The Tunisian Chess Federation has agreed to allow a 7-year-old Israeli girl to take part in the World School Individual Chess Championships in Sousse, Tunisia, in 2019.
In response to a request for clarification from the World Chess Federation, the organization issued a letter saying players from all countries, "without exception," are invited to participate in the tournament.
The World Chess Federation had demanded that the North African country confirm it would provide visas to all participants or else risk losing the right to host the competition, following a campaign by Israel advocacy group StandWithUs.
After Tunisia initially showed no signs that it intended to let European School Individual chess champion Liel Levitan in to Tunisia to play in the tournament, the group launched a campaign called "Let Liel Play" in which hundreds of Israel supporters signed a petition demanding that she be allowed entry. StandWithUs also wrote to World Chess Federation Administrative Manager Polina Tsedenova about the matter.
In a statement, StandWithUs representative Gilad Kabilo said Tunisia's decision to provide visas to all participants was "an unprecedented achievement, which shows that civil pressure by Israel supporters on international organizations works. We welcome the statement, and we will continue to act to defend the dignity of Israeli athletes."
