In support of Palestine, Malaysia refuses to grant Israeli players entry into next month’s world championships

The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) has refused to grant the Israeli Squash Association (ISA) entry to the country for next month’s world championships, saying Israelis would not be allowed to participate due to “long-standing sensitivities surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

The Men’s World Team Squash Championship, set for December 7, was moved from New Zealand to Malaysia due to COVID-19 restrictions in the original location.

However, Israelis are not able to visit Malaysia, and the SRAM ignored the ISA when it inquired about the possibility of receiving special visas so its players could attend, according to Israeli media.

The Malaysian passports bear the inscription “This passport is valid for all countries except Israel.”

In response to World Squash Federation president Zena Wooldridge’s inquisition on the matter, the SRAM stated that Israelis would not be allowed to participate.

“As you may be aware, there are, sadly, long-standing sensitivities surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict,” SRAM president Gerard Monteiro wrote.

According to Israeli media reports, he added that Malaysia “would not be able to guarantee [Israeli players’] safety and well-being.”

“As is encountered across the world, there are sympathizers of the conflict who will not hesitate to take extreme measures to display their displeasure toward the nation of Israel and her people.”

Wooldridge told ISA that she has not found a way to enable Israelis to attend the championship in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia has an important role in supporting the Palestinian cause. It always calls for an end to the Israeli occupation and granting the Palestinian people all their rights. It also rejects normalisation with the Israeli occupation.