South Crew
The South Crew ("STH-CRW") is a Dutch
Background
South Crew was founded on 26 August 2007 by hardcore supporters of the club who wanted to help create more atmosphere in the stadiums south end. The group occupied the Zuid-1 and Zuid-2 stands of the Amsterdam ArenA from where they raise massive banners at the beginning of Ajax home matches.
Judaism
Ajax is popularly seen as having "Jewish roots" and in the 1970s supporters of rival teams began taunting Ajax fans by calling them Jews. Ajax fans (few of whom are actually Jewish) responded by embracing Ajax's "Jewish" identity: calling themselves "super Jews", chanting "Joden, Joden"" (Jews, Jews) at games, and adopting Jewish symbols such as the Star of David and the Israeli flag. This Jewish imagery eventually became a central part of Ajax fans' culture. At one point ringtones of "Hava Nagila", a Hebrew folk song, could be downloaded from the club's official website. Beginning in the 1980s, fans of Ajax's rivals escalated their antisemitic rhetoric, chanting slogans like "Hamas, Hamas/all Jews to the gas" ("Hamas, hamas, alle joden aan het gas"), hissing to imitate the flow of gas, giving Nazi salutes, etc. The eventual result was that many (genuinely) Jewish Ajax fans stopped going to games. In the 2000s the club began trying to persuade fans to drop their Jewish image, yet have achieved no success in this pursuit. Supporters, on and off the field, still employ imagery associated with Jewish history and the Israeli nation.
See also
References
- ^ "YouTube -22 november 2009 / Ajax - Heerenveen / Tifo South-crew". youtube.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ "7-02-2010 STHCRW - Hier ligt ons hart ( Ajax - Twente )". youtube.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ STH-CRW (South Crew) Geschiedenis
- ^ Fangroeperingen
- ^ Ajax-graffiti siert wanden spelersgang
- ^ South Crew Loterij
- ^ Steun de South Crew!
- ^ Supportersgroepen Ajax boycotten Open Dag
- ^ Ondertekening Ajax Campus in de Wijk
- ^ Amsterdam Journal - A Dutch Soccer Riddle - Jewish Regalia Without Jews NY Times
- ISBN 9789056294458.
- ^ "www.ajax-usa.com". ajax-usa.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
External links
- South Crew Official website