Israeli flag to rise officially in UAE during judo championship

JERUSALEM, Sep. 4 (YPA) – The United Arab Emirates has agreed to allow the “Israeli flag” to be raised at the judo tournament in Abu Dhabi, the sports minister in the Israeli occupation government, Miri Regev, said on Monday.

“The decision came as a result of pressure exerted by the International Judo Federation, which allows Israeli players participating in the tournament to raise their flag and listen to the Israeli anthem in Abu Dhabi for the first time,” Regev added.

She stressed that the decision was “historic, substantial and long-term” and that she sought from the beginning to separate sport from politics.

After the judo tournament held in the UAE in October 2017, the judo federation of Israel received a promise from Emiratis that the Judo team will participate next year in Abu Dhabi with all its official symbols such as raising the Israeli flag and playing the anthem.

In March 2018, in a precedent that was the first of its kind in the history of Moroccan-Israeli relations, the Israeli national anthem was played twice in the Grand Prix of Agadir for Judo organized by Morocco in partnership with the International Federation of Sport.

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