Austrians forget how Hatikva goes

November 16, 2009 - 10:21 AM by

fencingPeople wonder why Israel is always on the defensive, when things like this explain it perfectly.
At an international fencing competition over the weekend in Austria, two Israeli teens – Dana Stralinkov, 14, and Alona Komarov, 13 – won the gold and bronze medals respectively.

However, at the ceremonies awarding them the medals, instead of playing the national anthem – Hatikva – as is the custom with every other winning athlete, there was only silence.

After standing in shocked silence for a few seconds, the two teens along with the entire Israeli delegation of 22 people, burst in to song and sung Hatikva, the teenagers’ coach Yaakov Friedman told Yediot Aharonot.

“It was a very moving moment,” Freidman said, adding that a similar incident occurred five months ago at a competition in Sweden. According to the report, the Austrian official in charge of playing the national anthems of countries of the winning participants, explained he was unable to find a recording of the Israeli anthem.

Yeah, sure. And we believe that Nidal Malik Hasan wasn’t an Islamic jihadist, but suffering from PTSD. These occurences, which someone with paranoid tendencies might attribute to European snobbish digs at Israel’s legitimacy, is becoming a bit tiresome.

Yossi Harari, chairman of the Israel Fencing Association told Yediot that he intended to submit a complaint to the European Union. Harari also advised supplying every Israeli delegation participating in competitions abroad, with a recorded disc of Israel’s national anthem.

If the Hatikva snub had happened to Yuri Foreman, he might have come out swinging. Foreman, an aspiring rabbi who mixes religious studies with work in the gym, made history in Las Vegas on Saturday night when he became the first Israeli boxer to win a major world title, outpointed Daniel Santos over 12 rounds to claim the WBA super welterweight crown.

The 29-year-old, who was born in Belarus but lived in Haifa from the ages of 10 to 19. Foreman, who remained unbeaten in 28 fights, emigrated from Israel to Brooklyn and began studying to become a rabbi three years ago.

Maybe we should send Foreman to Austria next to teach them Hatikva.

Tags: , , , , , • Category: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Politics, Sports 

Comments

11 Comments on Austrians forget how Hatikva goes

  1. ellhn on Mon, Nov 16th 2009 10:43 PM

    2. REVELATION NOW! To Ashkenazim Hellenogenes Hebrews: About Sino-Tibetan motivated Nazism.
    http://hellenandchaos.blogspot.com/2009/11/revelation-now-to-sephardim-rabbi.html

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    http://hellenandchaos.blogspot.com/2009/11/ghrees-second-most-urgent-message-of.html

  2. Rebecca on Tue, Nov 17th 2009 12:25 AM

    3. Perhaps deleting the above comment would be a good idea?

  3. Jill Shames on Tue, Nov 17th 2009 11:42 AM

    4. This is such a good reminder of how the accomplishments of our athletes touch our heart and soul and unite us around our identity as a people and a nation. It is also a wonderful example of how they, who sweat it out day after day focused on their individual performance and suddenly are thrust into the spotlight of symbolizing our entire embattled nation, rise to the occasion.

    Col hacavod to all of them— athletes, coaches, trainers and officials, for fighting the Good Fight on our behalf!

    Jill Shames
    Executive Director
    El HaLev: Providing empowerment through the Martial Arts and Self-Defense

  4. AF on Tue, Nov 17th 2009 6:25 PM

    5. TERRIFIC SPIRIT!!! KOL HAKAVOD!!!

  5. Steve Lieblich on Wed, Nov 18th 2009 5:23 PM

    6. see http://jiw.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html and http://jiw.blogspot.com/2008/05/austria-land-of-dungeons.html

  6. Shimshonit on Tue, Nov 24th 2009 12:45 PM

    7. Thanks for this post. I hadn’t heard about the young Israeli fencing victors. Snubs from Austria and Sweden don’t surprise me–I’m just delighted the girls and their delegation took the initiative to go ahead and sing it. Had THEY forgotten it–THEN I would have been sad.

  7. Mickey Oberman on Wed, Nov 25th 2009 6:43 PM

    8. Congratulations to Dana Stralinkov and Alona Komarov as well as 13 tear old chess champion Marcel Efroymsky.
    The enemies of Israel have created 3 Israeli heros who, although being children, have shown courage and intelligence far beyond what the cowardly Turkish and Austrian anti Semites could ever aspire to achieve.

  8. Michel Benvniste on Sun, Dec 27th 2009 5:37 PM

    9. Kol Akavod to the Israeli team. Do not hesitate to stand up like that.
    The attitude of the Austrians and by the way of the Swedes is unqualifiable.

  9. Hank on Mon, Feb 1st 2010 7:30 PM

    10. Come on, guys. It was an honest mistake. Don’t take it the wrong way every time. It’s just a national anthem. Relax a little.

  10. Mickey Oberman on Tue, Feb 2nd 2010 4:21 PM

    11. #9 – Hank,

    Is it coincidence that these “natural mistakes” keep happening only to Israeli athletes?

    To Israelis and Jews it is far more then “just a national anthem”.

    The name of the national anthem is Hatikva. It means Hope.
    Hope for peace for the Jews and for all people. But when tiny minds like Hank’s try to trivialize overt or covert slurs we always tend to “take it the wrong way”.

    An apology from Hank would be appropriate but I doubt that it will ever be forthcoming.

  11. Sandy on Tue, Feb 2nd 2010 4:58 PM

    12. Spot on Mickey…

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