you can change the SQLite version very easily
You are absolutely correct. I downloaded sqlite-jdbc-3.36.0.1.jar, the latest jar from here:
https://github.com/xerial/sqlite-jdbc/releases
to the B4J LibraryAdditional subfolder, then made a reference in Main: #AdditionalJar: sqlite-jdbc-3.36.0.1.jar
to replace the old reference. Then the syntax: CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE IF NOT EXISTS started working in B4J.
Therefore I concluded: driver #AdditionalJar: sqlite-jdbc-3.7.2 did not support IF NOT EXIST in syntax, but
sqlite-jdbc-3.36.0.1.jar did. However, I went back to the old reference for compatibility with B4J installation, unless you have a way to tell it to use the older jar if the latest is not installed or available.