“Israeli basketball player accuses Ireland of anti-Semitism ahead of European qualifier” – Mary Hannigan Report, Irish Times (Updated)
Basketball Ireland says comments were ‘inflammatory and wholly inaccurate’ and has raised them with basketball’s governing body
Unconfirmed reports suggested an Ireland v Israel Basketball match in Lativa, scheduled for February 8 2024, would not go ahead. Unfortunately the match happened, but it was not “business as usual” :
Ten out of Ten to Mary Hannigan for filing this report in the Irish Times :
As if there wasn’t already enough heat surrounding Ireland’s basketball meeting with Israel in Latvia on Thursday evening, the comments of Dor Saar, one of the Israeli squad, have added yet more fuel to the fire.
Speaking to Israel’s official basketball site, which noted that the team isn’t “officially talking about the Irish and their behaviour lately”, Saar, a United States-based student, said: “It’s known that they [Ireland] are quite anti-Semitic, it’s not a secret, so we are expecting an intense game. We need to show that we’re better than them and to win. We speak about it between ourselves, we know that they don’t love us so we will leave everything on the court, as always. And especially in this game.”
Basketball Ireland responded with no little fury to Saar’s comments, branding them, in a statement to the Irish Independent, as “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate”, saying that they had raised her remarks with Fiba, the International Basketball Federation.
Fiba, meanwhile, have said that they will look into online posts by the Israeli federation which featured photos of the Israeli Defence Force’s mixed gender Bardelas battalion, dubbed the Cheetahs, visiting the team in the build-up to the game, one showing an assault weapon lying at the side of the court where they were training.
The Cheetahs include several female soldiers who have been active in Gaza since October. “We are moved by the connection between the Cheetahs unit and the Israel women’s basketball team, which reflects the support of civil society for the IDF,” said Nir Galili, chief executive of the team’s sponsor, Sonol Energy.
Amiram Halevi, president of Israeli basketball, confirmed the team’s link-up with the IDF, saying that they had taken part “in a number of activities and events throughout the country in co-operation with them” and were “happy” to welcome them ahead of their European Championship qualifier against Ireland.
“The situation is not easy,” said Israeli captain Eden Rotberg. “I personally had friends who were murdered and it has a very big impact, but in the end this is our job, sport heals, we are coming prepared and each of us know what she has to do here. There is no reason that we will not win.”
Mary Hannigan, Irish Times, February 7 2024
On January 24 an Irish Times report disclosed that a number of the Irish Basketball players are boycotting the game :
The Irish Times understands that roughly five first team members have indicated they will not travel for the game, citing the deaths of Palestinian civilians at the hands of the Israeli Defence Forces since October. Players have also expressed concern about their security should the game proceed.
The matter has been the subject of intensive internal discussions in recent weeks and some players have expressed significant frustration with Basketball Ireland’s decision to proceed with the tie.
The sport’s governing body is in trouble :
Basketball Ireland has insisted Ireland’s game with Israel will go ahead next month despite a number of squad members planning to boycott the tie due to the bombardment of Gaza.
Defending its decision to take part in the game, scheduled to be played in Latvia on February 8th, the sports body cited the prospect of heavy fines and potential future disqualifications for the Irish women’s team should it pull out.
Players who refuse to take part will not be punished and will remain on the panel for future games, the association said. Ireland is due to play Israel as part of qualifications for next year’s FIBA Women’s EuroBasket tournament.
The game was originally due to take place in Tel Aviv but was postponed following the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th last and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 
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