After Tel Aviv Grand Prix judo tournament, Prime Minister praises competitors for helping contacts with Arab world.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: JANUARY 28, 2019 18:54Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev meet in the prime minister's office with medal winners of the Grand Prix judo tournament.(photo credit: CHAIM TZACH/GPO)
Medal winners from the Tel Aviv Grand Prix judo tournament, held from January 24-26, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev in the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.Several hundred participants from 53 countries took part in the competition, in which Israel came away with the highest number of medals winning a record number of golds, according to the tournament's website.Regev and Netanyahu congratulated the medalists on a job well done."This is a great accomplishment for each one of you, but also a great accomplishment for the country," said Netanyahu.He also praised Regev for her tenure in the Ministry of culture and Sport: "Miri, this is also your achievement. You work to advance Israeli sport in Israel and throughout the world. The fact that our competitors go to Arab nations and stand on stage, while others see Israel in all its glory and accomplishment- this helps me in Israel's journey to the Arab world and to the world in general.""The Judo community is a Zionist community; in every competition, the most important thing is the flag," Regev said.In October of last year, Israeli Sagi Muki, who also won a medal in Tel Aviv, took the gold medal in the Judo Grand Competition in Abu Dhabi.At the awards ceremony, the Israeli national anthem "Hatikvah" was played for the first time in the United Arab Emirates. Regev was present at the ceremony, and wept when the anthem was played.
