Israeli journalist: 'Disgusting when soccer players recite Shema on the field'

Rina Matzliah said during a taxpayer-funded broadcast that she did not understand why soccer players recite the Biblical verse and called the phenomenon 'disgusting.'

Israeli journalist Rina Mazliah set off a firestorm on Thursday when she said during an Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation-Kan Reshet Bet broadcast that she was "disgusted" by a soccer player who recited "Shema Yisrael" (Hear o' Israel - Deuteronomy 6:4) verse while taking the field.

"I see at soccer games, every player that takes the field goes 'Shema Yisrael'... It's disgusting. I mean, why 'Shema Yisrael' when you take the field? It's disgusting, Akiva, disgusting. Go in, play, why 'Shema Yisrael' in the middle of a soccer game?" Matzliah said.

The remarks garnered fierce reactions on the net, with many expressing anger and condemning them. One social media user wrote: "Rina Matzliah said on the public broadcaster that soccer players reciting 'Shema Yisrael' is, and I quote: 'Disgusting to me. And we're paying for this."

A different user wondered: "Everyone has the right to their opinion. But would Mrs. Matzliah dare to say the same thing about Christian players who cross themselves or Muslims who bow after a goal? Or does only Judaism disgust her?"

Another user wrote: "It's infuriating that we pay for this. Another example of internalized antisemitism that does not surprise me."