ynet: Outrage? Iranian Mohammad Alirezaei Won't Swim Against Israeli Mickey Malul

We were just about ready to write a vigorous opinion to protest the outrage that ynet reports, namely that Iranian Mohammad Alirezaei won't swim against Israeli Mickey Malul at the world championships in Rome. He did the same thing at the Beijing Olympics.

We wanted to say this was an instance at least of bad sportsmanship on a national level, that it was a bad way to mix politics into an international sports competition, and perhaps that it represented a blatant racist act.

Then we remembered that... most of the Haredi, Hasidic and other Orthodox Jewish men that we know won't swim in the same pool with any woman.

Yes, different explanations. But similar outcomes.

So we said to ourselves, Never mind.