The euphoria that swept Israel over the Euroleague championship won by Maccabi Tel Aviv Sunday night shows Israelis' lack of Jewish values, Orthodox Knesset members said Monday.
The upset victory by Maccabi united Israelis from across different sectors, backgrounds, and political leanings. But haredi MKs noted that the majority of Maccabi's players who scored in the game were not Jewish and that Israelis should be proud of their heritage instead.
“We have become a country of idiots that does not respect the Torah,” United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni said. “That's what Israelis care about? A game for children in third grade?”
Shas MK Nissim Ze'ev complained that Israelis had made sports into a “golden calf” that they worship.
“They made basketball and soccer a symbol of national pride instead of our rich Jewish culture,” he said. “The team is imported from around the world. They are not Jews but Israelis don't care as long as they win.”
Ze'ev's Shas colleague, MK Meshulam Nahari, said the reaction by Israelis to the game showed him that they are in need of a better Jewish education. UTJ MK Menahem Eliezer Moses said it was sad for him that basketball players had become the face of Israel.
Bayit Yehudi MK Zevulun Kalfa, who is Orthodox but not haredi, said he felt less joy by Maccabi Tel Aviv's victory Sunday than he did when Tal Brody led Maccabi to its first European cup in 1977, because that team featured more Jews and immigrants to Israel he could identify with.
“The Israeli reaction to the game is a symptom of a larger problem,” Kalfa said. “We used to be more proud of our values and who we are. Now we use technical means of getting ahead like buying players with money.”