Coach Ya'akov Friedman of Israel's fencing team said Thursday that the team will now provide an Israeli flag and a recording of the national anthem, Hatikvah, to organizers of international competitions in which Israel takes part, in the wake of two European competitions in which Hatikvah was not played.
Interviewed by Arutz Sheva, Friedman said the latest incident was a recent cadet competition outside of Vienna, where the Austrian organizers claimed they did not have a copy of the "current" anthem. Five months ago, a similar lack of a recording marred an Israeli win in Sweden, which Friedman attributed to the uproar about Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which was also blamed for rioting outside a Davis Cup tennis match in Sweden.