http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Arab-Israeli+swimmer Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:48:37 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Arab-Israeli+swimmer Fri, 11 May 2012 01:43:51 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=741_1336714626 aydeo Jowan Qupty, who holds best Israeli result in 100m breaststroke, wins Swimming Association appeal demanding he be allowed to compete in EU Swimming Championship. Arab-Israeli swimmer Jowan Qupty will represent Israel in the European Swimming Championship. Qupty, 22, was originally denied a spot on the national team. He won a Swimmer's Association appeal over the decision on Thursday. According to the Swimming Association, Qupty's participation in the competition depends on his achieving a better result in the 100m breaststroke than that of Imri Ganiel, who was chosen to compete in the event. Qupty was excluded from the 100x4 mixed relay set to take place at the swimming championship in Debrecen, Hungary, in June, despite the fact that his result in the 100m breaststroke was better than Ganiel's. "We shouldn't have had to deal with this situation to begin with, but the (Swimming Association) eventually came to the right decision. Justice was done. I'm going to win the competition which will hopefully bring us closer to the Olympics," Qupty told Ynet after the ruling. Attorney Eyal Yaffe who represented Qupty said: "Qupty will represent Israel in the best possible way. Every swimmer on that team deserves their spot and so does Jowan, who earned his place just like any other swimmer did. I'm positive he won't disappoint the association in the competition." The saga came to an end on Thursday after the parties involved took part in a mediation session led by Sarah Frish and Ofir Katz who were asked to bring an end to the conflict ahead of Friday, due to it being the last day for the championship's registration. The two parties consisting of the Swimming Association's legal team, Qupty and his attorney sat for three hours before coming to an agreement. The association claimed that Qupty did not meet the criteria required in order to participate in the championship. Qupty's attorney countered the association's claims by presenting evidence which showed that in other championships, swimmers who did not meet the required criteria still participated in the competition. Yaffe further addressed Qupty's result in the 100m breaststroke which is clearly better than that of Ganiel, who was picked to compete in the event. The evidence shown was intended to prove that the designated spot on the swim team should go to the better swimmer. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4227583,00.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=741_1336714626 aydeo Arab swimmer to represent Israel in EU championship Arab-Israeli swimmer,European Swimming Championship,National team Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:41:29 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a9c_1311665562 aydeo Israeli Swim team expresses disappointment after Iranian competitor withdraws from heat against Gal Nevo at world championships. Israeli team: 'Iranian behaving like a child' Avinoam Porat Published: 07.25.11 The Israeli swim team has expressed disappointment after an Iranian competitor withdrew from a heat against one of its athletes at the world championships. Mohammed Alirezaei of Iran did not start a heat that also featured Gal Nevo of Israel in the 100-meter breaststroke Sunday. "Unfortunately, this is what usually happens - it's crazy," Yitzhak Kramer, the head of the Israeli delegation, told The Associated Press on Monday. "This competition is about sport, not politics, and you need to separate the two. That's what is supposed to be nice about sport." Gal Nevo told Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday, "The Iranian regularly puts the world championships to shame, and it's time for the international body to handle it properly. We were taught to swim, not to engage in politics. "I'm unaware of the extent of (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad's involvement in this, but the Iranian delegation is definitely involved. I don't think, like others do, that these are poor swimmers who train all year and are forced to give up the competition because of politics. Did someone put a gun to his head? "I'm not just satisfied with my final result (1:02:32 minutes), but also with the fact that I beat Arabs. I won the Syrian who competed against me in the same heat and scored better than a Lebanese swimming in a different heat. "We may have been taught not to mix sports and politics, but every Israeli knows you must defeat Arabs." The Iranian team was unavailable for immediate comment, and swimming governing body FINA was not aware of what happened. "We have to understand the situation first," said FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu. "If this is the case there's no point in coming to the world championships. We don't need these politics in our sport." 'Iranian behaving like a child'The Israelis were not seeking any punishment. "We don't ask. If someone wants to behave like a child we don't care," Kramer said. Alirezaei also pulled out of an event against another Israeli, Tom Beeri, in this event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, however the International Olympic Committee accepted the explanation that he was ill. Israel coach Chanan Sterling said he was told that Alirezaei was sick again. A similar case occurred at the 2004 Athens Olympics when an Iranian judo athlete did not compete against an Israeli opponent, and Iranian government officials were quoted in state media as congratulating him for doing so. Iran does not recognize Israel and bans any contact with the Jewish state. For the record, Nevo finished 45th and did not qualify for the semifinals, while Alirezaei was the only athlete in the 83-man field who did not start. Nevo's controversial statement infuriated Deputy Knesset Speaker Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al). "Nevo's remarks prove that Israel is being washed by a wave of racism, which has infiltrated sports too," Tibi said Monday. "It seems that he is in the right field. I see no other field apart from jumping to the water in a swimsuit and racing to the other side in which he can win, not Jews and not Arabs - particularly not in fields requiring something beyond muscles and fast leg movements," the MK added. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099756,00.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a9c_1311665562 aydeo Iranian boycotts swim race at world championships over Israeli swimmer swim race, world championships,Israel,Iran, Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:02:42 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=267_1311789324 aydeo Muslim and Arab athletes who don't show up against Israelis put on a brave face but suffer inside, say their Israeli rivals. "The Iranian athletes came to win just like us, but they know that if they compete they will end up in jail. I see how they are scared to death waiting for the draw. They're trapped by that policy, and they have no choice." By Uri Talshir 27.07.11 Sunday's refusal by an Iranian swimmer to compete against Israeli Gal Nevo is the latest in a list of similar snubs. In 2001, judoka Yoel Razvozov was supposed to face Iranian Mahed Malekmohammadi in the second round of the World Championships, but Malekmohammadi bowed out because of the sensitive political situation; Iran does not recognize the existence of the Jewish state. That same year, the two had an additional scheduled encounter, and once again Razvozov was the only athlete to show up to the mat. "To say it wasn't sportsmanship is a nice slogan," Razvozov said. "The Iranian athletes came to win just like us, but they know that if they compete they will end up in jail. I see how they are scared to death waiting for the draw. They're trapped by that policy, and they have no choice." In the summer of 2001, Razvozov and Malekmohammadi traveled with their respective teams to a training camp in Holland, where they exchanged glances. "We tried to avoid contact in the training camp, too, but that time we looked at each other," Razvozov recalls. "We were embarrassed, and we thought about whether to go up to one another or not. He made the first step, came up and shook my hand. Although it's not my fault, I felt guilty that he was screwed over twice because of me, and I felt the need to apologize to him." Razvozov says he told the Iranian he was sorry about the difficult position he was put in because of his Israeli opponent. Malekmohammadi replied that he also was sorry he had to be put in that situation, and added that it did not depend on him. "I invited him for sparring," Razvozov said. "I saw him looking toward the national team coach for approval. The coach nodded 'okay' and we started. I am sure this conflict is of no interest to the athletes themselves." Fencer Maor Hatoel faced a similar dilemma three years ago when he drew a Tunisian in a youth tournament. "You can look at it from my side, but there's also the Arab fencers' side," he said. "The Tunisians are very nice people, even friends of ours. We met with them a few times and we laughed together. The draw worked out that he had to end against me." Hatoel prepared for the fight and watched his tormented colleague wait for a decision by senior officials in the country. "They waited for an answer from the Federation and the Tunisian government, and then he gestured to me with his hands (as if to say ), 'What can I do? I'm not allowed to fight,'" Hatoel said. "The Tunisian was my friend, and I felt pretty bad for him. Later, his coach apologized and invited me for a Cola. There was nothing left to say." Hatoel says things have changed since the exchange, and Tunisians and Qataris now compete against Israelis. On one hand, you want to beat your opponent out of national pride, he said, but on the other, every athlete is a little scared of losing, so it's a gift when the other doesn't show up. Razvozov says there is an element of uncertainty when it comes to competing against Arab and Muslim countries. Iranians definitely do not compete, but one never knows with Jordanians, Lebanese and Algerians. He drew a Jordanian, he said, in the first round of the 2007 World Championship in Brazil: "You ask yourself if he will show up or not," he said. "I looked for him in the warm-up and didn't find him, but he showed up for the fight in the end and did not shake my hand. I did an ippon on him within half a minute. At the end he again did not shake my hand, and my coach at the time who understood Arabic told me the coach also cursed me." The Iranian boycott meant gold for taekwando fighter Gili Haimovitz at the 2007 Youth Olympics. Iranian Mohammad Soleimani had won the first semifinal before Haimovitz, then 17, later took on his Argentine opponent. Haimovitz says he knew it was his last fight when he emerged victorious, but he nonetheless showed up in full gear for the final. The excuse was that Soleimani was injured, but Haimovitz says he felt sorry for his rival. "I saw that he wanted to fight with all his soul, but he was forbidden from doing so," he recalls. The Olympic Committee of Israel takes the boycott seriously, according to its director, Ephraim Zinger. "It violates the basis upon which international sports is founded," he said. The problem, according to Zinger, is that in many cases the other side makes up medical excuses, tying Israelis' hands. "It's a disgrace that they don't have the courage to say, 'We don't show up because we are boycotting and are prepared to bear the punishment,'" he said. "They deceive, lie, fake, and it's impossible to start a police investigation and try every doctor who writes a note." Zinger says the best answer to this corrupt behavior is for Israeli athletes to advance to the next stages and stand on the podium while other representatives sit in the audience and listen to the Israeli national anthem. In the case of Nevo, Zinger says FINA, the governing body of international swimming, should file a complaint. However, he said, he would not be surprised if it was discovered that the Iranian developed an allergy to chlorine on the eve of the competition. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/sports/muslim-athletes-pay-the-price-for-their-leaders-anti-israel-politics-1.375455 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=267_1311789324 aydeo Muslim athletes pay the price for their leaders' anti-Israel politics Muslim athletes, price,anti-Israel politics