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N.Y. Mets Go to Bat for Hebron Jews

Controversial fundraiser for settler group is set for Citi Field

by
Liel Leibovitz
November 10, 2009

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the struggling New York Mets, the team now faces criticism for hosting a fundraiser for a right-wing, pro-Israeli settlement group at Citi Field. The Hebron Fund—which supports the Jewish community in that predominantly Palestinian West Bank city, a community considered to be among the most radical and violent of Jewish settlers—booked a club at the Mets’ stadium for its annual fundraising dinner. Eeleven organizations—consisting of American, Palestinian and Israeli peace activists—have petitioned the Mets to cancel the event, scheduled for November 21. “The New York Mets will be facilitating activities that directly violate international law and the Obama administration’s call for a freeze in settlement construction,” read the petition, “and that actively promote racial discrimination, and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes in Hebron.” The Mets, however, have refused to take any action, and the controversial event will take place as planned—a perfect coda, perhaps, to the team’s year of rancor and disappointment.

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.