In an interview on the Israeli Basketball Association’s website, Israeli player Dor Saar said before the game: "It’s known that they are quite anti-semitic and it’s no secret, and maybe that’s why a strong game is expected.
“We have to show that we’re better than them and win. We talk about it among ourselves. We know they don’t love us and we will leave everything on the field always and in this game especially.”
Basketball Ireland’s statement prior to the start of the game read: "Basketball Ireland informed Fiba Europe yesterday that as a direct result of recent comments made by Israeli players and coaching staff - including inflammatory and wholly inaccurate accusations of anti-Semitism, published on official Israeli Federation channels - that our players will not be partaking in traditional pre-match arrangements with our upcoming opponents.
Great display of standing up against false “anti-semitic” claims, when criticizing the politics of Israel.
The article unfortunately does not state who won…does anyone know? The BBC basketball section obviously doesn’t, at least I couldn’t find it there.Edit: The article actually states the result. Israel won 87-57. :/
Did the volleyball players kill Palestinian children?
Says is the article “which Israel won 87-57”
I seem to have skipped multiple times over that information. Thanks and sorry BBC!
Its even in the TLDR summary…quite embarassing. 😯
It’s true then, Jewish team was being discriminated because of their nationality but they won nonetheless because they are doing what God would’ve done too. Right? Right?? /s
It is inerrant to sport to be political. People are competing in teams based on political borders. Issues won’t disappear because it’s sport. It’s socially here and teams take these with them.
If anything, sports serve as a distraction to the general public so that issues can continue to be ignored
then dont compete against israel, but going and not shaking hands but still promoting (in a way) the israely team just feels wrong. its like going to qatar to play but wearing a rainbow flag, its virtue signaling nothing more.
its like going to qatar to play but wearing a rainbow flag, its virtue signaling
People didn’t even end up wearing rainbow flags because they were threatened with consequences. it was basically virtue-signaling-signaling
Yeah, embarrassing through and through
Sports serve as a distraction for social issues. I would argue virtue signalling in that context has some real world impact
how am I supposed to understand this, what is the context here?
An Israeli player said “It’s known that they are quite anti-semitic” and the entire irish team felt so offended by that that they decided not to shake the hands of the israeli team? To show them how unfounded the allegations are?
What are the details here? the article doesn’t really say much
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and the Israeli pre-emptively insulted the Irish basketball association
All I can find is that one team member called the irish team ‘quite antisemitic’. I just don’t see why that would be so upsetting. If it is unfounded, move on, don’t make a big deal out of it. For some reason, being accused of antisemitism is a bigger of a deal than actually being antisemitic. And that is the reason why I am confused about it. One Israeli player says the irish team is antisemitic, the irish team gets angry and refuses to shake hands. Alright. But what is the context here? what exactly are the reasons why the israeli player made these accusations? And why does nobody care about the context? Everyone already decided whether the accusations are unfounded or not, without even knowing anything about the context. Imagine someone being accused of racism without being given any sort of context. And everyone already has an opinion whether the accusation is unfounded or not. It’s just weird.
As far as I understand, you’re confusing the reasons here.
- the Israel team had called the Irish team known anti-Semites, because of Ireland’s political stance
- the Irish team did not shake hands because of Ireland’s political stance that they seem to share
- Ireland’s political stance is caused by Israel’s actions in Palestine
Nothing that you say needs context is causally related, and no context other than that provided by others in this thread seems to really be needed
yeah, I think it is strangely twisted. It has nothing to do with the accusation of anti-semitism, it is just israel they don’t like. They never wanted to shake the hands of the israeli team, and just used the player’s comments as a reason.
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With a history as messy and complex as Palestine/Israel, yeah, obviously there is room for doubt. Refusing to have a discussion here doesn’t help anyone.
The accusation is 100% unfounded,
you don’t even know why exactly the player made these accusations. you’re just making assumptions.
Tolerance ends with the intolerant
Please, tell me precisely at which point the israeli team proved themselves intolerant?
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Sorry, you can’t explain what is happening there in 5 lines of text and just say it is “not that messy and complex”. It might seem all straightforward within the narrative that you subscribe to, but that is at most only a part of the story. Just Have the decency and acknowledge that.
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Because it’s part of ongoing verbal attacks by Israel at Ireland. This isn’t an isolated incident it’s part of a much wider whole.
We have to show that we’re better than them and win.
I will edit comment, because it was poor taste and inappropriate, thus the responses
But still, this sounds at least the way Soviet sports teams were supposed to always be the best to prove a point of Soviets being best in everything. That’s not how things work, you don’t prove your point by beating someone, in sport or otherwise.
Now that is a fucking stretch. If you compare Jewish people with Nazis, don’t complain when people call you an antisemite.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Ireland women’s basketball team refused to shake hands with Israel before their EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Riga.
Basketball Ireland said the comments were “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate”.Ireland players also lined up for their anthem beside the team’s bench rather than the centre of the court before the game, which Israel won 87-57.
The match, which was moved to Riga because of the ongoing war in Gaza, went ahead despite Basketball Ireland facing pressure to boycott the fixture.
Basketball Ireland’s statement prior to the start of the game read: "Basketball Ireland informed Fiba Europe yesterday that as a direct result of recent comments made by Israeli players and coaching staff - including inflammatory and wholly inaccurate accusations of anti-Semitism, published on official Israeli Federation channels - that our players will not be partaking in traditional pre-match arrangements with our upcoming opponents.
"This includes exchanging of gifts, formal handshakes before or after the game, while our players will line up for the Irish national anthem by our bench rather than centre court.
"In an interview on the Israeli Basketball Association’s website, United States-based student Saar said: "It’s known that they are quite anti-semitic and it’s no secret, and maybe that’s why a strong game is expected.
The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 204 words. Saved 51%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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Lol I found the bot
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Oh good one. You really nailed me with that zinger.
No, its the irish team refusing to shake the hand of the israely team, not the whole country, this headline is misleading. Also, wtf is the basketball team of israel supposed to do if their political leaders go ham? i dont get it.
Thanks for clarifying. The headline led me to believe that the team refused to shake hands with the entire nation of Israel, as is known to be the traditional pre-match arrangements of any game.
The point being that their action is misguided.
Also missed the point, that the where calling the antisemitic BEFORE they did anything I guess its justified.
Also, wtf is the basketball team of israel supposed to do if their political leaders go ham?
If they don’t agree with the current politics of their country? At the very least be very outspoken about it or just don’t play at all under their flag. If you play for a national team in an international competition between nations, then of course you do represent the country. And that representation of course also includes current actions which many find at least very concerning.
Or you can just label anyone who criticises Israel as anti-semitic. That’s after all what the right wing extremists of Israel do constantly to shit blame away from their disgusting actions.
I don’t get your points. The headline refers to the Irish team rather than the whole country as you appear to claim, and the Irish team members refused to shake hands after the remarks by an Israeli player which has nothing to do with their political leaders. Maybe I get this wrong but I don’t understand your comment.
It says >Ireland women’s basketball team refuse to shake hands with Israel
Not the isreali team.
Yeah, if taken literally you’re right, but isn’t that clear in the context? The Ireland women’s basketball team wouldn’t shake hands with the whole of Israel, right? It’s what is meant imho.
Well, it is common that the term “Israel” is used in a very generalizing way. “Ireland refuses to shake hands with Israel’s Basketball team” would be misleading in a similar way, but this generalization is so common that people don’t really notice it anymore
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