Eagles

Eagles Follow Sixers with Social Media Statement on Israel

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Oct 10th, 2023 · 10:41 AM EDT

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The Eagles joined the Sixers by posting an Israel statement on social media:

pic.twitter.com/fz7rco3vNi

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 9, 2023

I thought the Eagles might be next to do this. Jeffrey Lurie is Jewish and has spoken out in past instances of controversy, most recently a few years ago when DeSean Jackson was punished for sharing Louis Farrakhan messaging on social media.

The Eagles statement is somewhat similar to the Sixers’ post. It condemns the terrorism that took place in Israel and talks about the “tragic loss of innocent lives.” Notable, however, is that the Sixers mentioned Hamas specifically while the Eagles did not. That’s an important thing to point out because it draws a distinction between the Palestinian people and the group currently governing the Gaza Strip. Critics will point out that both sides in this conflict are responsible for the loss of civilian life, and that’s exhibited in a sampling of replies to the Birds statement, such as:

• “Hopefully y’all will post something similar the next time a Palestinian family gets shelled by American funded rockets”
• “Can we please include innocent lives lost of both Israelis and Palestinians in these posts?”
• “and there’s our first L of the season… free palestine”

I noticed that the replies to the Eagles’ post seemed to have less fervor and were less negative overall. I’d attribute that to the thought that the Eagles fan demographic is a little older, a little whiter, and certainly not as progressive as the Sixers’ demo. The basketball side of this is very unique, because as I mentioned on Monday, Sixers ownership is Jewish, and the fan base has a significant young and liberal demo that is more sympathetic to the Palestinian side of this longstanding conflict. On top of that, basketball is huge among Jewish men,* so there are more natural points of conflict here when the topic enters the public arena.

The Flyers, Phillies, and Union did not offer statements on Israel, though if Ed Snider was still alive you would have seen something by now. The NHL, MLB, and MLS did, however, offer statements at the league level.

*Seriously – Philadelphia’s Jewish community is all about the Sixers. Just ask Investor Jeff. They lose a game, he’s giving up his season tickets. Then the Sixers win two in a row and he’s back on the bandwagon and renewing for next season.