Davis tennis stands firm against proposed boycott

JACK MILNER

The Davis Cup’s Euro/Africa Zone Group 1 tie, scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday at the Irene Country Club, is part of the largest annual international tennis tournament in the world. However, this leg has been dogged by the threatened boycott, with Sports Minister Thulas Nxesi having sent a letter to BDS – not to Tennis South Africa (TSA) or to those behind the Davis Cup – supporting its call to ban the games in South Africa.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and TSA are adamant the games will go ahead as scheduled, no matter what.

The Davis Cup is run by the ITF, which is the world governing body of tennis. “The ITF firmly believes that sport should serve as a unifying element between athletes and nations,” said Steve Wilson, ITF director of communications.

He reiterated that the Davis Cup was “founded on the idea of fostering greater understanding among nations through tennis”.

“That principle is as valid today as it was over 100 years ago,” he said.

“Tennis, and sport in general, should promote mutual understanding in the spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play The ITF adheres to the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter, which states that sport ‘shall be practised without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status’.”

Ben Swartz, national chairperson of the SA Zionist Federation, is incensed by the threatened boycott. “This continued, destructive, disruptive, aggressive and nonsensical behaviour breeds hatred amongst who that are easily manipulated, without understanding the real facts. They leech onto any event in which they feel they can influence their blind followers, leading them down a dark path of hate-fuelled lies and misinformation.

“How does this behaviour allow for peaceful negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and a way forward, which they continuously blame everyone else but themselves for obstructing?”

On Wednesday, however, Patience Shikwambana, the acting CEO of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), would not discuss the matter with SA Jewish Report, saying she had been instructed to refer all queries regarding the games to the sports ministry.

She claimed that the minister would issue a further statement over the issue. This was not done at the time of going to print.

And, at the request of the minister’s media spokesperson, Sabelo Mali, a set of questions was sent to the minister. No replies were forthcoming at the time of going to print.

In his statement to BDS, Nxesi said: “I myself have experienced Israeli discrimination and occupation when I was denied entry to Palestine in 2012. In response to this and other practices by the Israeli regime against the Palestinians, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many other notable South Africans have called on the world to support the Palestinian BDS movement.

“I would actually have loved to attend the Davis Cup, but given the concerns that activists and fellow South Africans are raising regarding the presence of an Israeli team, I believe that it would not be proper for me to attend.”

Richard Glover, CEO for TSA, said they had received no word from Nxesi or the sports ministry. “We are not aware of any communication between SASCOC and the minister. As far as we are concerned, the tie will go ahead as scheduled.”

The Israeli team, captained by Harel Levy and comprising Israel’s top tennis champ Dudi Sela, along with Edan Leshem, Igor Smilansky, Jonathan Erlich and Daniel Cukierman, arrived on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Levy said they were aware of the BDS threat to demonstrate at the event. “We have no problem with the people protesting, as long as it does not get violent. Everybody has a right to their own opinion.

“But we are here to play tennis. We are proud to play for Israel; we consider it an honour and we will do our best to win the tie.”

He believed the minister could be inciting protest action by the statement he made to the BDS. “He is the minister and he needs to take responsibility for the statements he makes, whether it is in a personal capacity or in his position as minister of sport,” said Levy.

Glover said TSA had taken precautions to ensure the safety of the players and the public. “The danger has been set at ‘medium risk’, which means both the SA Police Service and the Metro police will be there, as well as emergency services.

“There will be tight access control. Bags will be searched, people will have to go through metal detectors and will be patted down.I’m in touch with ITF security and have kept them informed about everything. They are sensitive to the security situation.”

Should the tie be called off through government intervention, the ITF is likely to take a tough stand against the local sporting body.

In 2009, a tie between Israel and Sweden in Malmö  was played in an empty stadium as violence was threatened. As a result, the ITF imposed a five-year ban against the city of Malmö being  a host city for the Davis Cup. The ITF also refused to pay the $15 000 (R178 000) guarantee against gate receipts and fined the city a further $25 000 (R297 000).

The SA Zionist Federation called on people to come and watch the tennis. “We implore the broader public not to be persuaded by extremist behaviour by those who propose these boycotts which often leads to violence,” says Swartz.

“Further supporting this hypocrisy, mothers, sisters and wives excitedly attended a soccer match in the Gaza Strip recently, only to be turned away. Authorities in the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist terror group Hamas told the women they had orders not to allow them into the stadium. This highlights the real issue, that their own people are the oppressors, dictated by the unwavering and unforgiving Hamas regime.

“The majority of the South African Jewry strongly condemns and is utterly disgusted by this hypocritical behaviour, in an effort to sabotage and upstage a sporting event, by turning it into a political plight. As proven in previous years, sport is a tool for reconciliation.

“We encourage you to show your support for both South Africa and Israel this weekend. Let us create a positive image that is beyond politics, and all about healthy competition and unity through sport.”

The South African team is captained by Marcos Ondruska and comprises Lloyd Harris, Nic Scholtz, Raven Klaasen, Ruan Roelofse and Tucker Vorster.

The first two singles matches will be played on Friday, while the doubles match and the two reverse singles matches will be played on Saturday.