Israel Again Wiped Off the Map in Another Martial Arts Tournament in Abu Dhabi

Back in October at the judo Grand Slam event in Abu Dhabi, Israeli judokas were not allowed to compete under Israel’s flag, nor was the national anthem played when any won. This, despite the International Judo Federation demanding that they treat the Israelis equally.

Less than half a year later, and believe it or not, Abu Dhabi have been allowed to host another major martial arts event.

And guess what? Same old sh*t, different tournament.

Israel’s delegation to the Ju-Jitsu World Championship for Juniors (under-21) and Aspirants (under-18) returned home from Abu Dhabi with two gold medals, four silvers and seven bronzes, but the Hatikvah national anthem and the Israel flag were both conspicuously missing in the medal ceremonies.

While the members of the delegation reported that they received a warm welcome and were treated very well in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Israel’s representatives were once more forced to compete in Abu Dhabi without any symbol of their country.

With Israel and the UAE not having diplomatic relations, the blue-and-white team was forced to compete under the flag of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation.

The UAE claims this disgraceful policy is due to “security reasons”

The organizers claiming that due to security reasons, the Israelis can’t have their flag on their uniforms and instead of having ISR (Israel) by their names on the scoreboard and on their backs, they will have to take part as representatives of the JJIF.

But to this, I ask: why were they awarded the tournament if they cannot guarantee the security of all contestants competing for their countries?

My suspicion is the answer to this involves the color green.