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Shahar Peer
Photo: Yoad Cohen

Peer: Anti-Israel protestors motivate me

Tennis star slams anti-Israel protests against her, says demonstrators are clueless

Tennis star Shahar Peer says the recent anti-Israel protests she has been facing while competing abroad merely motivate her to play better.

 

However, in a special interview with Ynet, the 22-year-old tennis prodigy says nonsensical charges against Israel highlight the need for a better Israeli public relations effort.

 

Anti-Peer poster

 

"The protests were terrible," Peer says, referring to anti-Israeli demonstrations in New Zealand and Australia, where she recently competed. "They were held last year too, but this time around they were awful. In addition to what they said about our country they also targeted me personally – they said I need to retire and that I have blood on my hands."

 

"It was difficult to hear it," Peer added. "They're simply clueless…we need better public relations for our country, so people finally understand what's going on here."

 

Peer talks to Ynet (Photo: Yoad Cohen)

 

Yet despite the negative attention, Peer responded to the protesters on the tennis court, with repeated victories that pushed her back into the world's top 30.

 

"The more I heard, the better I played," she said. "People in the world don't know about everything that's going on; about the fact that we are hit with many Qassam rockets, every day."

 

"They say that we are killing children, but what about the fact that the Arabs place their children at sites where they can get hurt?" Peer says. "They fail to understand that we defend ourselves and are not the first ones to attack."

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.07.10, 07:45
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