'Cricket SA anti-Semitic': Jewish body says Teeger dismissal trumped up

The Jewish Board of Deputies has slammed Cricket SA, claiming it failed to provide “credible evidence” of “any real security threats”, regarding the upcoming Under-19 World Cup, specifically as those threats might relate to David Teeger. 

Cricket SA stripped Teeger, a Jew, of the captaincy of the junior South African team last Friday, citing concerns about security at the tournament in light of planned protests after remarks by Teeger in support of the Israeli Defence Forces which are fighting Hamas in Gaza. 

Cricket SA met representatives of the Jewish board on Tuesday, asking them to explain the security  concerns.

“Cricket SA (CSA) categorically failed to provide credible evidence that there had been any real security threats to the upcoming Under-19 World Cup tournament on account of David Teeger being captain of the South African team,” the board said in a statement.

“This, together with CSA’s vacillating and contradictory responses to the questions put to them, reinforces our understanding that the excuse provided for Teeger’s removal as captain, namely ‘security concerns’, is trumped up and bogus.

“Moreover, even if there had been credible information of a possible threat, CSA could, had it chosen, taken appropriate steps to deal with it, such as moving the games or providing additional security.”

Asked for comment on Tuesday evening, CSA confirmed only that the meeting took place.

“CSA considers the meetings to have been held in private and will not comment on what was discussed,” the organisation said.

The Jewish Board said the only conclusion it could draw was that CSA was showing “plain anti-Semitism”. 

The Under-19 World Cup starts in Potchefstroom on Friday with the host nation retaining Teeger in the squad now captained by Juan James. The team plays  the West Indies. 

Teeger had been at the centre of controversy after remarks he made in support of the Israel Defence Force upon receiving the “Rising Star Award” at the Jewish Achiever Awards last October were made public. CSA subsequently appointed Adv Wim Trengove to conduct an inquiry into whether Teeger had breached its Code of Conduct, which Trengove found wasn't the case. 

Upon receiving the “Rising Star Award” Teeger said: “I’ve been awarded this award, and yes, I am now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel.” Trengove found that Teeger's remarks could “not be understood to imply his approval or even condonation of genocide or any other crime”.