Youth Worlds - Israeli exclusion attracts mainstream media attention

by Sail-world.com on 30 Dec 2015 Prominent international news conglomerate, Fox News has picked up on the exclusion of two Israeli Sailors and their coach from the 2015 World Youth Championships

Fox News Reports: A special visa from Malaysia forbidding Israeli athletes from wearing the Israeli flag during a sailing competition or having their national anthem played if they were to win the gold medal has Israel’s sailing federation threatening legal action.

The visas prompted two Israeli windsurfers and their coach to withdraw from the International Sailing Federation’s youth championships in protest, The Forward reports.

Israel Sailing Association Chairman Amir Gill said he and the two windsurfers were offered the conditional visas to compete in the championships, which began on Sunday in Malaysia, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Among the terms, he said, were that the Israeli athletes couldn’t wear their country’s flag or any symbols associated with Israel, or have their anthem played if they took first place.

Gill added that Israel’s sailing association, along with the Olympic Committee of Israel, is now considering a lawsuit against Malaysia and the competition’s organizers.

Malaysia says it made its decision to offer visas with conditions after following existing diplomatic policy, the Malay Mail Online reports.

The competition’s organizers said it would investigate the issue and seek clarification from Malaysian officials.

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S-W The so-called investigation is effectively the organizers investigating themselves, as both the ISAF/World Sailing and Malaysian Sailing Association are the two involved parties in the investigation and are also the event joint-organisers.

Read more on the Israeli news outlet Forward.com story: click here

While it is only just hitting the international media, the story has been a significant news item in Israel since the ISA Youth Team withdrew on Christmas Eve after the Malaysian Government refused to issue Visas.