Anat Lelior during the quarters at the Pro Taghazout Bay. Photo: WSL
Israel’s Anat Lelior has represented her country on surfing’s biggest stages: the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. But when she put on the competition lycra at last month’s WSL Qualifying Series event in Morocco, Pro Taghazout Bay, the Israeli flag was noticeably absent from the results and her ranking on the WSL’s website. She was simply classified as “World.
Once the event was over, the Israeli flag reappeared on the website next to her name. It presumably was done intentionally to protect Lelior and/or avoid conflict during her travels in Morocco due to tension surrounding the ongoing war in Gaza. Last year Israel issued a travel advisory specifically urging its citizens to avoid Morocco (among other countries) due to the “threat of terrorism for Israelis traveling abroad.”
Neither WSL nor her management immediately responded to requests for clarification on the decision-making process to hide the flag during her stay in Morocco. The Israeli Surfing Association acknowledged the situation when contacted, but deferred to her management team for comment.
Photo: Screenshot
Lelior ended up taking third place at the event, leaving with 1825 points towards her Qualifying Series ranking and $2,000 in prize money. She was defeated by Portugal’s Francisca Veselko in the semifinals.
While she has yet to make any specific comment regarding her flag’s absence during the event, Lelior did post photos from Morocco on Instagram saying, “3rd place finish in Taghazout, Morocco. Qualified for the Challenger Series! Not much to say other than, let’s go! Proud of myself.”
The incident with Lelior follows the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro, where standard country flags were also notably absent from all surfers’ lycras. This sparked speculation that the decision was made to avoid controversy, as Tyler Wright typically wears the LGBTQ flag – something that could pose issues in the United Arab Emirates.
