Iranian Defector Dedicates Olympic Judo Medal To Israel, Thanks Country In Hebrew In Sharp Rebuke To Anti-Semitic Competitors

An Iranian defector who won an Olympic silver medal in judo bucked the trend on Tuesday, dedicating his medal to Israel and thanking the country in Hebrew for his second-place finish in the men’s 81kg judo final.

Saeid Mollaei “dedicated his first-ever Olympic medal to Israel and thanked the country for the support they have given him after a nail-biting final,” the Daily Mail reported Tuesday afternoon. “The judo world champion, who trained in Israel with their national judo team in the months before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, thanked the country in Hebrew as he dedicated his first-ever Olympic medal to Israel.”