“Show that we were not afraid”: the Israeli judo team “proud” to have fought in France

2023-11-07 12:49:54

Moshe Ponti admits: “At first, it was difficult to envisage our team coming to the European Championships. But I really wanted to be there, regardless of the context, I wanted our team to fight, I wanted to go there and show that we were there despite the events and ready to win. » In Montpellier this weekend, the Israeli Judo team won 3 medals. A performance, while since October 7, the country has been engaged in a war against Hamas.

For 3 days, the delegation was placed under high – but discreet – security. At the end of the competition, the President of the Israeli Judo Federation agreed to speak to “Le Parisien” about the very particular context in which his judokas evolve. “It was Stéphane (Editor’s note: Nomis, the president of the French federation) who called me and encouraged me to come, but how could I commit without being certain that our security would be guaranteed? », Explains Moshe Ponte, who admits to having wondered.

“Stéphane guaranteed me security. Obviously I had to check that all this was possible with our own (Israeli) security as well, but my mind was made up, I had to go to the European Championships to fight. » The President of the Israeli federation explains that the “authorities accepted the trip on the condition that we strengthen French security, supplementing it with Israeli security. But everything went very well, everything was perfect. »

Already leading the Olympics

While Stéphane Nomis, the head of the French judo federation, requested from the Ministry of Sports a strengthening of security, France and Israel came to an agreement. “The two countries worked together to ensure the security of our delegation,” continues Moshe Ponti. I didn’t feel like I needed security, but I realized that maybe it was necessary. However, security is expensive. The government helped us, but it remains very expensive for the federation. Especially since there are many transport costs since we had two coaches and those related to security agents. But it doesn’t matter, judo is special, it’s crazy. We fight against each other, then we love each other, we respect each other. And I feel at home in France, I love coming to the Grand Slam in Paris! »

Hesitant for some at first, the Israeli judokas ultimately all came to France. “At first they didn’t want to come, and they were free not to. Finally, everyone wanted to participate. We had to show everyone that we were there to fight and that we were not afraid. »

The Israeli delegation already has the Paris Olympics in mind. “I’m going to find the Judokas a place to isolate them, like “in bubbles”, without telephone, without interruption. This way they can stay focused. They will not be able to hear anything, including questions and comments from journalists that could disturb them. » A strategy decided before the start of the conflict. “We hope that the war will be over by then,” the president concludes.

“This championship brought together 47 Nations and more than 400 judokas,” recalls Stéphane Nomis, president of the French Judo Federation. We are proud to have brought together all these countries, including those going through serious crises” (Editor’s note: Ukraine, in particular, as well as Russian athletes, under a neutral banner, as authorized by the International Judo Federation, and as should be the case, in several sports, during the Paris Olympic Games, the IOC gradually moving towards this opening). “Sport is a universal language of peace, friendship and solidarity between people,” continues Stéphane Nomis. For our international, European and French federations, it was the absolute priority. »