Let the Israeli Olympic Swim Team Vie for Greatness

Last October, I began writing about the unfairness of sending Israeli and Jewish athletes to compete in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in the midst of a regional war. Especially, as this meet was the sole 2024 event for qualifying relays at the Olympics Paris 2024.

I wrote this essay entitled, Symbols Matter: Move the Games Out of Qatar, in RealClearPolitics a few weeks after the massacre of October 7. The terror vein running through Israeli Olympic history is too poignant to ignore.

This NPR story captures the anguish and pain that is still resonant within the Israeli Olympic movement.

Despite repeated outreach, the International Olympic Committee – IOC ignored us and shunted the brave journalists following the story to World Aquatics, the global sanctioning body that apparently controls the rulemaking in swimming.

Their PR staff told Scott Reid, the award-winning sports investigative journalist, and OC Register veteran, that everything was under control. They explained that World Aquatics and the Israeli swimming federation were in close touch. "Trust us, there's nothing you should be worried about."

Here is the reporting.

The collective strategy of the sanctioning bodies seemed to be: downplay the significance and potential danger of the situation, and pray things work out. Defying logic, the Israeli coaches bought into this lily-livered scheme and halfheartedly encouraged their swimmers to attend the event in Doha.

With this kind of pressure, who needs enemies.

One might think the IOC or World Aquatics might have addressed the issue by now, but alas, no one from leadership has yet to reach out to the Israeli athletes.

The IOC even ignored CNN .

Not surprisingly, the majority of the Israeli swimming continent signed onto the www.notodoha.com protest campaign, and 13 of the 16 athletes elected not to attend the February event in Qatar.

Despite assurances of safety and security from local officials, the 3 brave athletes who competed in Doha were treated harshly, vindicating the skippers' decision instincts.

Due to an interesting rules interpretation, Team Israel has qualified for 4 of the 7 swimming relays in the Paris Olympics, based on their performance at the 2023 World Championships in Japan.

For the sake of the dignity of sport, they should be allowed the opportunity to qualify for the remaining relays for which they are eligible.

Simply, the IOC should allow a special, circumstantial accommodation that allows Team Israel to conduct time-trials for the remaining, unqualified relays during the Israeli national team trials in Netanya next week.

Known as the sportsman pope, John Paul II called sport, "a point of convergence for diverse interests, an attractive professional field of interest, a multidisciplinary school of different ways of thought, a huge business network, and a phenomenon of our epoch."

Our latest letter to the IOC asks that the Olympic gods find it in their hearts to do the right thing by the athletes whom they supposedly serve.

Thanks for the support from Susan Crabtree , Scott Reid, Jake Tapper , Karolos Grohmann , Robert Livingstone , Greg Satell , Dan Ariely , Bianca Hillier , Daniella Mora , Vivi Spitz , Mel Stewart OLY , Carl Cannon , Loretta Sanchez , Bob Costas, Collin Vataha .

Hopefully, a few folks from the IOC will pay attention this time and give these athletes the respect they deserve. Anita DeFrantz , Tidjane Thiam , Octavian Morariu , Yael Arad , Petra S?rling , Jae Youl Kim , Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi? , Michael Mronz , Dave Haggerty , Battushig Batbold , Samira ASGHARI , Rolland Jean-Christophe , Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant , Yiech pur Biel , Dr. Gerardo Werthein , Jiri Kejval , Seungmin Ryu , Daniel Gyurta , Samih Moudallal , Lana Al Jaghbeer , Poul-Erik H?yer , Sarah Walker OLY , Mohd Fadzil Kamarudin , Kirsty Coventry , Frankie Fredericks , Felicite Rwemarike