Jewish Gooners launched at Emirates Stadium
Former Arsenal player Perry Groves and Lord Mann joined 70 members of football's newest community group celebrating their Jewish roots and love of the beautiful game
A group of Jewish Arsenal football supporters have set up a group to celebrate their identity as a community.
Ahead of Sunday’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion, the newly launched ‘Jewish Gooners’ celebrated with a party at Emirates Stadium in Holloway, north London.
Committee member Barry Frankfurt said: “A group of us have been going to games together for years. Arsenal has always been a community for us and we’ve always felt welcome here. We’ve met people from different backgrounds that we’d never meet otherwise in life thanks to going to Arsenal, home and away.
“We decided it would be fantastic to merge some areas of our Jewish heritage and our love for the club and we’re excited to work together with Arsenal to celebrate our identity. It was brilliant to bring so many of us together to officially launch our group. It was a proud moment when we saw our banner inside the Emirates for the first time.”
Around 70 supporters attended the launch event, including club legend Perry Groves and Lord John Mann, the UK Government’s independent advisor on antisemitism.
Lord Mann, said: “It’s fantastic to see Arsenal and their community of Jewish supporters working together in this special way. Football has a unique power to unite communities and Arsenal and Jewish Gooners are setting the example for others to follow. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can achieve together, and I’m delighted to support them on their journey.”
Arsenal Football Clubu CEO, Vinai Venkatesham presented the group with a ‘Jewish Gooners 23’ shirt to mark the occasion, whilst executive vice chair, Tim Lewis welcomed the members pitchside ahead of kick-off.
Venkatesham said: “It’s great to see so many supporters coming out to celebrate today’s launch and having such a wonderful time together. We’re proud to have Jewish Gooners as part of our family.
“Our aim is to make everyone feel welcome at Arsenal and we’re looking forward to working together and supporting each other as we continue our work to celebrate and champion our diverse communities.”
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