Israel has accused the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, of “rabid antisemitism” after he banned Israeli athletes from competing in a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Malaysia has refused to grant visas to Israeli athletes scheduled to participate in the event to be held in the state of Sarawak in July, a move designed to demonstrate the country’s solidarity with Palestine.
On Wednesday, the Malaysian foreign minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, confirmed the cabinet had decided Malaysia “will not host any more events involving Israel or its representatives”.
“This is to me, a decision to reflect the government’s firm stance over the Israeli issue,” he said.
He was echoed by the deputy sports minister, Sim Hee Kyung, who said the decision was “a means to protest against the continuous Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people”.
The decision prompted condemnation from the Israeli foreign ministry, with spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon calling the ban “shameful” and saying it “totally opposes the Olympic spirit”.
“Israel condemns the decision inspired no doubt by Malaysia’s PM Mahathir’s rabid antisemitism,” said Nahshon. He called on the International Paralympic Committee to force Malaysia to reverse the decision or to move the event to another country.
Mahathir said this week he would not cave to any pressure, and if the athletes did attempt to come to the tournament “it is a violation”.
“If they [International Paralympic Committee] want to withdraw Malaysia’s right to host the championship, they can do so,” said Mahathir.
Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel and entry to Malaysia on an Israeli passport is banned. Mahathir has been much more vocal in his criticism of Israel than his predecessor Najib Razak, who allowed an Israeli UN delegation into Malaysia during his time as prime minister.
Mahathir has faced accusations of antisemitism for decades, and has often repeated sentiments where he described Jews as “hook nosed” and said that “Jews rule the world by proxy.”
This is not the first time Malaysia has prevented Israeli athletes competing in tournaments. In 2015, two windsurfers had to pull out of a competition on the Malaysian island of Langkawi after they were refused visas.
