Guardiola said on Tuesday: “Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the info in front of our eyes, watching more clearly than now – genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world, in Sudan, everywhere.
“What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings.
“There is somebody who sees the images from all around the world who is not affected?
“Today we can see it. Before we could not see it. Today we see. It hurts me.
“If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me. Wanting harm for another country? It hurts me. (To) completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. No more.
“When you have an idea and you need to defend (it) and you have to kill thousands, thousands of people – I’m sorry, I will stand up. Always I will be there, always.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been urged to be “more careful with his future language” by representatives of the city’s Jewish community following his public comments regarding Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Guardiola delivered a speech in his home city of Barcelona last week, expressing support for Palestinian children at a charity event.
On Tuesday, he told journalists at a press conference that the suffering of innocent people caught in conflicts, including the ongoing situation in the Middle East, “hurts” him and compels him to speak out.
However, the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region has advised Guardiola to “focus on football”, expressing concerns that such remarks could fuel antisemitic acts.
The group also accused him of a “total failure” to display solidarity with Manchester’s Jewish community in the wake of last October’s attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue, which claimed two lives.
“We have repeatedly asked for prominent individuals to be mindful about the words they use given how Jewish people have had to endure attacks across the globe,” a statement posted on X read.
“Pep Guardiola is a football manager. Whilst his humanitarian reflections may be well-intentioned, he should focus on football.
“Manchester City is being let down by him repeatedly straying into commentary on international affairs. This is the second time in a week he has decided to offer his controversial views on the Middle East conflict.
“It’s especially galling given his total failure to use his significant platform to display any solidarity with the Jewish community subjected to a terrorist attack a few miles from the Etihad Stadium or the Barcelona community reeling from antisemitic violence close to where he once engaged in remarks we believe to be provocative.
“We implore Mr Guardiola to be more careful in his future language given the significant risk faced by our community.”
Yes, Pep is good at his thing which is coaching football and he is a nightmare to me there because I am Chelsea damu and this dude can’t let us go anywhere without a big fight in the Premier League right now. We are fifth and he is sitting there in second spot below Arsenal and the battle is raging as we speak. This weekend is big game time and we will see.
In this case speaking in defense of Palestinians facing genocide, Pep Guardiola has touched on something really important about what is happening in Gaza. Pep says that for the first time in our history as human beings the whole world is watching live how genocide is committed by one of the most powerful military forces in the world which has been occupying Palestine for the last 78 years.
Israel genocide and mayhem in Gaza and the West Bank have been going on for 8 decades but for the first time Israel has offered the whole world a first seat in front for all of us to witness and verify genocide live in our TVs. It has never happened before and hopefully nothing like what the world is seeing in Gaza will ever happen again, but Israel PM Netanyahu is making sure the whole world gets to see this at least ones in our lifetimes. That is his gift to Israel and to the whole world.
This is like someone has decided to commit gruesome genocide in your bedroom and you have to sit there and watch it and cheer Bibi and his killers in Gaza. It is insane beyond belief.
Netanyahu wants to make sure that we all see the children he is slaughtering in Gaza and he wears that as a badge of honour to him and to the people of Israel. History and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will be the ultimate judge on this horrible time in all of human existence.
How people keep standing in the middle of this unprecedented tragedy is for humanity to try to comprehend and figure out. Maybe better dead than alive under this massacre but that will be for history to decide. For now, it is the pain of the living and any hopes for them in their own country that matters the most.
One thing I tell my son who is a young man is that he may live long enough to see the end of permanent Israel Genocide against Palestinians and if that happens, he should let me know because I may not be a round. Then he asks how that is going to happen and I remind him of my conversation with my mother about going to heaven.
The young man was there so he remembers that tough discussion I had with my mother who was growing old and wanted to make sure that I will follow her in heaven when my time comes. My mother was saying since I don’t even go to church on Sundays with the rest of the family my chances of making it to heaven was very small.
I told my mother not to worry because I am coming to heaven after her and there was no doubt about that. I told my mother that as soon as I am dead I am going to hell for sure because that is my home. I belong there. Then I told her once I am in there I will make things terrible in hell and will be the king of doing real bad things.
I assured my mother that as soon as the boss in hell, Obel Sibuth (Big Satan), see me and my actions he is going to be scared that I want to be the boss of hell and take over from him. At that point Obel Sibuth will call or email the other guy and ask him to come take me to heaven because that is where I belong. My mom accepted that plan. She is a smart mother; right?
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
