Abu Dhabi breaks judo rules, won’t fly Israeli flag for bronze winner Gili Cohen

Israeli judoka Gili Cohen takes bronze at the Judo Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi.

The successful showing highlights the discriminatory conditions placed on the Israeli team by the judo federation of the host country.

In an apparent bid to prevent them competing, Abu Dhabi barred the Israeli team from wearing Israeli symbols, said it would not play Israel’s anthem and refused to fly its flag.

The medal winners at the women’s under-52 kilogram competition at the Judo Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, October 26, 2017. Israel’s Gili Cohen, second from right, took bronze, but is listed by the competition’s organizers under the International Judo Federation because of the host country’s ban on broadcasting Israeli symbols at the event. (YouTube screen capture)

A letter from the International Judo Federation to the president of the UAE Judo Federation sent earlier this week demanded that “all delegations, including the Israeli delegation, shall be treated absolutely equally in all aspects, without any exception.” It highlighted the body’s core ideals that “every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind.”

But with Cohen’s win, Abu Dhabi upheld its ban, flying the IJF flag in place of the Israeli.

The national flags of medal winners at the 2017 Judo Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, with the Israeli flag replaced by the flag of the International Judo Federation (second from right) due to the United Arab Emirates Judo Federation’s ban on Israeli symbols at the event. Israel’s Gili Cohen took bronze at the competition, which took place on October 26, 2017. The other flags, from left to right, are of Brazil, Belgium and Romania. (YouTube screen capture)