This is a cartoon about the participation of the Israeli sailing team in a race held during the 1988 Olympics on Yom Kippur. The cartoon shows a pair of sailors competing in the 470 class sailing event. One sail has already torn off in the wind and the Star of David on the second sail has fallen into the water. In a dialogue between the sailors, one asks whether they have any chance of winning and the other sailor answers, “with the help of God.”
The cartoon was drawn during the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Israel sent two pairs of sportsmen to the 470 sailing competition: Dan and Ran Turten and Yoel Sela and Eldad Amir. Both teams were seen to have a good chance at receiving a medal.
The event that caused a storm in Israel and is illustrated here is the fact that the fourth of the seven legs of the competition was set for Yom Kippur. The members of the delegation gathered to discuss how they should act and agreed that as representatives of the State of Israel, they could not sail on this, the holiest day of the year. Sela and Amir followed this decision, finishing fourth overall, with the points missed from the fourth leg proving crucial. The Turten brothers, however, chose to participate in the competition without informing their coach or the Israeli delegation leaders. As a consequence of their participation, the brothers were suspended from the team. Ultimately the Israeli Supreme Court stated that their suspension was not lawful.
It could be suggested that the cartoonist’s depiction of the Star of David falling off the sail refers to the fact that the sailors rejected or ignored Jewish and Israeli tradition and values by deciding to sail on Yom Kippur.
This event raised the question of the extent to which athletes representing the State of Israel should take religious holidays and prohibitions into consideration when competing in international events. The regulations of the Athletics Association contain clauses prohibiting competing in international sport events on Jewish holidays, and in this particular case this section was violated. The event also provoked much discussion about the relationship between religion and state in Israel and about the tension between the values and the responsibilities of the individual.
