World Rugby states that it conducted an investigation into the charges of discrimination that were raised by the IRU, after the Tel Aviv Heat were removed from the Mzanzi Tournament competition this year.
THE SOUTH African Friends of Israel (SAFI) can confirm that a World Rugby letter addressed to the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and Israel Rugby Union (IRU) confirms that SARU rescinded its invite to Israeli Rugby team, the Tel Aviv Heat, on account of threats of violence that SARU received from political extremists in South Africa.
In the letter, World Rugby states that it conducted an investigation into the charges of discrimination that were raised by the IRU, after the Tel Aviv Heat were removed from the Mzanzi Tournament competition this year.
In a shocking twist of events, World Rugby was able to uncover the true reason behind the rescinded invite. In the letter, they draw reference to public social media posts, regarding the participation of an Israeli side, which resulted in comments inciting threats of violence at the matches.
World Rugby also makes reference to the antisemitic South African BDS Coalition statement which was released on 3 February 2023, in which BDS stated that “if this Israeli team comes to play in South Africa SARU will have blood on its hands”.
South African Friends of Israel wants Saru minutes over cancelled invitation of Israeli rugby team Tel Aviv Heat to the Mzansi Challenge League https://t.co/DDz4ju2vKV
— Cape Times (@CapeTimesSA) February 15, 2023
In this revelatory letter, it is made clear that SARU bent the knee to appease political extremists in South Africa, who threatened to harm and incite violence should an Israeli team participate in the sport.
A threat to the safety of any team or players only serves to undermine our country’s future ability to host international teams and sporting events. Not only would this affect our sportsmen and women, but our tourism and hospitality industries as well.
This is a devastating blow to the professional nature of sport in South Africa. The antisemitic BDS coalition have intimidated SARU, under threat of violence, to comply with their own political ideologies regarding political affairs in Israel, which are scarcely shared with the majority of the South African population.
While BDS argue that Israel is an apartheid state, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, where the rights of all citizens – regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race or religion – are equally protected by the law.
Even the Israeli rugby team is composed of a diverse and inclusive group of players.
“We at Rugby Israel will continue to promote our beloved sport without prejudice or discrimination. Rugby is for everyone regardless of gender, inclination or religious belief and Rugby Israel’s door remains open to Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druz all of whom play shoulder-to-shoulder in our local leagues and national teams” shares Offer Fabian, President of Rugby Israel.
SAFI has submitted two Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) applications to SARU, to try and uncover which BDS representatives are responsible for this debacle.
Political extremists seeking relevance in South Africa must be held to account for threatening violence at South African sporting fixtures, in a manner that curtails the participation of international teams in local events.
