‘They tried to stop us and look what it did. The thing I love most is being a yid.’ So chanted the Tottenham Hotspur fans 44 seconds into their side’s 4-0 thrashing of Everton last weekend. That often-repeated song refers to previous, unsuccessful, attempts to try and stop Spurs fans using the ‘Y-word’.
The bile underneath the social media posts announcing the deal was as depressing as it was predictable
Ask any Spurs fan singing that and similar tunes why they do so, and they will likely say that it started as a response to antisemitism from opposing fans because of Tottenham’s connection to the Jewish community. Chanters would undoubtedly insist that there is no malice or antisemitism involved. This is generally my view too.
It is not like the antisemitism directed at Spurs or Jewish players is a thing of the past, rendering that defence redundant. Israeli footballer Manor Solomon departed north London this week for a season on loan at Leeds.
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