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Last update - 10:07 13/07/2009
Maccabiah bans athletes from wearing Shalit solidarity ribbons at opening event
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Tags: jewish world, maccabiah 

A last-minute effort to show solidarity with Gilad Shalit at the Maccabiah's opening ceremony Monday ended in disappointment for the British and American delegations, after organizers forbade them from wearing yellow ribbons.

Activists working for Shalit's release had suggested that every Maccabiah participant wear a yellow ribbon over one shoulder at the opening ceremony.

One activist said she thought the organizers "torpedoed the initiative" because "they didn't want to embarrass the government officials at the ceremony." Organizers denied this.
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"The organizers simply don't want to get into politics and they fear the ribbon might be seen by some officials attending as a defiant move," said Ella Hefez from Tel Aviv, who is a member of the committee to free Shalit.

About 8,000 athletes are currently in Israel for the Maccabiah, a Jewish Olympic Games which is held in the country every four years.

The heads of the American and British delegations agreed to support the gesture after U.K.-born Shalit activist Marian Lebor from Ra'anana approached them with the idea. The plan took shape last week.

But the organizing committee shot the idea down, citing too short notice.

"With all due respect, we can't take a ceremony that we've worked on for the past two weeks and change it to fit what the Shalit forum wants," said Yaron Michaeli, spokesman for the Maccabiah's organizing committee.

He denied claims the committee was skirting the issue for political reasons, explaining, "Shalit will be mentioned in the welcome speech."

He added: "We can't turn this event into a rally to free Shalit. It's an international sporting event."

Lebor, a freelance journalist, conceded that the idea was filed late in the game. "But that's no reason not to do it," she said. "With a little bit of goodwill, it would have been very easy to achieve."

Hefez, who has overseen television productions, said she offered to have Shalit volunteers pass out the ribbons. "Logistically it was not a problem. This was not the reason this idea was shot down," she said.

That the yellow ribbons will be perceived as a political gesture designed to pressure the prime minister to approve a prisoner exchange "is missing the point completely," Lebor said. "It's meant to make participants think about him and about how we don't even know where he is and how he is doing. That's all," she said.

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      1.   The Sportsmen Should Ignore the Ban 08:48  |  Eli Wapniarski 13/07/09
      2.   Shalit and the yellow ribbon 09:14  |  Philip 13/07/09
      3.   Oh yeah, this makes sense... NOT! 09:29  |  Mauri 13/07/09
      4.   Oh yeah, this makes sense... NOT! 10:42  |  Mauri 13/07/09
      5.   Solidarity ribbons for Gilat Shalit 10:56  |  Joop 13/07/09
      6.   Yellow Ribbons and Gilad Shalit 11:56  |  Liberty 13/07/09
      7.   Yellow Ribbons 12:18  |  Talya 13/07/09
      8.   Solidarity for all prisoners? 12:53  |  Murray 13/07/09
      9.   yellow ribbons at maccabiah 12:58  |  zelda harris 13/07/09
      10.   Maccabiah ban 13:03  |  Hub 13/07/09
      11.   Maccabiah 13:25  |  zznhl 13/07/09
      12.   Just do it!!!!! 13:40  |  lily 13/07/09
      13.   Shame on them 14:14  |  liz 13/07/09
      14.   Excellent news 14:20  |  Worried father 13/07/09
      15.   politics? 14:25  |  yechiel 13/07/09
      16.   Spectators do the right thing.....WEAR A YELLOW RIBBON 15:27  |  Ari ben Yisrael 13/07/09
      17.   The Maccabiah strengthens the link,not the opposite 15:30  |  Former Maccabee 13/07/09
      18.   No embarrassing the Government allowed 16:23  |  Mark Lincoln 13/07/09
      19.   shalit 17:03  |  LAZAR LOWINGER 13/07/09
      20.   Afraid of the EU? Or just the IK? 17:18  |  Yonatan 13/07/09
      21.   Maccabiah ban 18:58  |  Birdi 13/07/09
      22.   What would actually happen if.... 20:27  |  Ines 13/07/09
      23.   Re # 2 No ... this makes no sense at all !!! 20:29  |  Ines 13/07/09
      24.   Re# 3 How solidarity with our kidnapped 22:30  |  Ines 13/07/09
      25.   Re # 4 Murray.... There can be really be many many reasons 22:35  |  Ines 13/07/09
      26.   Not a political response? 01:30  |  mariapalestina 14/07/09
      27.   Ines in the international city 01:35  |  mariapalestina 14/07/09
      28.   yellow ribbons everywhere 09:26  |  Evelyn Grausz 14/07/09
      29.   There is a difference, Ines 12:37  |  Murray 14/07/09
      30.   #11 01:37  |  Frenchie 15/07/09
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