Bravo to the winner for showing real class in an upsetting situation.
The UAE later apologized to Israel for a very public judo handshake snub.
But not for banning the Israeli flag and anthem.
An Israeli judoka champion who won a gold medal at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament was forced to quietly sing his national anthem to himself during the medal ceremony after organisers refused to play the ‘Hatikvah’ or raise the Israeli flag.
Tal Flicker, who is currently ranked world number one in the under 66kg division, took home a gold in the same category on Thursday.
But his achievement was marred when he had to look at the International Judo Federation’s (IJF) flag and listen to its anthem rather than his own because of a ban in the Gulf state on the display of Israeli symbols.
Mr Flicker, visibly upset, shifts from foot to foot as he holds a bunch of flowers on the podium. He then sings the ‘Hatikvah’ to himself, although his voice is drowned out by the IJF music.
In one widely shared clip, a clearly caught off-guard television commentator pauses before announcing that it is the IJF’s anthem which is about to be played, rather than Israel’s.The 25-year-old judoka’s stoicism was widely praised both at home and internationally on social media….
WATCH-DISGRACEFUL.
ISRAELI Tal Flicker presented with his gold medal at #JudoAbuDhabi2017 without Israeli anthem or flag. Nice to see Tal singing something and I'm guessing it's the #Hatikvah@Ostrov_A pic.twitter.com/RzwGdn0Bh8— SussexFriendsIsrael (@SussexFriends) October 26, 2017
The Israeli national anthem, Hatikva (“The Hope”) was adapted from a poem written in Poland by Naphtali Herz Imber in 1878.
Not sure why the officials thought the song was so dangerous or threatening that it had to be banned:
