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‘He’s My Captain:’ Hundreds of Protestors Declare Support for South African Jewish Cricketer David Teeger Amid Ongoing Antisemitism Scandal
Protestors demonstrating in support of Jewish cricketer David Teeger outside the headquarters of Cricket South Africa. Photo: Ilan Ossendryver
Brandishing signs declaring “He’s My Captain,” “Stop Racism in Sport” and “No Place for Antisemitism,” hundreds of demonstrators converged on the Johannesburg headquarters of Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday to demand the reinstatement of David Teeger as captain of the national U-19 team, one week after he was stripped of the post amid accusations of antisemitism.
An observant Jew who made his professional cricket debut in 2023, Teeger was removed from the captain’s position by the CSA Board on the eve of the Cricket World Cup, which is being hosted by South Africa and begins on Friday. Explaining its decision, CSA cited “security concerns” around Teeger’s very presence, insisting that removing him from the captaincy — but not the team — allayed the risk of violent pro-Hamas demonstrations at World Cup matches that might potentially endanger the team, spectators and Teeger himself.
However, this reasoning was dismissed as a “ruse” by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) following its meeting with CSA earlier this week, charging that the body, which governs cricket operations across the country, had displayed “pure antisemitism” in removing Teeger as captain.
“They tried to get David to step down voluntarily, saying ‘it’ll be hard for you.’ He refused and that’s when they stripped him,” Zev Krengel — the SAJBD’s vice-president — stated at an online press conference on Tuesday. Krengel also emphasized that Teeger had been cleared of the charge of bringing CSA into disrepute by an independent investigation following a speech he gave at a Jewish communal awards ceremony in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel, in which he lauded “the State of Israel and every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.”
At Tuesday’s protest, demonstrators led boisterous chants of “We want Teeger!” and “David! David!” Among the speakers at the event was South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) vice-president Avrom Krengel, who told the crowd, “We need to take back cricket and our country from people who do not represent us anymore.”
CSA remained unmoved by the protest, however. “Cricket South Africa finds the accusations of antisemitism leveled against it by the SA Jewish Board of Deputies as without any basis and rejects them with the contempt they deserve,”a spokesperson for the CSA board told CNN on Thursday.
As part of its effort to secure Teeger’s reinstatement as team captain for a tournament that involves the participation of 16 nations, the SAJBD on Wednesday wrote to Greg Barclay — chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sports’ international governing body — asserting that “CSA categorically failed to provide any credible evidence that there had been any real security threats to the upcoming tournament due to David Teeger being captain of the SA team.”
The letter went on to state that “taking into account the strong possibility of political interference on the part of the South African government being involved, one is all but forced to conclude that David Teeger was stripped of his captaincy due to his being a Jewish person who at a private Jewish communal event had expressed support for the State of Israel and its armed forces following the 7 October terror attacks against the country and the ongoing war resulting from that.”
It emphasized again that Teeger was removed “despite an independent investigation initiated by CSA itself and conducted by the eminent Advocate Wim Trengove having found that Teeger had not contravened CSA’s code of conduct.”
The ICC’s current position is that it is unable to step into the controversy.
“Team selection including captaincy is an issue for members and not the ICC,” an ICC spokesperson said on Tuesday. “An international federation is not constituted to intervene in team selections.”
The post ‘He’s My Captain:’ Hundreds of Protestors Declare Support for South African Jewish Cricketer David Teeger Amid Ongoing Antisemitism Scandal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.