Israeli national basketball team player, Ido Kozikaro The Nahariya Club and Israeli national basketball team player, Ido Kozikaro, posted a message on his Facebook page which read:  "Nothing better than celebrating the Passover by eating a "matzah " dipped in Christian and Muslim boys' blood".
The player's outrageous comment was received positively by his Facebook friends, who commented on his status either supporting the idea or making fun of it. One of them said "We wish to share with you this", while another said "Hand me an invitation". The comment swiftly moved beyond Facebook, to become a public debate in the Hebrew state, which always believes it respects other religions and races.
As the news circulated, the player received more friendship requests on Facebook, but he then deleted his status to avoid facing problems with the Israeli Basketball Association, as well as refusing to respond to media requests for comment.
"Matzah" is an unleavened flatbread made solely from flour and water, and is considered a symbol of the Jewish Passover celebrations, which started at sunset on April 6 and will last  for seven days.
Kozikaro, 34 years old, is a former player with the famous Israeli club, Maccabi Haifa. He was born in Halil settlement, established on  Palestinian lands occupied in 1967. Palestinians living in the land occupied in 1948, are enduring racism and impartial restrictions from the Israeli state, which claims to  respect its religious and racial variety.
Palestinian sports institutions has rejected several attempts by Israelis to normalise relations between them, since the Israeli government was involved in arresting certain Palestinian sports figures, along with preventing Palestinian teams to participate in regional and international competitions, as well as destroying a number of sports playgrounds and facilities in the Palestinian territories.
The chairman of the Israeli Basketball Association, Avner Kopel, has said that the association will discuss the racial comments made by national team player, Ido Kozikaro.
"I want to flag that our association contains a lot of clubs, some are Arab and others are Jewish,  even the Arab clubs are divided according to religion - Muslim, Christian, and Druze clubs. I have talked to Kozikaro and he is sorry for what he wrote. Now I'm discussing with the association's legal advisor whether Kozikare will be investigated by the association due to these comments, which I stress are completely condemned, even if they are for fun", said Kopel.
On the possibility of Kozikaro being suspended, Kopel said "we have not decided yet, but yes it is possible".

In a separate Passover incident, reports in Israel have disclosed that Jewish soldiers refused to share the same table with Arab Druze soldiers during a Passover Seder dinner in an Israeli military camp.
The Israeli news website, Walla, revealed that Jewish soldiers said they did  want to share the same table with their fellow Arabs, after an officer told them to do so. In response,  other Jewish officers, despite witnessing the instruction, ordered the Arab soldiers to move to a dirty table and clean it while waiting for food. The Israeli Army's spokesperson said the case is subject to "investigation and handling".
The Arab member in the Israeli Knesset, Mohammed Baraka, has called to make Kozikaro subject to a judicial judgment. Baraka said "If this comments are true, this "Nazi" person must be sent to jail", Baraka continued "All anti-racism barriers have collapsed in Israel, as those who are sitting on top of authority are racists as well, and they are benefitting from the silence and complicity of the judiciary".
Baraka expected that the racial comments could provoke actual violence  if the Israeli authorities continue turning a blind eye towards this trend.