March 31, 2026
Al Jazeera against the Hapoel Hadera football player
צילום: האתר של הפועל חדרה, אלבום פרטי
Menashe Zalka is the captain of Hapoel Hadera in football.
In recent days, he was called up for reserve duty again.
He served with IDF forces in southern Lebanon.
A video of him in uniform was circulated on social media and caused a major uproar.
The uproar began after Al Jazeera published a post about Zalka.
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The influential anti-Israel journalist, Leyla Hamed, also attacked him, and calls appeared online for FIFA to act against him. Posts claimed that FIFA is aware of the involvement of Israeli players in 'war crimes' but does not act.
Zalka responded to the allegations. He said that a body that supports terrorism should not preach to IDF soldiers on how to behave and should not judge them. According to him, he is proud of his service and proud to take part in activities aimed at protecting the northern communities and keeping the enemy away.
Zalka said that whenever the IDF calls him, he will come. At the same time, he said he misses football a lot and wants to return and help Hapoel Hadera, which is going through a rough time.
Menashe Zalka is considered a symbol of Hapoel Hadera. He rose with the club from the lower leagues to the Premier League, and at the same time continued to serve in the reserves over the years.