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Feb. 18, 2021
At the Tel Aviv Hilton, when Saeid Mollaei looked out of his window at the people down below, he was amazed. “We were taught to hate Israelis,” he said to his hosts.
Having grown up under the ayatollahs in Iran, he couldn’t believe that Israel was such a modern place. He expected a menacing military atmosphere, only to find a country that greeted him with open arms, even if the coronavirus rules were forcing him to isolate in his hotel room.
A year and a half ago, officials at the Israel Judo Association would never have believed that Mollaei would come to Israel to compete. Until the 2019 world championships in Tokyo, Mollaei represented Iran and faked injuries to avoid competing against Israel’s Sagi Muki in high-stakes competitions.
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התאחדות הספורט המוטורי זכתה להכרה בינ ל
one.co.il - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from one.co.il Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.