Sudanese Migrant Wins Tiberias Marathon But Will Not Be Israel’s Champion Due To Refugee Status

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — 26-year-old Daniel Moloshat is the winner of Israel’s Tiberias Marathon staged on Friday but he will not be able to stand on the podium as Israel’s champion because of his legal status. Moloshat is a Sudanese refugee who came to Israel at the age of 11 and has lived there ever since without receiving citizenship. Despite this, Moloshat proudly took out an Israeli flag at the end of the race and ran the final 250 meters waving it.

“It is frustrating, but its still important to me to wave the flag- even though I wasn’t declared champion. I am an Israeli in every way”, Moloshat said on Israeli TV Saturday night.

שוונג בשטח || מנצח מרתון טבריה 2021 הוא דניאל מולושט בתוצאה 2:17:09 שע' pic.twitter.com/uiWcAlHFnr

— shvoong.co.il (@shvoong_twitt) December 10, 2021

Moloshat finished the marathon in 2:17:09, and said that he runs 200 km a week to prepare for marathons. “I trained really hard for this. I immigrated from Sudan with my father and brother when I was 11. We escaped via the Sinai border and now I’m here for most of my life,” he says in fluent Hebrew. “I am currently requesting asylum and renew my visa every three months in the Interior Ministry. I live here, I don’t feel different. I grew up here, celebrate the festival and know more here than in any other place.”

Daniel Moloshat runs Tel Aviv race

Moloshat recently also won the Tel Aviv 10 km race, posting the second-fastest time ever in the race- 30:38. Yet his efforts to receive citizenship have so far failed, despite the attempts by the Israeli Olympic Excellence Fund to help him.

The Israeli Population and Immigration authority said that “thousands of requests are being processed including that of Daniel Moloshet. As long as there is no decision he can stay and work in Israel. The requests are dealt with according to international guidelines regarding refugees which determine if there is any danger to the refugee irrespective of his sporting abilities or other abilities.”