Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to move the swimming competition to a different country if Malaysia won’t relent on its refusal to let Israeli athletes participate.
Greenblatt began the letter the ADL was “deeply disturbed” at the Malaysian government’s position.
“The politicization of sporting events has unfortunately become an all too frequent occurrence for Israeli athletes,” Greenblatt wrote. “Indeed, in recent years Malaysia has refused to accommodate Israeli athletes, including denying Israeli windsurfers a visa for a 2015 competition and forfeiting hosting a 2017 FIFA conference due to the inclusion of an Israeli delegation.”
Greenblatt cited precedent involving the International Judo Federation (IJF) barring Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from hosting Judo tournaments due to their refusal to allow the Israeli national anthem to be performed, as well as the adornment of Israeli symbols.
“Indeed, the IJF’s firm position on the issue is what persuaded the UAE hosts to relent and finally ensure the fair treatment of Israeli athletes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament this past fall,” Greenblatt wrote.
Greenblatt referred to the Malaysian government’s “anti-Israel statements and policies” as “offensive and unfair.”
“In light of this, should Malaysia refuse to reverse its discriminatory policies, we strongly urge the IPC to move the tournament to another country,” Greenblatt wrote. “For future tournaments, we would also encourage the IPC to require all prospective host countries to agree to permit all competitors to participate regardless of their nationality prior to hosting rights being awarded.”
Malaysia’s refusal to host Israeli athletes for the Paralympics is disturbing & goes against the spirit of inclusivity these games represent. I call on the IPC to ensure Israeli athletes are permitted to compete, whether in Malaysia or other country: https://t.co/kSCapzftSX pic.twitter.com/zzQW0ZqLxZ
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) January 22, 2019
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad defended the Israeli athlete policy in a Friday speech at Oxford Union, saying, “Many countries today are seeing outsiders coming to their country and they are not very happy about it. They are overthrowing their governments because their governments allow immigrants to come in.”
Mohamad also said it wasn’t “fair to call me anti-Semitic” because “Arabs are all Semitic people” and that his previous remarks calling Jews “hooked nose” were part of “freedom of speech.”
The ADL has said that it is a “common fallacy” that Arabs can’t be anti-Semitic because they’re Semites.
“The term anti-Semitism was formulated to refer specifically to the hatred of Jews,” the ADL’s website states. “The term has never been used to refer to hatred against Arabs. Claims to the contrary are an effort to diminish the term’s potency or to seize ownership of it.”
