Skip to main content

Big Victory for Israel, in More Ways Than One: Why Abu Dhabi Just Played Israel's National Anthem

Share This article

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel’s national anthem played loudly in Abu Dhabi on Saturday after Israel’s Alon Leviev, 17, took home the gold medal in the junior division of the Ju-Jitsu World Championship.

Leviev was named the world champion in the 55-kilogram-and-under category after beating competitors Abu Dhabi, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.

WATCH: Israel’s national anthem was played in Abu Dhabi after 17-year-old Alon Leviev took GOLD at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championships. Mazal tov champion!

via: @AyeletSport pic.twitter.com/E5aRsXgLFd

Hearing the Hatikva – Israel’s national anthem – playing in the capital of the United Arab Emirates is a dream many Israelis never thought would come true just a few years ago.

The UAE banned Israeli symbols in the Gulf country but reversed its policy last year after facing international backlash.

The International Judo Federation prohibited (IJF) the UAE and Tunisia from hosting two prestigious international tournaments over their discrimination against Israeli athletes, who were not allowed to wave their flag or hear their national anthem play if they won.

The IJF takes discrimination against athletes very seriously and has banned Iran indefinitely from global judo competitions over the country’s refusal to allow its athletes to compete against Israelis.

The total ban comes after IJF suspended Iran last month for pressuring Iranian-born Saeid Mollaei to deliberately lose at the World Judo Championships Tokyo 2019 in August to avoid competing against Israeli competitor Sagi Muki.

Share This article

About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle