Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Ireland women's basketball team has been put in an awful position ahead of today's match against Israel. FIBA previously removed Russia and Belarus in 2022, a move Basketball Ireland supported. They even protested against its own fixture against Belarus on that occasion. FIBA and Basketball Ireland need to be consistent by removing Israel from international competitions. Israeli basketball players posing with guns and Israel defense forces, IDF, members was a deplorable sight. An Israeli player calling her Irish counterpart antisemitic is another attempt to intimidate the Irish team. Taking a stand against mass displacement and the murder of innocent people is not antisemitism. Being anti-genocide is not antisemitism. The behaviour by the Israeli team this week alone should be enough for Basketball Ireland to withdraw from the match. It is not too late to do the right thing. Will the Government support the calling off of the match? Does it condemn Israeli basketball players posing with guns and labelling Irish athletes antisemitic?

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