The mad mullahs are pleased. Muhammad Alirezaei pulled out of the breaststroke competition to avoid facing an Israeli swimmer in a qualifying heat. Muhammad is the first Iranian to have qualified for an Olympic swim event without using a wild card. Of course, his boycott in itself is not big news. During the 2004 Athens Olympics, judo world champion Arash Miresmaeili, one of Iran’s best hopes for a medal, refused to compete against Ehud Vaks of Israel in the first round out of hate of Jews.
The article is interesting only because it illustrates the deep seeded Antisemitism of the AFP “news” organization. In a story about unsportsmanlike conduct by an Iranian athlete, AFP manages to include a paragraph about Israel’s nuclear threat to the Middle East and oppressed Palestinians.
Israel, the Middle East region’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, considers Iran its main strategic threat because of its nuclear programme and repeated predictions of the Jewish state’s demise by senior Iranian leaders.
During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Iran’s judo world champion Arash Miresmaeili, one of the country’s prominent gold medal hopes, refused to compete against Ehud Vaks of Israel in the first round out of solidarity for the Palestinian cause.
