Israeli fencers determined to compete in Aqaba, despite Jordanian ban

[drdon326]

Israeli fencers determined to compete in Aqaba, despite Jordanian ban



http://web.israelinsider.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=ArticlePage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Article%5El3187&enZone=Culture&enVersion=0&

Israeli fencers Tomer Or and Ayelet Ohayon plan to travel to Aqaba tomorrow to compete in this weekend's world fencing championship meet, despite Jordan's decision not to allow Israeli athletes to participate. Gaining ranking points at the competition is crucial if the two fencers hope to compete in this summer's Olympic Games. "Countries which have peace agreements cannot behave this way," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

At an emergency session last night, the Jordanian Fencing Federation (JFF) upheld its decision not to allow Israeli fencers to take part in the Aqaba event, Haaretz reported. "I am sorry that the move passed. We are aware of the possibility that we will be censored," JFF head Halad Atiat told Haaretz.

Earlier in the week, Atiat told his Israeli counterpart Vladimir Shlar that "if the Israelis take part in the championship, Arab teams will not come to Aqaba."

"They're trying to prevent us from participating in every possible way," Ohayon told ynet. "But we have no choice. We need this competition to gain ranking points, especially in an Olympic year.

[JohnLocke]

1. Don't you love that Jordan?

Now there's a repressive country.

During the ancient Greek Olympic games, all wars would be halted so the city-states' respective athletes could travel to the games. Seems to me that the ancient Greeks were a lot more enlightened than today's Arab world.

[bluesoul]

2. So Jordan

is now representitive of the Arab world. Nice generalisation...

[drdon326]

3. Hey bluesoul....

what is representitive of the arab world??

saudi arabia??

hamas??

lebannon??

[bluesoul]

4. No one is

It's a complex world, more then you would imagine. Is Sharon representative of Israel? I hope not, considering his background...

[JohnLocke]

6. Jordan is a horrible place to live.

[vierundzwanzig]

8. It's not as bad as any place in the OPTs

But then again Jordan was *created* to receive the expelled Palestinians. 70% of all Jordanians are Palestinian, Amman itself has 90% Palestinians.

Add one and on and I come up with two.

[Erica Cartman]

9. So, why doesn't Jordan

wish to receive its countrymen?

My goodness, Israel has never turned her back that way! A new homecoming for more Ethiopian Jews is happening right now.

Shame on the Arabs for not helping their own the way Israel has!

[vierundzwanzig]

10. Untrue

Israeli is seriously reconsidering its policies towards Etyhiopian Jews. Follow Haaretz.

There *are no* countrymen to Jordan. There were a couple of Bedouins and a lot of sand. And there still is a lot of sand. Pull out a map. There is Amman and there is Aqaba. That is it.

You call that a country? For who?

[Scurrilous]

5. The ancient Greeks...

...had many fine qualities. They also had many barbaric customs. To compare them favorably to any modern society is quite a stretch.

[Erica Cartman]

7. There's a lot of "shoulds" involved

here and I don't know if a Munich redux massacre of almost the entire Israeli Olympic Team is worth it.

I am in awe of the bravery of the Israelis in every possible way.