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A rising South African cricket star dedicated an award to Israel. Then he was investigated for hate speech.
(JTA) — When 18-year old South African cricket player David Teeger was recognized with a “rising star” honor at a Jewish awards ceremony in October, he dedicated the accolade to Israel.
“Yes, I’ve been [given] this award, and yes, I’m now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel,” Teeger said, according to the South African Jewish Report. “And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the Diaspora.”
Teeger, who observes Shabbat and keeps kosher, is the captain of South Africa’s under-19 cricket team, which is set to compete in its age group’s World Cup next year. He also holds a high-ranking leadership position at his prestigious King Edward VII School in Johannesburg.
In response to his pro-Israel comments, the local Palestine Solidarity Alliance filed a complaint with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, which launched an investigation into Teeger. He was reportedly suspended from playing cricket while the investigation was ongoing.
Respected barrister Wim Trengove, appointed to lead the inquiry, ultimately cleared Teeger of wrongdoing earlier this month. He ruled that Teeger’s comments did not violate the South African constitution or the code of conduct of his cricket team, the Central Gauteng Lions, according to the South African Daily Maverick newspaper.
“The Constitutional Court has made the point that the right to freedom of expression does not protect hate speech, but emphasized that the expression of unpopular or even offensive beliefs does not constitute hate speech,” Trengove wrote in his findings.
In a similar episode earlier this year, the South African Rugby Union disinvited an Israeli team from an international competition after facing pressure from the South African BDS Coalition, an affiliate of the Palestinian BDS National Committee that promotes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. In that case, rugby’s global governing body ruled that the move was not discriminatory.
Though Teeger was cleared by the investigation, Jewish leaders in South Africa are displeased.
“Cricket South Africa should be ashamed of itself to subject a young schoolboy to a Maoist inquisition to test his ideological purity,” South Africa’s chief rabbi, Warren Goldstein, said in a YouTube video, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
Goldstein also took aim at the Palestine Solidarity Alliance, which he accused of having ties to Hamas and Iran. He said their supporters “celebrated the killing of 1,200 Jews on Oct. 7 [and] began a hateful campaign against Cricket South Africa,” according to the Chronicle.
Goldstein also accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of fomenting antisemitism in the country, where the government recently voted to suspend its diplomatic ties with Israel. “Mr. President, you have set the tone for all of this because the South African government’s targeting of Israel is in effect antisemitic,” Goldstein said in the video.
Pro-Palestinian sentiment is widespread in South Africa, where Apartheid rule discriminated against non-whites for much of the second half of the 20th century. Many contemporary pro-Palestinian activists claim that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is analogous to Apartheid South Africa.
Over 50,000 Jews live in South Africa today.
Mandy Yachad, a Jewish former cricket star who represented South Africa in international competitions, told the Chronicle he would boycott upcoming cricket events over what he called the “racist” treatment of Teeger.
“Not only will I not accept invitations to the pavilion as a former national player, but I will refuse to enter any of the grounds where the matches are being played,” Yachad said. “I love watching our teams, especially at the Wanderers and at Newlands, but not after what’s just happened.”
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Two Russian Regions Block Telegram App Over Security Fears
The Telegram logo is seen on a screen of a smartphone in this picture illustration taken April 13, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin.
Authorities in two Russian regions have blocked the Telegram messenger because of concerns that the app could be used by enemies, a regional digital development minister was quoted as saying by the TASS state news agency on Saturday.
Dagestan and Chechnya are mainly Muslim regions in southern Russia where intelligence services have registered an increase in militant Islamist activity.
“It (Telegram) is often used by enemies, an example of which is the riots at the Makhachkala airport,” said Yuri Gamzatov, Dagestan’s digital development minister, adding that the decision to block the messenger had been made at the federal level.
Gamzatov was referring to an anti-Israel riot in Dagestan in October 2023, when hundreds of protesters stormed an airport to try to attack passengers arriving on a plane from the Jewish state. No passengers were injured, and authorities have prosecuted several people over the incident.
News of the plane’s arrival had spread on local Telegram channels, where users posted calls for antisemitic violence. Telegram condemned the attack and said it would block the channels.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the blocks in Russia.
Based in Dubai and founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, the messenger has nearly 1 billion users and is used widely in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
Moscow tried but failed to block Telegram in 2018 and has in the past demanded the platform hand over user data. Durov is under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organized crime on the app.
Gamzatov, the minister in Dagestan, said Telegram could be unblocked in the future, but encouraged users to switch to other messengers in the meantime.
The post Two Russian Regions Block Telegram App Over Security Fears first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump’s Scottish Golf Resort Vandalized with Pro-Palestine Graffiti
US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House, in Washington, DC, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been daubed with pro-Palestinian graffiti, with a protest group claiming responsibility.
Local media on Saturday showed images of red paint scrawled across walls at the course with the slogans “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” as well as insults against Trump.
“Gaza is not for sale” was also painted on one of the greens and holes dug up on the course.
Palestine Action said it caused the damage, posting on social media platform X: “Whilst Trump attempts to treat Gaza as his property, he should know his own property is within reach.”
Last month, Trump enraged the Arab world by declaring unexpectedly that the United States would take over Gaza, resettle its over 2-million Palestinian population and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Police Scotland said it was investigating.
“Around 4.40am on Saturday, 8 March, 2025, we received a report of damage to the golf course and a premises on Maidens Road, Turnberry,” a Police Scotland spokesperson said, adding that enquiries were ongoing.
Separately on Saturday, a man waving a Palestinian flag climbed the Big Ben tower at London’s Palace of Westminster.
The post Trump’s Scottish Golf Resort Vandalized with Pro-Palestine Graffiti first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Promises to Address Trump Administration’s Concerns After $400 Million in Funding Pulled
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, in New York, US, April 30, 2024. Photo: Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University’s interim president said the school is working to address the “legitimate concerns” of US President Donald Trump’s administration after $400 million of federal government grants and contracts to the university were canceled over allegations of antisemitism on campus.
In an announcement on Friday, the government cited what it described as antisemitic harassment on and near the school’s New York City campus as the reason for pulling the funding. The university has repeatedly been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.
“I want to assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns,” Katrina Armstrong, the university’s interim president, said in a late-night message to alumni on Friday. “To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combating antisemitism on our campus.”
The Trump administration said the canceled funding is only a portion of the $5 billion in government grants that has been committed to the school, but the school is bracing for a financial hit.
“There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care,” Armstrong said.
Federal funding accounted for about $1.3 billion of the university’s $6.6 billion in operating revenue in the 2024 fiscal year, according to a Columbia financial report.
Some Jewish students and staff have been among the pro-Palestinian protesters, and they say their criticism of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism. Minouche Shafik resigned last year as Columbia’s president after the university’s handling of the protests drew criticism from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides alike.
The administration has declined to say what contracts and grants it has canceled, but the Education Department argues the demonstrations have been unlawful and deprive Jewish students of learning opportunities.
Civil rights groups say the immediate cuts are unconstitutional punishment for protected speech and likely to face legal challenges.
The post Columbia University Promises to Address Trump Administration’s Concerns After $400 Million in Funding Pulled first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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