(JNS) Yeshiva University president Ari Berman slammed the “disrespectful” decision by two Brooklyn College volleyball players – Omar Rezika and Hunnan Butt – to kneel during the playing of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, at a match hosted by the university’s Maccabees team on Feb. 23. “It is unfortunate that some members of the opposing team disrespected Israel’s national anthem,” Berman told JNS. “We are proud to be the only university who sings both the American and Israeli national anthems before every athletic competition and major event. Nothing makes me prouder to be an American than living in a country where our religious freedom, our Zionism and our commitment to our people will never be impeded and always be prized.” A video of the athletes kneeling on the ground was posted on Facebook by Sarah Serfaty, a Stern College student watching from the stands inside Yeshiva University’s Max Stern Athletic Center.

A Brooklyn College spokesperson said the school “strongly condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and hatred,” and also defended the students’ rights under the First Amendment to kneel during Israel’s national anthem. Many social media users took to the Bulldogs’ official Instagram page to call out the athletes for not showing sportsmanship during the game.