Editor's Notes: Countries didn't ban athletes from flying to Israel, they let the paperwork do it
A movement that began because Jews were shut out of a gym in Constantinople built games so Jews could always get in. This year, Jews who wanted in were kept out by paperwork of friendly…
Assessment
The Maccabiah Games, born from Jewish exclusion in Constantinople, now face a subtler barrier: friendly governments using visa delays and administrative hurdles to block athletes from reaching Israel. This bureaucratic filtering achieves what an outright ban would, without the political cost. The question is whether these nations will acknowledge the pattern or let paperwork continue to do their bidding.