of Britain today. There must be action and accountability for such actions.”
The Israeli Embassy in London declared: “The portrayal of Israeli fans as violent was a gross mischaracterisation that served the needs of those actively inciting against an Israeli team.
“This framing diverted attention away from credible intelligence warnings regarding extremist elements preparing to target Israeli and Jewish Maccabi supporters, and instead placed blame on the very community that was facing the threat.
“The decision to obscure these assessments, and to allow a misleading narrative to take hold, raises serious questions.
“These acts by law enforcement institutions undermine real security risks, and even encourages a climate in which hostility towards Israeli and Jewish communities can be normalised under the rule of law.
“These matters require full accountability.”
Mr Guildford asked for a review into the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans amid a furious political outcry.
The probe, produced 16 days before the match, concluded that a limited number of Israeli fans should be allowed.
The report, published by the Home Affairs Select Committee, stated: “In essence, there is no preferable option, but the least worst would be away fans with a reduced allocation, or subject to ongoing discussions with the Government to retain the ban on away fans.”
Maccabi had already said many of its supporters would not attend because they were concerned for their safety in Birmingham.
The report reveals that the police’s initial concern about the safety was prompted not by the behaviour of Maccabi fans but by “high-confidence intelligence” received on September 5 that “references elements of the community in West Midlands wanting to ‘arm’ themselves”.
Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara said: “We got a lot of information and intelligence to suggest that people were going to actively seek out Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and would seek violence towards them.
“So we had sort of like a bubbling position locally.
“We had people purporting to be Maccabi fans online who were goading local community members and saying, ‘this is what you’re going to get’.
“This was all forming part of the heat of the situation, so based on that, the commanders tried to make the right decision.”
The crisis is also threatening to engulf Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This scandal should never have happened. The Home Secretary must now come clean about what she, ministers and the Home Office knew and when.
“If the Home Secretary or ministers were aware of this situation in advance, she will have to explain why they did nothing to stop it.
“The Home Secretary has serious questions to answer.”