Talk about “Hope”-less. Organizers of an international fencing competition outside Vienna claim to have misplaced a recording of Israel’s national anthem — nearly preventing the piece, “Hatikvah,” from sounding during an awards ceremony.
In the end, the event’s Israeli winner, Daria Strelnikov, sang the anthem herself, aided by compatriot bronze medalist Alona Komarov and the rest of their team and coaching staff.
The incident marred an otherwise triumphant outcome for the young Israeli swordswomen, who were competing in the November 14 round of the European Cup for cadet fencers, restricted to competitors 17 and younger.
“I don’t want to say it was antisemitism, but it’s not respectful,” said the head of the Israel Fencing Association, Yossi Harari, of the missing “Hatikvah” recording. “If I were organizing a competition, I would be sure to have a copy of every country’s national anthem ready to play.”
Harari said that competition hosts in Modling, Austria, had been “nice and very courteous” in their treatment of the Israeli squad, but noted that an identical episode involving the team’s national anthem had occurred three years earlier during a fencing competition in the same Vienna suburb. This time, he said, he would send an official letter of protest to the European Fencing Confederation, in hopes of ensuring that a third incident would not take place.
Israeli fencers traveling overseas will also be provided with their own copies of “Hatikvah,” which means “The Hope,” so that “there won’t be any excuse not to play it” in the future, he said.
The Forward welcomes reader comments in order to promote thoughtful discussion on issues of importance to the Jewish community. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, the Forward requires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. Vigorous debate and reasoned critique are welcome; name-calling and personal invective are not. While we generally do not seek to edit or actively moderate comments, the Forward reserves the right to remove comments for any reason.
Copyright © 2013, Forward Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Tracing the Jewish Origins of the Holy Ghost
Forced Out by Nazis, Grandmother Returns With Family to Germany
Mother of Jewish Teen Killed on Brooklyn Bridge Speaks Out
Remembering French-Jewish Writer Viviane Forrester
Google Earth for the 16th Century Mapmaking Set
You've successfully signed up!
I'm a fencer. It is said among fencers that a person's character is evident on the piste (the fencing strip). Apparently the character of the host country is evident too - off the piste.