This Thursday, South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza through statements made by its Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (Netherlands). The attack by the South African government had consequences on the Jewish community in other institutions in the country in areas other than politics, such as sports.
The South Africa U-19 cricket team decided to remove Jewish player David Teeger from his role as captain due to protests over the conflicts in Gaza that are expected to take place during the celebration of the U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup, an event that will be held in South Africa.
The South African Cricket Federation confirmed the news in a recent statement, ensuring that its decision does not imply that Teeger will no longer be called up by the national team:
Sudáfrica retira a un jugador judío de su selección de Críquet Sub-19 por su "propio bien". Son raros los colores de la "nación arco iris". https://t.co/5MN5aSJCSh
— Alejo Schapire⚡️ (@aschapire) January 12, 2024
The federation said that in the coming days, it will announce who will replace Teeger as captain of the U-19 cricket team.
The conflict in Gaza and Israel's actions, which South Africa interprets as "genocide," have already led to protests at a U-19 team match. As reported by ESPN, in a game played a few days ago between the South African team and India, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters broke in at the gate of the stadium and began to protest Teeger's role as captain. Palestinian flags were also displayed during the match.
