Abu Dhabi authorized last month the participation of the Israeli Judoka team at the Grand Slam competition there. When Israeli Judoka Sagi Muki won a gold medal Oct. 28, the Israeli national anthem, "Hatikva," was played — for the first time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Culture Minister Miri Regev, who accompanied the Israeli Judo team, was photographed fighting back tears of joy on the occasion.

Regev is known for her controversial, nationalist positions, drawing fire from the press. Rarely, if ever, has Regev enjoyed such expansive positive coverage as she did in Abu Dhabi. Sports commentator Itamar Katzir, writing in Haaretz, was effusive in his praise. Katzir noted that Regev had insisted in the past that Israelis would not compete in Tunisia or Abu Dhabi or any Arab state unless the Israeli anthem could be played there. Promoting her to the rank of “a diplomatic personality of the first order,” Katzir continued, “(Judoka Sagi) Muki came away with a gold medal, but Regev came away with the crown of an ambassador, of a foreign minister, and perhaps, most importantly, she became the talk of the day — this time in a favorable context.” 

What makes the public participation of a United Nations member state in an official international competition a diplomatic achievement of that state? Why did the culture minister deserve such praise and glory for opposing the discrimination of Israel’s symbols of statehood as if it were the last of the pariah states begging for its right to respectful representation? Should it not be obvious that the International Judo Federation cannot sponsor a tournament in a country where the government mixes politics with sports? Would the government of the UAE have banned the playing of Iran’s anthem or the flying of the Saudi flag — both countries that would have a hard time defeating Israel in the Middle Eastern human rights championships?

When Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament, there was no question that it would let in the teams of all the soccer federation’s member states and respect their national symbols, including Israel’s. (It should, however, be noted, that the Israeli national soccer team has never made it to the World Cup. So the chances of Regev going to Qatar to sing the national anthem are about the same as her participating in an event organized by Breaking the Silence, the anti-occupation nongovernmental organization.)