All seven of the top Israeli chess players who applied for entry into Saudi Arabia for a world competition to be held on Tuesday have had their visa requests denied.
The Times of Israel reports:
On Sunday, Moshe Shalev, the interim head of the Israel Chess Federation, told The Times of Israel that the seven players had not been granted visas, despite indications last month that they would make history by being the first representatives of the Jewish state to publicly take part in an event hosted by the kingdom, which does not officially recognize the State of Israel.
Seven Israeli players had filed requests for visas to participate in the games to be held in Riyadh on December 26-30, as part of the world rapid and blitz chess championships.
Israel Chess Federation (ICF) spokesperson Lior Aizenberg says, however, that the team is still holding out hope that their players will be accepted last minute. “Even now, despite the fact that the world tournament in Riyadh begins on Tuesday, we hope and believe that FIDE (the World Chess Federation) … and the Saudis will reach an agreement regarding the participation of the Israeli chess players,” he said.
“The Israel Chess Federation has invested great resources in the past month in order to tell the world media of our ambition that politics shouldn’t be part of the sport,” Aizenberg said.
The spokesperson added that ICF will look to host their own global tournament in the “near future” if they are truly banned, which looks to be the case if all circumstances remain as they are.
And, if the de facto ban stands, ICF head Moshe Shalev said they would consider suing the World Chess Federation, an attempt to deter more discrimination against Israelis from happening in the future.
According to Aizenberg, the tournament’s winners can receive up to $2 million in cash prizes and therefore the ban “presents both economic and professional damage to your players.”
“And besides, it is our right to be treated as equal among all nations of the world,” he said.
“It is most outrageous that FIDE allows a state to agree to host an international championship, without promising to accept all athletes, regardless of their country of origin,” added Aizenberg.
Sadly, poor treatment and the exclusion of Israeli athletes is commonplace within the Middle East and North Africa. Last summer, “a Saudi Judo competitor actually pulled out of the first round of competition to avoid fighting an Israeli Jew in the next round,” reported The Daily Wire. Moreover, in October, a Moroccan judoka refused to shake hands with her Israeli opponent at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament after being defeated, instead pathetically running away.
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