{"id":79332,"date":"2024-02-02T15:09:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T20:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=79332"},"modified":"2024-02-02T15:09:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T20:09:47","slug":"israeli-fencer-yuval-freilich-wins-gold-medal-in-qatar-home-to-hamas-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/israeli-fencer-yuval-freilich-wins-gold-medal-in-qatar-home-to-hamas-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli fencer Yuval Freilich wins gold medal in Qatar, home to Hamas\u2019 leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JACOB GURVIS<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014 Israeli fencer Yuval Freilich won a gold medal at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix on Wednesday, becoming a champion in a country that is home to the leadership of Hamas.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_79333\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-79333\" class=\"wp-image-79333 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-79333\" class=\"wp-image-79333 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2-1-24-YuvalFreilich-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-79333\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yuval Freilich celebrates after a victory during the 2019 European Fencing Championships in Germany. (Federico Gambarini\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Freilich, 29, won the epee title in Doha while wearing a uniform with an Israeli flag and the message \u201cAm Israel Chai,\u201d Hebrew for \u201cthe people of Israel lives,\u201d written on his shoulder. As in previous times of crisis, the phrase has become a rallying cry for Israel in its war with Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>After Freilich\u2019s victory, the Israeli national anthem was played in the arena during the podium ceremony \u2014 a rarity in a country with no official diplomatic ties to Israel.<\/p>\n<p>The win moves Freilich closer to qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe win in Qatar and waving the Israeli flag in times like these on this unique stage is Israeli pride at its peak,\u201d said Gili Lustig, the CEO of Israel\u2019s Olympic Committee, according to the Times of Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Despite its lack of formal relations with Israel, Qatar has become a central interlocutor in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas owing to its unique position: In addition to hosting Hamas\u2019 political leadership, and funding the group, Qatar is also home to a U.S. military base.<\/p>\n<p>And at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which Qatar hosted, Israeli fans were allowed to attend \u2014 though Israeli officials warned them to \u201cdownplay\u201d their \u201cIsraeli identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Freilich, who began fencing at five years old, is currently ranked No. 8 in the world in senior men\u2019s individual epee. He won Israel\u2019s first European fencing title in the men\u2019s individual epee tournament at the 2019 European Fencing Championships in Germany.<\/p>\n<p>Born to Australian immigrant parents, Freilich is an observant Jew who in 2008 sued the Israel Fencing Association to prevent it from holding competitions on Shabbat. Freilich lost the lawsuit and began competing on Saturdays.<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, Freilich won the European Cadet Championship, and the following year, he won the men\u2019s epee World Cadet and Junior Fencing Championship, becoming the top-ranked epee cadet in the world. &nbsp;He also won the European Men\u2019s Epee Junior Championships in both 2014 and 2015.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">2024 Doha\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\udde6 Epee Grand Prix\ud83c\udfc6 men&#39;s final<br \/>Yuval Shalom Preilich\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1 15-9 Federico Vismara\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9<br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Epee?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Epee<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FencingGrandPrix?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FencingGrandPrix<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/fencing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#fencing<\/a> \ud83d\udcf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BizziTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BizziTeam<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nVT1wknrsH\">pic.twitter.com\/nVT1wknrsH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; FIE (@FIE_fencing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FIE_fencing\/status\/1752763490454925357?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Freilich\u2019s gold medal in Qatar is a rare bright spot for Israeli athletes following the outbreak of the war after Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 invasion. Israeli athletes and teams in other international sports competitions have faced consequences on and off the field due to anti-Israel protests or their own public support of their country.<\/p>\n<p>An Israeli national hockey team was recently temporarily banned from a youth world championship, before being re-invited to the tournament and ultimately winning a gold medal. Last month in Turkey, an Israeli soccer player was briefly detained for writing a message on his wrist marking 100 days since Oct. 7. And in South Africa, a Jewish cricket star was stripped of his captaincy of a national team due to fears of anti-Israel demonstrations.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Israeli%20fencer%20Yuval%20Freilich%20wins%20gold%20medal%20in%20Qatar%2C%20home%20to%20Hamas%E2%80%99%20leadership\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":79333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1491],"tags":[13577,8781,8790,8795,8788,13576],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79332"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79332"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79334,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79332\/revisions\/79334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}