Well, not exactly personally, but Shachar Pe'er, the Israeli tennis player lives in Macabim, which is part of the city of Modi'in. Every week she writes a little paragraph in the Modi'in Yediot, a supplement of the national newspaper, Yediot Achronot. Shachar is Israel's top female tennis player and is ranked 45th in world standings. She was scheduled to play in a prestigious women's tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates this week, but surprise, surprise was denied a visa.
Why was Shachar denied this visa? According to Dubai officials, they were concerned about her safety in lieu of the recent war between Israel and the terrorists running the show in the Gaza Strip. Tensions are running high in the area, and the kind Dubai officials didn't want to take any chances.
If it's so dangerous in the area, shouldn't the tournament be cancelled or at least postponed? And to all you tourists out there planning a nice vacation on a beach shaped like a palm tree--do you really want to visit a country that is worried it can't protect athletes?
I could care less about tennis, but this speaks of blatant anti-semitism. The Woman's Tennis Association should not just let this go; they need to make sure that this tournament is not held in Dubai next year.
There should be no tolerance for this kind of intolerance.
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Please go visit Haveil Havalim. My friend Leora did an outstanding job putting this latest edition together.
(I've been away for a while but am trying to compensate by putting up two posts in one day--scroll down for the next fascinating post).
The Stuff That Lasts, Part Deux
7 years ago
2 comments:
Agreed. My understanding (via Daled Amos) is the Wall Street Journal and the Tennis Channel did the right thing, morally, and pulled out their associations.
Good to hear from you, even if you need to hide from us for a week or two at a time.
I also do hope that the Women's Tennis Association (or whatever it's called) will protest. However this unfortunately comes to no surprise.
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