The son of Romanian soccer coach Laurentiu Reghecampf posted on social media that Israel “deserves” to be destroyed in a gas chamber in response to a story about two Israelis who were shot and killed by a suspected Palestinian gunman, according to a watchdog group that flagged the antisemitic comment referencing the Holocaust.
Luca Reghecampf, whose father is the coach of the Romanian professional men’s soccer club Universitatea Craiova, commented on a post uploaded by the London-based news website Middle East Eye about the deadly attack that took place on Saturday in the West Bank. Two men, a father and son, were shot at close range at a car wash in the Palestinian village of Huwara.
In response to an Instagram user who commented on the post, Luca wrote, “Only thing Israel deserves to be put into a chamber and Have the shower turned on.” He also included a smiley face emoji in his comment.
Luca has since deleted his Instagram account — but not before StopAntisemitism, a US-based watchdog group that fights and exposes antisemitism — took a screenshot of his remark and shared it on social media. The organization said it was “disgusted” by his comment, adding that such behavior should not be tolerated.
We are disgusted to see the son of Romanian soccer coach, Laurentiu Reghecampf, post this atrocious antisemitic comment on Instagram.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 22, 2023
This hatred must never be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/JNsk1I5v75