Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
The Olympic Committee of Israel says Indonesia has denied one of their athletes a visa to participate in the upcoming Badminton World Championships in Jakarta, which start Monday.
OCI secretary general Gili Lustig says badminton player Misha Zilberman has not been granted a visa to enter Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim country – because he is Israeli.
Zilberman has been waiting in Singapore for more than two weeks after making an initial application six months ago, Lustig says.
The committee is working with the Badminton World Federation to try to resolve the issue in time for Zilberman to compete.
Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations with Indonesia and many other Muslim-majority countries, some of whom have previously denied Israeli athletes visas to compete.
