World judo’s governing body declined to penalize an Iranian athlete who refused to compete against an Israeli at the Athens Olympics. Despite earlier statements by Iranian officials that Arash Miresmaeili would not fight Udi Vaks on Aug. 15 because of Iran’s political boycott of Israel, the International Judo Federation accepted the argument that Miresmaeili didn’t fight simply because he didn’t make weight.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
