As I have already posted, the UAE has shown their bigotry, telling Israel’s representatives to the judo Grand Slam event in Abu Dhabi they will once more not be allowed to compete under the Israeli flag, nor will the national anthem be played should an Israeli win a gold medal.
This has prompted the International Judo Federation to chastise them and demand they treat Israeli athletes equally. Whether or not this has any teeth, time will tell.
But I had to laugh (or perhaps cry) over this report by the New Arab, a pan-Arab media outlet headquartered in London.
The United Arab Emirates has allowed an Israeli team to take part an international Judo tournament in Abu Dhabi, after setting restrictions on the delegation.
The Israeli judokas arrived in the UAE on Tuesday for the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, which is taking place later this week, Israeli media reported.
I guess you would call that looking at the glass as half full. Or The New Arab as completely full of it.
The report goes on to mention the discriminatory measures in a sentence, as well as the IJF’s reaction, before pointing the finger at Israel.
Israel has long been accused of discrimination against Palestinian athletes.
Human Rights Watch has slammed FIFA for allowing football matches to be played in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Last year, members of Palestine’s national beach soccer team were barred from travelling to an international tournament.
Interestingly enough, the New Arab was apparently started by Dr. Azmi Bishara, a Doha-based ex-Knesset member who fled Israel after being stripped of his parliamentary immunity for assisting the enemy during war.
