Israel has accused West Midland Police of risking ‘inflaming tensions’ with its ‘anti-Semitic’ ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to Aston Villa’s grounds.
The Israeli embassy in London condemned the force’s decision to ban fans of the Tel Aviv side in October, claiming it was based on ‘inaccurate’ and ‘profoundly misleading’ information that indicated that Maccabi’s fans posed a threat to public safety.
The ban was imposed after West Midlands Police concluded that allowing fans to visit Villa Park was too ‘high risk’, amid heightened tensions over Israel’s war in Gaza.
But since the ban was imposed, Dutch officials have claimed that ‘false intelligence’ was used to justify the ban.
The embassy said in a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that West Midlands Police had unfairly targeted Jewish and Israeli people, while failing to deal with the threat from Islamist groups.
Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, the embassy’s charge d’affaires, told Mahmood: ‘WMP’s intelligence report itself acknowledges that the option to ban Maccabi fans ‘may be seen as anti-Semitic or anti-Israel’ and yet they still chose to pursue that option.’
She added: ‘The assertions made by WMP are wholly inaccurate, unsubstantiated and fundamentally misrepresent the events in Amsterdam.
‘To present those disproven accusations as evidence that Israeli-Jewish supporters themselves posed the primary threat to public safety in Birmingham is not only inaccurate, but profoundly misleading, extremely troubling, and risks inflaming tensions.
‘How was it, therefore, that the evidence on which WMP based their decision to ban Maccabi supporters at the match came to be so drastically contrary to reality? And on which sources of information did WMP base their intelligence in the first place?
‘Furthermore, what action was taken by the Government, including the Home Office, to reverse the decision taken by WMP?’
The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans will be challenged in a Home Affairs Select Committee on Monday, with force leaders being grilled by MPs.
Sarah Jones, the policing minister, told the Commons last week that His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Fire & Rescue Services had been commissioned to examine whether police advice ‘takes proper account of all relevant factors, including the impact on wider community relations, and whether the balance between public safety and community considerations is being struck effectively’.
She added: ‘I want to assure members that understanding the series of events that occurred in the period before the match was played was, and remains, of keen interest to me and of course to the Home Secretary.’
The Prime Minister told the Jewish Chronicle on Thursday that West Midlands Police’s decision was ‘troubling’, especially in light of the Dutch claims.
Sir Keir said: ‘I’m very concerned and troubled by what we’re seeing in terms of the intelligence reporting. I think we need to get to the bottom of that and find out exactly what happened. And that’s the immediate next step.
‘I think it’s not just one police force.
‘We need to look consistently across what information, what intelligence is being relied on and whether it is the right intelligence upon which serious decisions need to be taken.
‘But I am troubled by what we’re all seeing emerging in relation to this particular case.
‘It seems to be a very odd picture in both Birmingham and the West Midlands.’
West Midlands Police defended the conduct of the force, telling the Telegraph: ‘We continue to remain satisfied in the veracity of our information and intelligence which put public safety at the heart of our decision-making.
‘We will be giving evidence to the home affairs select committee on Monday Dec 1 and therefore it would be inappropriate to make further comment at this time.’
