Malaysia bans Israeli athletes from international sailing meet

Malaysia has sought to defend itself for denying visas to two Israeli windsurfers hoping to compete in an international competition, saying Sunday that they had refused to accept rules governing the use of its flag and anthem.

“The Israel youth team decided not to adhere our instructions, so I had to act based on the policies at hand, and I don’t understand why the Malaysian government is seen in a bad light here,” Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

“We had to make a decision. Our intention was not to prevent them [Israel] from participating but we had set a few rules for them to adhere, to which they declined to comply.”

The Youth Sailing World Championships began Sunday at Langkawi Island in northern Malaysia, with Yoav Omer and Noy Drihan missing from the over 50 contestants representing countries worldwide.

Omer and Drihan – along with their coach Meir Yaniv – were refused visas 24 hours before their scheduled departure after they were reported to have refused to respond to the host nation’s request that they abstain from using their national flag or symbols on windsurfing outfits.

Malaysia had also said that it would not play the Israeli national anthem if either athlete were to win the gold medal.

World Sailing said Sunday that it will launch its own probe into the situation, with a member of its executive en route “to investigate this issue and is seeking clarification from the Malaysian Organising Authority”.

“As with all diplomatic issues this is quite a delicate matter. World Sailing is aware of the current commentary in the public arena, and have reason to believe that some of the comments may not be accurate or possibly based on misunderstandings,” World Sailing president Carlo Croce said in a statement.

Malaysia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations, due to Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people.

It has frequently highlighted what it calls the “intrusion” of Israel into the Palestinian heartland and the “brutal actions” it has taken to conquer Palestine, whose people it says have lived in fear and danger for many decades.