In today's Globe and Mail, Christie Blatchford profiles a terrible story of human failings. She writes about the Isralei judoka Yudi Vaks, who sat crying on the judo mat in Athens, because his first opponent, world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili, wouldn't fight him. Rather than sweat with an Israeli, he withdrew from competition. "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not let its athletes compete against Israelis." To say I was appalled and outraged after reading this is an understatement.
Here's a more informative excerpt from the story:
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Though Mr. Miresmaeili told the Iranian news agency last week that he was withdrawing from competition on principle -- "I refused to face my rival in sympathy with the oppressed Palestinian people" -- Reuters reported yesterday a spokesman for the Iranian Olympic Committee saying flatly that non-competition against Israelis is national policy, as it has been since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and that it wasn't the judoka's choice to withdraw.
So there was Mr. Miresmaeili showing up for the weigh-in yesterday morning, officially too heavy, and by such an unusually large margin for a world-class athlete that the judo federation is investigating the matter. And there was the chairman of the Iranian delegation, Nassrollah Sajadi, telling Reuters that the judoka should still receive the $115,000 the republic gives its medal winners. And there, finally, was Iranian President Mohammed Khatami (amusingly, considered a moderate cleric), praising Mr. Miresmaeili as "the champion of the 2004 Games" for his stand and pledging he would be recognized "in the history of Iranian glories."
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So how much more disgust are we supposed to stomach, courtesy of Iran? They're trying to build a nuclear arsenal, they kill a Canadian journalist and get away with it, and now they flout everything that the Olympics is supposed to represent!
As a cynic and a realist, I know the deals that are necessary in diplomacy and brinkmanship to keep the world functioning at various levels. But sometimes you simply have to call something for what it is, and this mind-numbing repudiation of Olympic peace and goodwill is simply the last straw. Even the North Koreans don't behave like this!
Here's another pertinent quote from Ms. Blatchford's story, courtesy of Yudi Vaks:
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He was utterly crushed by Mr. Miresmaeili's failure to fight, and by Iran's refusal to recognize Israel. "It's funny," he said, near tears. "They don't have the right to not recognize us. Israel is a democracy; Iran is not. . . . So I feel terrible on a personal level and on a national level, as well. I don't think we need to have a quarrel between our countries."
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It's a farce, and frankly I don't need to add much in the way of commentary, as the story speaks for itself. Certainly, there are Iranians who would share my disgust at this turn of events...unfortunately, they are trapped in a society of 6th century morality and law that has no place in the modern world.
I'd say it's time for another revolution.
