Yellow Stars

Once upon a time there was a country that was very beautiful and affluent beyond reason. Not only was the country rich, but its people were rich as well. Everyone possessed everything he or she could possibly desire. If the king wanted a beach and there was none, he made one. If the king wanted an ice skating rink in his tropical paradise, he made ice too. And ski slopes. He built the tallest buildings on earth, produced the most fabulous vehicles. Jewels, haute couture, haute cuisine, you name it. In addition to things incredible, there were of course cultural events of every sort available to the happy, beautiful, insanely indulged population, including sports.
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Patient reader, pardon a break in this narrative.
One of my oldest and best friends just called me, and when I told her what I was writing, she mentioned that my fictional land of plenty (not fictional, in fact) was going down the tubes economically.
"No matter," said I; "I am writing about us, not Dubai."
Oops, gave it away.
"I am writing about principle. And anyway, this is a fairy tale that I am spinning here. You'll see when you read it," I told her.
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Back to sports. So one day there was a grand tennis tournament scheduled.
Tennis players from all over the world flew to this renowned land of plenty to compete for a two million dollar pot. Those in the population who loved the sport bought tickets and eagerly awaited the games which were to begin on the upcoming weekend. Tennis players arrived from Russia, from the USA, from countries, as I said, all over our lovely planet.

But Alas! There was a hitch in the happy, beautiful, flawless proceedings. One young woman whose name oddly enough, considering the circumstances, means "equal" was banned from the tournament. As if she were not equal. As if she were less, somehow, or unworthy, or tainted, or even poisonous.
Why? What had she done?
Aha, she was from Israel. She was a Jew.
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Now, patient reader, forgive me as I stray once more from the story. But somehow this tidbit comes to mind: my late husband's grandmother, he was fond of telling me, always said to him, "You are a Jew, and everyone hates you. You have two things, your money and your brains, and your money they can take away from you." I guess the idea was that he'd best keep thinking. Irrelevant? Maybe.
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So, back we go, to Shahar Peer, ranked number 48 in the world. And denied a Visa by the United Arab Emirates because she was Israeli.

"We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the UAE denying Shahar Peer a Visa that would permit her to enter the country to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships," said Larry Scott, chief executive of the WTA. (That's real.)

(This from now on is the fairy tale part.)
"But I have never hurt an Arab in my life," Shahar wept. "I have never hurt anyone. All I've ever done is played tennis and kept up with my homework."

"I think," said the Russian woman who was to be Shahar's opponent on the opening day
--and she gulped, because what she was about to say felt oddly dangerous--"if she can't play, I can't play either."
"Nor can I," chimed in one American, sorry she had not said it first. "We do not participate in anti-Semitism in America. Why should we do it here? No silent assent from us."
"Nor from us," said a Brit. "We will not tolerate prejudice either."
"Nor shall I," said a player from South America. "I know how it feels to be excluded; I have dark skin."
"We just elected a black president, for heaven's sake," said another American. With emphasis. And extra erect posture.
"Yes, you did," said two players from Australia, fist-bumping.
"During World War II, legend has it, the Danes all wore yellow Jewish stars," said a tall and muscular black woman who had very great fame and spoke with words of honey.
"The King initiated the wearing of the stars, I think."
Everyone listened as she spoke. There was a hush.
"I believe that he meant that we are all under our skin, the same. We are all human. And the oppressors cannot differentiate between us if we all claim a common humanity and dare not differentiate between us if we refuse to let them. And if we are unified in our refusal, they are powerless. Therefore, I have made us all yellow stars out of satins and silks, lace, ribbons, and diamonds, and I think that before we refuse to play in this tournament, before we go to the airport to take our flights to our various homelands, before we tell these anti-Semites to keep their tainted two million, we should pin the stars on our shirts and have a parade around the stadium to bid our hosts a glittering farewell."

Everyone nodded in silent agreement.
The king had a hissy fit.
The crowds howled with disappointment.
The parade took place, and every tennis player felt the ecstasy that comes with the big win.
Larry Scott said that leaving was his idea.
The crowd chanted, "We want Shahar, we want Shahar," but she was nowhere to be found.
And someone threw a shoe that hit the king right in the head.

.

Comments

[Tony Aveni]

Well it is now a fact that Rachel got it correct. Today's NY Times reports that Dubai has reversed its decision and will allow an Israeli MALE tennis player a visa this year and promises to allow the female a visa next year.
A day late and a dollar short as they say. And now it is "not an issue to mix politics with sport".
Maybe it is my loyalty but I am so proud that Ms Ben-Avi stood up to be counted and just maybe she had an effect.

[sas]

Thank you Dubai, for participating in the sports boycott of Israel. A country that violates all norms of civilized behaviour does not deserve to participate in international sporting events, and Dubai deserves to be commended for its courageous stand against Israeli brutality.

It is high time the rest of the world follow suit....

By the way, while Israel's apologists wail discrimination, has it occurred to noone this may be payback time for the deplorable treatment meted out to Dubai World Ports back in 2006 when that legitimate Arab shipping company was denied the chance to do business in America simply because it was Arab ? If discriminating against Israelis is anti Semitic, pray what does one call discriminating against Arabs ?

[Tony Aveni]

I have been looking for Rachel to post again. By far, this is the best of her efforts. The story telling is poignent and entertaining of course, But it is the choice of a fable that intrigues me. There are so many ways to speak out about this issue, but the childlike parable is briliant. I actually could see a stadium full of yellow star adorned athletes standing up for what is right and just.
I could also see this style becoming a major series of books addressing complex issues for the younger generations.
Thank you Rachel, I look forward to more exceptional writing from you.

[holly265]

It is sad for sports people that politics affects them, but really, all of us are affected in different ways. Economic and social sanctions were used as a tool to force South Africa to change apartheid. Likewise, that may be a legitimate tool to try to force Israel to change its cruel policies against the Palestineans. The Arab countries may be able to lead the world to a larger ban on Israeli exports. Here in Amsterdam many people already don't buy "Made in Israel" products - often food - and are trying to get greater labeling to facilitate that. Of course, Israel is fighting labeling. Boycotting Israel IS something we can all do to try to help them to a better way. The country of Israel will be free and able to be proud of itself when their policies change, just like South Africa, and will be able to be a honorable country of the world.

[georgebenherman]

Holly - what have you done to make China an honorouble country?how have you helped to a better way -Sudan , Syria , Saudi Arabia?

[mommamia526]

The more important part of your story, Rachel, and you missed it, is the story of money as a storehouse of value. It is not, nor has it ever been. Money is an iou, and in a well functioning decent society, money has real value. If we forget that, and if we forget that there needs to be a real exchange and contract, plus honoring of this contract, the iou has no value. This is a very timely story, Rachel, even more than the fact that the Israeli tennisplayer is not allowed to play. That part of the story happens and has happened multiple times, and we do understand the repercussions and unfairness of that. I am not certain that we understand fully, yet, that money as a measure of value and standing of a human being is misunderstood. Money is in the capitalist world a measure to keep score. But score of what? Another way of keeping score is education, reliability, one's word, and the stability of a culture and nation. That, in my view, is a more important story, and it is no fairytale. Money, on the other hand, may well be, as is shown, time and time again, over the ages.

[mommamia526]

This is a lovely story, Rachel, and your late husband's grandmother told about exactly the same story that was always told in my family. My father told me that story. He was born in Hungary, in the 1800's and was a smart kid, but he could not go to school. A rich man had a son who was having some problems in school and he offered my father money to teach him. The money would come in handy, as my grandfather had just died, at age 43, and there were four more children at home. However, my father said, instead of money, I would like the textbooks, because that is what I have to know to teach your son, AND I would like to do exams to see if I really know this stuff. So decided, so done. My father was an engineer at an early age, and served honorably in the Hungarian Army. After that, no job, he had to emigrate to get a job. Every jew knows and understands this part of the story. The story as a teaching model, and based on real life experience, is also well known to many jews, but they are too humble, really, to expound on it. However, since the world demands a change, we must tell that story now. The jewish tennis player has been chosen, to tell a story and to share it with the world. It is no coincidence that she is an Israeli and jewish.