Golden State Warriors Star Draymond Green Plays Sniper On Israel Junket
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Last week, NBA star Draymond Green visited Israel, where he met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin — and posed with a police rifle.
“It’s not every day that I meet an all-star,” Rivlin joked at the time. He called watching Green play “a true pleasure” and hoped it was “only be the first of many visits” for Green.
The Golden State Warriors star was also seen grinning at a border police training center, behind a large rifle.
Draymond Green(@Money23Green) was a guest today of the Israeli SWAT Dep. pic.twitter.com/ze9Ubztv22
— Or Shkedy (@Orshkedy) July 4, 2018
Unsurprisingly, this part of Green’s trip — which was sponsored by the Friends of the IDF — prompted criticism from left-wing groups and activists.
“You got played,” wrote Shaun King, a prominent Black Lives Matter activist. “Flashing a toothy grin w/ a sniper rifle in Israel on a trip sponsored by Friends of the IDF is so horribly offensive. They’ve recently slaughtered 100s of unarmed Palestinians w/ those rifles.”
Dave Zirin, The Nation’s sports editor, questioned why Green would reject a visit to U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House but say yes to visiting Israel.
“Why go on a trip organized by Friends of the IDF? Why reject Donald Trump and accept the invitation of Rivlin? Why visit ‘counterterrorism Border Police units’ so soon in the aftermath of the May massacre?” he wrote. “It is, frankly, shocking to see Draymond Green smiling and shooting guns in their (the border police’s) company. These counterterrorism border police units are part of a military that shot and killed more than 60 Palestinians who were protesting at the border in May, less than two months ago.”
According to The Jerusalem Post, FIDF’s Midwest Region executive director, Tamir Oppenheim, led Green around the country. The basketball star “learned about different firearms the [Counterterrorism Unit] force employs and played basketball at the [unit’s] sport center, which FIDF supporters in Michigan donated.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
