Jordan handed Israel its second-straight victory during its first-ever participation in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup when the Arab nation decided to boycott Sunday’s match in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Amman’s refusal to compete against Israel over its war against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza gave the Blue and White an automatic 20:0 technical victory, a day after Israel crushed the host country 102-77. Jordan lost 69-79 to the Dominican Republic, the other team in Group C.
Israel will face-off against the Dominican Republic on July 1.
The Israel-Swiss game was marred by an anti-Israel protester bursting onto the court waving a PLO flag, with whistling in the crowd audibly heard (the European equivalent of American booing). The infiltrator was quickly chased off the court by security.
FIBA decided not to expel Jordan over its boycott so as not to disrupt the first-round playoffs.
“On behalf of the Basketball Association, I regret the decision of the Jordanian team,” Israel Basketball Association chairman Amos Frishman said in a statement.
“I had hoped that the Jordanians would still come to play to show everyone that things can be different, especially during this time. I believe that sports is a bridge between peoples and cultures and not a political arena. I hope that in the future there will be no doubt about holding these games,” Frishman continued.
The kingdom signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, but the Jordanian public, the large majority of whom identify as Palestinian, is deeply hostile to the Jewish state.
