Israel had a good run in the first day of the IJF Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam, but you wouldn’t know it sitting in the stands. There were no Israeli flags visible in the IPIC Arena at Zayed Sports City, and the nation’s anthem was not heard. When judoka Tal Flicker stood on the winner’s podium as the gold medalist of the 146 pounds division, he did it under the International Judo Federation’s flag, hung above those of Azerbaijan, and Russia and Georgia, and the music of the International Judo Federation’s anthem was played. In fact, the 25-year-old Flicker isn’t a citizen of the IJF, but lives in Herzliya, Israel, just about 1,500 miles west from Zayed Sports City, over the Saudi desert; if an Israeli could travel there.
Israeli judoka wins gold at Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, hosts refuse to play his nation’s anthem
