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"We need this competition to gain ranking points, especially in an Olympic year," said Israeli fencer Ayelet Ohayon.
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| By Ellis Shuman January 13, 2004 |
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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.
"In the past we passed up competitions in Arab countries, but this time, every competition can be crucial regarding Olympics participation," Ohayon continued. "It is not exactly clear why the Jordanians don't want us to come," she said.
The International Fencing Federation constitution supports the Israelis' desire to compete in Aqaba, Ohayon said. If the organizers don't allow the two Israeli athletes to participate, the ranking of the competition will drop from A to C, and no ranking points will be awarded to any of the fencers participating, she said.
Or and Ohayon plan to travel to Aqaba on Wednesday morning in order to register for the weekend competition. Due to security considerations, the two will stay overnight in an Eilat hotel and cross over the border into Jordan to take part in the event.
"Countries at peace can't behave this way"
Shalom yesterday criticized Jordan for refusing to allow Israeli athletes to participate in the Aqaba world championship. "Countries which have peace agreements cannot behave this way," he said. Shalom said his ministry was holding contacts with senior Jordanian officials in an attempt to enable Israeli fencers to participate in the competition.
On Sunday, Education, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat assured Shklar that she would work to reverse the exclusion of the Israeli fencing team from the championship. In a letter to Rene Roch, the president of the International Fencing Federation, Livnat wrote, "I am disappointed that political considerations should be involved with sports. Sport should be a bridge, especially in an Olympic year."
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