The High Court of Justice is set to hear petitions on Thursday challenging a police ban on protest shirts worn by supporters of Hapoel Tel Aviv, with petitioners arguing that the policy constitutes an unlawful violation of basic rights, aimed at suppressing protest against the police.
The petitions ask the court to order police not to prevent fans of the soccer club from entering stadiums while wearing protest shirts directed against the Israel Police and against city rival Maccabi Tel Aviv. Supreme Court Chief Justice Isaac Amit ruled on Wednesday that the petitions would be heard on Thursday, ahead of the team’s next match, scheduled for the weekend.
At issue is a red shirt – the team’s color – bearing symbols associated with the Israel Police, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and the outlawed Kach movement, all crossed out with a diagonal line.
In one petition, four Hapoel Tel Aviv supporters argue that police have implemented the policy “consistently, publicly, and openly” through police officers, security guards, and ushers. According to the petition, enforcement included demands to remove clothing, humiliating searches, and denial of entry to stadiums, even where there was no claim or indication of violence, incitement to racism, or disturbance of public order.
The petitioners contend that the policy was carried out without legal authority, based on what they describe as an unfounded and improper interpretation of the law, and that it results in severe and disproportionate harm to fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of protest, human dignity, and personal autonomy.
“Instead of fulfilling the law’s purpose – preventing real violence and safeguarding public safety – the law has, in practice, been turned into a tool for silencing critical expression and filtering out messages that are inconvenient for the police,” the petition reads.
A second petition was filed by four additional Hapoel Tel Aviv supporters together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. That petition argues that venues hosting sporting events – and football stadiums in particular – are public spaces open to all, without discrimination based on opinion, belief, or viewpoint.
According to the petition, any clothing permitted in other public spaces, including streets, public transportation, and shopping malls, should likewise be permitted in stadiums, and police are not authorized to restrict entry based on protest or political expression, except in extreme cases where the expression itself constitutes a criminal offense, such as incitement to racism, violence, or terrorism.
Smoke grenades wound police, minors
The High Court petitions come as the prosecution has filed an indictment in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court against 24 Hapoel Tel Aviv supporters in connection with a Tel Aviv derby held two months ago. According to prosecutors, the defendants threw smoke grenades during the match, wounding 15 people, including two police officers and two minors. The match was abandoned, and Hapoel Tel Aviv was handed a technical loss.
Prosecutors further allege that some of the defendants planned to carry out knife attacks against Hapoel Holon supporters during a basketball game at Menora Mivtachim Arena. The defendants are charged with offenses including joint possession of weapons and conspiracy to commit a crime.