Switzerland’s under-23 fencing team has refused to face the Israeli flag at the award ceremony of the European Championships in protest over the regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Members of Switzerland’s silver medal-winning team turned their backs to the Israeli gold medalists during the playing of the occupying entity’s anthem on the competition’s medal podium in Estonia’s capital of Tallinn on Saturday.
Speaking to the Ynet news site, Israeli fencer Alon Sarid said that the teams shook hands before the contest, but after the final “some avoided us.”
He added that the Israeli team members were only made aware of the Swiss protest after the ceremony when they saw photos of the incident.
The Swiss action adds to a growing wave of athlete protests over Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
However, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Tel Aviv Simon Geissbühler deplored the behavior of the Swiss athletes.
“This action was not discussed with anyone in advance,” he said. “We will confront the athletes upon their return and then decide on the next steps.”
Similarly, the Swiss Fencing Federation issued an apology.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar claimed that the Swiss team’s quiet gesture was “disrespectful,” but many hailed the team for condemning Israel’s brutal onslaught on Gaza, where at least 52,243 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 2023.
In May 2023, Iraq’s national fencing team pulled out of a match against Israel at the World Fencing Championship in Istanbul, Turkey.
“The decision to withdraw came in compliance with the law criminalizing normalization approved by the Iraqi parliament, and in solidarity with the Palestinian cause,” the Iraqi Fencing Federation said in a statement at the time.
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