Maccabi Haifa Criticized for Announcing Player Signing During Northern Israel Incident

By בר חסידים

Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba

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Hebrew · 2 newsrooms covering

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Maccabi Haifa is facing backlash for announcing the signing of player Eli Dasa with a video simulating a drone attack, coinciding with a real munitions explosion in northern Israel that caused fatalities and injuries. The club's choice of theme and timing for the announcement has been widely criticized as insensitive. The incident in northern Israel resulted in one death and multiple injuries among students on a trip.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Maccabi Haifa announced Eli Dasa's signing with a simulated drone attack video.
The announcement occurred during a real munitions explosion in northern Israel.
The northern incident resulted in one death and multiple injuries.
The club's video concept and timing have drawn significant criticism.
Dasa signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Haifa.

Maccabi Haifa Football Club has drawn criticism for the timing and concept of its announcement regarding the signing of Israeli national team defender Eli Dasa. The club released a video on Monday depicting a simulated drone incident in northern Israel, complete with reports of UAVs and scrambled helicopters. The video culminates with Dasa emerging from a helicopter at Sammy Ofer Stadium as the team's new player.

The announcement was made precisely when news broke that one person had died and several others were injured in a real munitions explosion incident at Mount Ramim in northern Israel. The explosion, suspected to be from unexploded ordnance, occurred during a trip for yeshiva students, injuring approximately 20 people. As of Monday, one fatality was confirmed, three were in serious condition, one in moderate, and several others in light condition.

Critics argue that Maccabi Haifa should have demonstrated greater sensitivity and postponed the announcement, given the tragic events unfolding in the north. The club's choice of a "security incident" theme for the video, coinciding with a genuine and severe security-related event, has been deemed highly controversial and ill-timed.