The “beautiful game” soccer is played worldwide under universal rules originating in 19thC Britain.
However as global as it is in scale, soccer is very much influenced by national, regional and local factors. The triangle of fans, club and the national soccer association – without which there is no game – is influenced by the culture, economy and conflict of its locality. The article presented here offers to analyze the case of Beytar Jerusalem F.C and mainly its fan club La Familia. The organization will be analyzed in light of concepts and theories derived from peacebuilding discourse Violent Extremism (VE), Counter
Violent Extremism (CVE) and Bernard Mayer’s human needs theory. In addition, the insights about Israeli soccer by Amir Ben-Porat and the work of Sofia Solomon on La Familia will be utilized in the study of the fan club. We argue that La Familia exhibits two main characteristics of VE. First, it emerges from within a nationalistic ideology that extols and enables violence. Second, it appeals to marginalized Jewish working-class youth. While informed by right wing ideologies, we argue that La Familia also fulfils its members’ desire for community belonging and identity. We assert that the singular way to counter la Familia’s dangerous violent acts and ideology is by addressing the deep-rooted Israeli Palestinian conflict.