“Representing Hapoel, Not Israel”: Hapoel Tel Aviv Fans Alternate Between Local and National Identification

Abstract

"‘Representing Hapoel, Not Israel’: Hapoel Tel Aviv Fans Alternate between Local and National Identification”, discusses the tension between national and local identities and practices experienced by the fans of this club. It highlights the practices that these fans employ in decoupling, challenging, and problematizing the strong bond between nationalism and football, as evident in the banner that proclaims, “Representing Hapoel, not Israel, " which they have displayed for many years both in Israel and at international games in Europe. Regev’s analysis follows fluctuations in the expression of national loyalty among Hapoel fans between the years 2001 and 2015. It begins with fans’ initial disavowal of national identity as they embraced an alternative local identity and traces the swing of the pendulum towards fans’ increased manifestations of nationalism in the stands. Starting his analysis with fans’ symbolic divorce from the oppressive, nationalistic Jewish-Israeli space, Regev shows how fans turned to cultivating their attachment to their city and Tel-Avivian identity. Most recently, fan groups of national orientations have become more visible in the stands as they hold Israeli flags, reflecting the growing nationalism/patriotism in Israeli politics and society. The author sheds light on how these changes in the fandom field are related to the transformation occurring in the political arena, climate, and discourse within Israeli society as well as, more recently, to the team’s diminishing achievements.