Itay Shechter Responds to Criticism: "I Do Not Deny My Roots, Nor Am I Ashamed of My Jewish Faith"

After the online uproar over the Jewish act of soccer player Itay Shechter, who chose to celebrate scoring the winning goal by wearing a kippah and reciting 'Shema Yisrael' on the field, Shechter posted a particularly moving message on his Instagram account, clarifying that he does not intend to apologize for his faith. As a reminder, some responded to the act by claiming it was pandering and inappropriate.

However, Shechter remained firm in his stance. "I am Itay Shechter, and I have been a soccer player for over a decade," he wrote at the beginning of his post. "I am a believer from birth, a descendant of a devout religious family. Both of my grandfathers were religious men who greatly influenced my upbringing and development as an individual.

"I am not pandering nor apologizing, but I placed the kippah in 2010 and again last Wednesday because it felt like the right thing to do in that situation. I saw a child with a kippah and thought, 'Why not sanctify Hashem's name in such a game?' I felt good about it. I am very happy that I did it, that I prayed and said 'Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad.'

"Not to provoke but because I felt the desire to thank Hashem. I am not ashamed of my Jewishness, do not deny my origins, and am not afraid to do what I feel. Because that's who I am. And 'a people that does not remember its past, its present is impoverished and its future is shrouded in uncertainty,'" he concluded.