Much has already been written about how Abu Dhabi would not permit Israeli competitors to be identified as such in the Grand Slam judo tournament:
An Israeli judoka won a gold medal on Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament, but had to sing his own private “Hatikvah” because the organizers refused to play the Israeli national anthem.
He also had to celebrate his victory under the International Judo Federation’s flag, because the emirate banned the display of Israeli symbols.
But what is even more outrageous is that the video feed and the website for the event, controlled by the International Judo Federation, also scrubbed the national identity of the Israeli competitors, something that goes above and beyond what the bigoted Arab nation demanded on its territory.
So the video feed identified the Israelis as being from the “IJF”
The website called the Israelis “IJF” in the results:
The International Judo Federation is demanding that the United Arab Emirates treat Israeli athletes equally after reports it is banning the Israeli flag at an upcoming contest.
A letter from the IJF to the president of the UAE Judo Federation says “all delegations, including the Israeli delegation, shall be treated absolutely equally in all aspects, without any exception.”
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