Yesterday, I was one of the first to blog about the jerk move of Qatari officials, in turning the Israeli flag colorless during a broadcast of the FINA Swimming World Cup.
But that’s not all they did. Apparently, they did fly the flag..only to remove it.
An Israeli flag was spotted along with flags of other countries on Sunday, 20 October outside the Hamad Aquatic Center (Aspire) in Qatar, the venue for the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Swimming World Cup.
The picture of the Israeli flag that went viral on Twitter was first tweeted by Sara AlDisi.
According to Qatar Living, she said that Qataris and others were shocked to see the picture. The fact that the flag was put up so boldly within and outside the aquatic center has shocked some people. Apparently, it has never happened before even though Israelis have come to Qatar before.
According to Sara, Israeli participation was not publicized. “Qatar Olympic Committee made sure to never mention Israeli when listing countries in news,” reported in Qatar Living, an online community website in Qatar.
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In a picture taken on Monday, 21 October 2013, the Israeli flag was missing, most likely because authorities took it down.
Here’s some more tweets by the initial tweeter, translated into English, showing her views on the matter.
And there’s also this, a letter by a group called Qatar Youth Against Normalization, demanding the flag be removed.
While it is unclear whether this pressure caused Qatari officials to remove the flag, or whether it was a private individual, nevertheless, it is a disgrace this occurred, and officials had a responsibility to ensure the flag remained up at this international sporting event.
I truly hope FINA does something about this. I know I will be contacting them, and I encourage you all to do so as well.
