Indonesia is banning Israeli athletes but uses Israeli technology – the height of hypocrisy!
By: The Tower and United with Israel Staff
An Israeli startup’s mobile guide has been chosen as the official mobility app for the Asian Games in Indonesia to help millions of fans get to sports competitions at the event from which Israel has been banned since 1981, highlighting the duplicity at the heart of the boycott movement against the Jewish state.
Israel competed at the Asian Games five times—from 1954 to 1974. In 1981, the Asian Games Federation was organized as the Olympic Council of Asia; for political reasons, Israel was excluded and, a year later, banned permanently. Palestinian athletes, however, remain on the roster, Times of Israel reported on Monday.
The Asian Games, held every four years, are hailed as the second-largest multisport event after the Olympics. Teams for 44 countries compete in the tournament, which attracts some three million visitors from all over the world.
During the Asian Games, also known as Asiad, which will take place from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, Moovit will send out notifications of all transit updates and changes. The app provides real-time transit arrivals and directions, as well as trip plans, service alerts and Get Off Alerts.
“Moovit has the most complete, up-to-date coverage of all modes of transit and lines in Jakarta & Palembang than any other provider,” the company said in a statement. Moovit previously helped organize major sport events, including the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the UEFA EURO 2016.
The crowdsourced public-transportation app, created by an Israeli startup of the same name, has become the world’s most downloaded transit app and has more than 200 million users in 2,500 cities in 82 countries.
Israel has repeatedly encountered discrimination by Muslim countries, specifically those hosting sports events.
An Israeli sportsman was barred entry to a badminton competition hosted by Indonesia in August 2015 and was granted access to the Muslim country only after a long battle. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) was forced to intervene to ensure that the Israeli athlete could secure a visa.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and support for the Palestinians there is strong.