Vienna Event Misplaces the ‘Hatikvah’
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.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30