Watch: Abu Dhabi Refuses To Play Israeli National Anthem; Judo Champ Improvises

Georgii Zantaraia of Ukraine in action against Tal Flicker of Israel during their bronze match of the men's 66kg category at the World Judo Championships in Papp Laszlo Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, August 29, 2017. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)

After winning gold at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament on Thursday, Israeli judoka Tal Flicker sang Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” alone as the International Judo Federation’s anthem blared over the loudspeaker.

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Flicker and his Israeli teammates were also forced to participate under the federation’s flag as the United Arab Emirates bans all Israeli symbols.

Even the announcer seems to get tripped up and mildly exasperated when stating the wrong anthem was about to be played.

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The distinct dishonor was reserved only for the Israeli participants.

The entire Israeli team was required to compete without any Israeli identifying symbols, and had been told before the tournament that there would be no acknowledgement of their home country — a discriminatory policy imposed solely on the Israeli competitors.

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Of course, it’s no surprise countries like the UAE would have such blatantly discriminatory practices, but it is an outrage all the same.

Perhaps organizations like the IJF shouldn’t be giving host honors to places with institutionalized antiSemitism. Just a thought.

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