(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon (Tuesday, 19 May 2015), in his Jerusalem office, met with FIFA President Joseph Blatter and told him at the start of their meeting:
 
"Mr. Blatter, I want to welcome you once again to Israel and I want to praise you for opposing the politicizing of sport. Sport is a vehicle of goodwill among nations. The thing that could destroy the Football Association is politicizing it. You politicize it once with Israel, then you politicize it for everyone, and it will cause the deterioration of a great institution. I know you understand this.

I want you also to know that we're helping Palestinian football, among other things because of things that you have raised with us, and we're going to discuss with you a number of measures that we think would further help the situation. And again, I want to welcome you in the spirit of goodwill, in the spirit of sport, unpoliticized sport. Welcome to Israel."
 
FIFA President Blatter said: "Thank you. Prime Minister, I'm very happy to be back here. Football is nowadays such a strong, strong organization that we should go into a peace situation and not into a fighting situation, and football shall connect people and not divide people. And I'm very happy about what you have said. Yes, football is stronger than all the problems there could be. I'm sure we will find a solution."