"Ben zonah! Ben zonah!" The chant at the soccer match between Tel Aviv Hapoel and Jerusalem Hapoel was not a cheer for the home team but an angry denunciation of the referees. Though the epithet means "Son of a whore!" in Hebrew, the referees were more relieved than offended; after all, the abuse was merely verbal.
All too frequently, volatile Israeli fans show their displeasure by stoning, beating up and even chasing the refs with knives and axes. After one stormy game, Referee Julius Josephson had to take refuge in an army camp to...
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