Posted on 07/27/2012 8:45:45 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
During Olympic training in London, Israeli judokas says Lebanese asked organizers to put up a screen between the two teams.
LONDON - Olympic officials were forced to erect a screen between Lebanon's and Israel's judo fighters on Friday after the Lebanese refused to train on the same mat, the Israeli Olympic team said on Friday.
The incident arose after Lebanon's two judokas found themselves next to the five Israelis during practice at the official training venue in Redbridge, in east London, said Nitzan Ferraro, spokesman for the Israeli Olympic Committee.
"We started to practice. They came and they saw us - they didn't like it and they went to the organizers," Feraro told Reuters. "They put up some kind of wall between us. Everyone went on and there was no interaction between us."
The Lebanese Olympic Committee could not immediately be reached for comment.
Organizers of the judo competition said there were always screens available so that competing athletes and their coaching staff would not be able to spy on each other's training.
Ferraro said the incident had not been a big deal for them.
"It didn't matter for us. We don't mix politics and sport. We had no problem," he said.
Lebanon's Caren Chammas and Israel's Alice Schlesinger will both compete in the women's -63kg category next Tuesday but could only meet in the final, an eventuality organizers believe is highly unlikely.
The light shining on their ignorance and defeated religiousness was disconcerting in the extreme. They couldn’t concentrate.
Come on... South Korea has got the Judo thing in the bag.
lol
It makes for a less stinky enviornment for the Israelis, lucky ducks. The Americans and Europeans should be so fortunate.
They’re just whining because they are afraid of getting their butts totally whupped by the Israelis.
Thanks GW.
Israel should demonstrate some Krav Maga on them.
Why aren’t those sexist, racist, homophobic muzzlems kicked out of the olympics? Don’t the standards apply to them? What if some all-white country decided not to practice near an all-black team? That’s OK, right? Oh, you say a competitor got banned for a racist tweet?
These “let’s all get together and play” charades are disgusting in their hypocrisy.
Just hand them all swords and let them play.
That kind of behavior should not under any circumstance be acceptable at the Olympics. They are encouraging hate and division which is the opposite of what the Olympics are supposed to be about. I will not even bother to watch any of the ice skating or gymnastics now.
“Olympic officials were forced to erect a screen between Lebanon’s and Israel’s judo fighters on Friday after the Lebanese refused to train on the same mat...”
My pro-Israel sentiments aside, I believe that if I were one of those Olympic officials, my answer would have been “Here, we put aside religion and politics and concentrate on athletics. You have a choice. You can get out on the mat and practice like everyone else - or you can go home”.
End of discussion.
“Oh, you say a competitor got banned for a racist tweet?”
That tweet was neither racist nor offensive. It amazes, frightens, and sickens me that her innocent remark was characterized as racist, and the people making those false accusations won the day.
Normal rules don’t apply when the country being abused is Israel. It seems to me that even if most of the world accepts that Israel has a right to exist, they are nevertheless willing to allow the opinion of those who don’t to be considered mainstream and acceptable, which would be outrageous if this was the case with any other nation.
I can’t believe this. A Greek athelete is expelled for a racial slur...and these punks demand the Israelis practice elsewhere.
The visceral hate that these people have for the jews should not be taken lightly. These are Lebonese role models, just think how the masses feel.
Well put, other than the swords thing. The only contact muzzies should have with blades is the point of the bayonet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.