CLEVELAND, Ohio - Israelis have apparently gone bonkers over the Cavaliers' firing of David Blatt, to the point of comparing LeBron James to a terrorist organization while blaming him for running Blatt out of town.

According to a report of Jerusalem by Agence France-Presse, Israeli sports journalist Sharon Davidovitch said "LeBron James is now the most hated person in Israel.

"It's a little bit joking and a little bit true: These days I can only compare the Israeli hate for LeBron James to the hate for Hamas," Davidovitch told AFP.

Hamas is an Islamic Palestinian organization which: A.) Seeks the total destruction of Israel; B.) Fires mortars into Israel from Gaza; C.) Is a recognized terrorist organization by the United States.

And James is on par with them because he wasn't always nice to Blatt, the former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach?

James scored 25 points to go with nine assists Monday in Cleveland's 114-107 in over Minnesota -- the first win for Blatt's replacement, Tyronn Lue. His Instagram account is littered with harsh words in Hebrew and English.

Also, former University of Michigan basketball player Stu Douglass, now playing for Hapoel Gilboa Galil in Israel, tweeted on Monday that "Israeli TV won't put the Cavs games on now since Blatt got fired and now everyone hates Lebron (sic)."

Israeli TV won't put the Cavs games on now since Blatt got fired and now everyone hates Lebron. Really messing with my Bron viewing. — Stuart Douglass (@SWD_317) January 25, 2016

There were anecdotes of thousands of Israelis watching the Cavs on TV last season, especially during the Finals.

For a brief review, Blatt has dual citizenship in the U.S. (where he was born) and Israel, where his family still lives and where he spent most his pro career as a player and coach.

Before the Finals started last season, Blatt spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Blatt considers a friend. Netanyahu told Blatt "all of Israel is behind the Cavaliers."

Not anymore.

As for James, it is probably true that had the Cavaliers star been supportive of Blatt, he'd still have a job in Cleveland.

Piles of copy has been written about James' iciness toward Blatt, his refusal at times to engage him and his tendency to ignore him at others.

And yet the two compiled an 83-40 record over two seasons together and were in first in the East this season after reaching the Finals a year ago.

While James' public criticisms of Blatt had greatly decreased this season, he was not consulted by Cavs management in the hours leading up to Blatt's firing. Also, feelings of discontent toward Blatt from other players in the locker room continued to grow, according to numerous reports.

Some of that resentment stemmed from Blatt's refusal to criticize James, which had the dual effect of weakening James' own leadership because he was perceived to be above reproach for mistakes.

Emails from cleveland.com to Netanyahu's press office and to Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer to discuss the country's reaction to Blatt's firing were not immediately answered.

According to AFP, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev both commented on Blatt's firing, with Shapiro questioning Facebook: "I don't really understand the Cavs' decision to fire David Blatt after all his success."

In June, a spokesman for Netanyahu said in an email that "the Prime Minister congratulated David (on reaching the Finals) and invited him to pay him a visit the next time he is in Israel."

The spokesman said Netanyahu also "invited the Cavs to come to Israel to play against the Prime Minister's Office basketball team."

Blatt, meanwhile, will be paid for the rest of this season and all of next season on the contract he signed when he was hired in 2014, which was worth up to $5 million a year for four years, sources said.

NOTE: A previous version of this story included translation of a Hebrew phrase on James' Instagram account. The phrase was translated to English via three Hebrew-English translation websites and appeared to be a Biblical reference, but the apparent working definition of the phrase is profane and was removed from this post.