America’s National Basketball Association has removed reference to the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” from its new website following complaints from Israeli ministers, it was reported on Friday. The name appeared on a list of countries which enables fans to vote for their favorite players for the 2018 All-Star Game.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said that politics should not be mixed with sport. She claimed that referring to land “connected with the Jewish nation for thousands of years” as “occupied” is a mistake.
FIFA said it would not take action against soccer teams from Israeli settlements. Palestinians are now challenging that decision. https://t.co/ygCm59BAbm pic.twitter.com/E8kd13mF4m
— The IMEU (@theIMEU) November 26, 2017
Her cabinet colleague, Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev, sent a letter to the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver calling on him to remove “Occupied Palestinian Territories” from the list.
“I was surprised to discover that on the official website of the NBA… the state of ‘Palestine — Occupied Territory’ was listed as one of the many countries to which basketball fans belong,” she wrote.
“Palestine is a country everyone knows doesn’t exist. I view the inclusion of ‘Occupied Palestine’ … as legitimizing the division of the State of Israel and as gross and blatant interference, in contrast to the official position of the American administration.”
In solidarity with Palestinians, Konyaspor football fans display 3D cutouts of Al Aqsa, the Dome of the Rock mosques and Salahaddin pic.twitter.com/NzL7sXwsq9
— TRT World (@trtworld) December 26, 2017
Silver explained that the NBA does not produce the country listings for the NBA.com website. “As soon as we became aware of it, the site was updated. We apologize for this oversight, and have corrected it.”
29 November 2012 – The General Assembly today voted to grant Palestine non-member observer STATE STATUS at the #UnitedNations https://t.co/v7zxC43x2K pic.twitter.com/HGDd8FYYB3
— Sonia Mota (@SoniaKatiMota) December 27, 2017
Commentators have pointed out that the site was not incorrect in the first place. The State of Palestine is recognized by the UN, and its territories are designated as occupied in international law, including East Jerusalem.
“This is yet another example of Israeli officials twisting reality to justify their brutal military occupation,” said MEMO’s senior editor Ibrahim Hewitt. “Their arrogance is breathtaking.”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
I from Vancouver,Canada and I wanted to say that the NBA shouldn’t be letting Israel and the Zionists telling them to not recognize Palestine.It is Israel that is occupying Palestine and causing death and destruction there.It is Israel that shouldn’t be recognized by any Gov’t in the world because of its Apartheid policy toward the Palestinian People and death and destruction caused by Israeli forces in Palestine.By going along with Israel and the Zionists the NBA is supporting Israeli Apartheid.