The journalist Adi Rubinstein published a particularly pessimistic Facebook posting on Oct. 3. “The sports arena has always served as a fairly accurate indicator of the direction taken by society in general, and it is true in particular of the soccer field,” he argued. “What has been happening in Israel since the beginning of the current [Jewish calendar] year is reminiscent, more than anything else, of the goings-on in Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s. That's exactly how it started [then]. How did it end? Well, we all know.”

With his bleak and discouraging assessment, Rubinstein gives voice to many who see the behavior of Israeli soccer fans as emblematic of the moral decline of Israeli society at large. The impression is that the behavior of soccer fans is becoming ever more extreme, and indeed, the racist and violent incidents in which they are involved are not uncommon. This impression was strengthened following the shocking incident Oct. 3, when a fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv was seriously wounded in a brutal attack with a hammer. The suspects are affiliated with the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team's fan club.

The fans of Beitar Jerusalem have a questionable reputation, particularly those associated with La Familia, a hardcore group of them. They are widely considered to be violent and racist. For instance, they oppose signing Arab players to the team, and they are notorious for their anti-Arab chants. It was reported Oct. 9 that La Familia fans had joined forces with members of the radical far-right group Lehava in trying to find Arabs to assault in retaliation for the recent wave of terror attacks. Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan said that he is considering steps to outlaw both organizations.

About a year and a half ago, a group of Beitar Jerusalem fans, fed up with the violent and racist actions of some of the team's supporters, established a new fan club, Beitar Nordia Jerusalem. Noam Bitton, one of its founders, described La Familia as “probably the most extreme, but definitely not the only one of its kind.” He remarked to Al-Monitor, “Similar phenomena may be seen in Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer clubs."