Star’s Olympic door closed
A JEWISH table tennis star who once defeated Rafael Nadal has missed the chance to represent the US at the Olympics because trials for the team take place over Shabbat.
Estee Ackerman, 18, won multiple gold medals at domestic championships and ranks 33rd nationwide but cannot compete in the team selection because she is Orthodox and does not play sports on Shabbat.
She said she was crushed to not have the opportunity to try out. The AntiDefamation League (ADL) was among groups calling for the sport’s governing body in the US to accommodate her, saying they would otherwise be disrespectful of her faith.
“Securing a spot for the Olympics should be passed purely on skill and merit,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL’s chief executive in a letter.
“We therefore urge your organization to reconsider its determination and make concerted efforts to allow Estee to compete.”
Ms Ackerman first made headlines in 2013 when, aged just 11, she overcame Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal a few weeks before won the US Open hard court tennis tournament.
Trials for the US table tennis team destined for this summer’s Olympic Games are due to take place in California this month but a registration deadline passed last Saturday without a decision to allow her to compete.
Her father Glenn had asked for games to be scheduled on Thursday, before sunset on Friday and on Sunday.
Here and Now.
“I want to thank the protestors for making my point more clearly than my words could,” Prof Lipstadt tweeted. She wrote that she ignored the protesters from the group Law Students for Justice in Palestine, who held up signs attacking Israel, saying she “had far more important things to discuss”.
“In the talk, when I spoke about antisemitism from the left, I mentioned that many people refuse to see it as legitimate,” she said.
“They dismiss claims of antisemitism as simply being a sop to protect Israel. This is the only prejudice those on the left refuse to take seriously”.