The Olympic Games began during the Roman Empire “as a way to honor the Olympian gods. They also aimed to show the physical qualities of young athletes and encourage good relations between the competing Greek cities.” Centuries after the Olympic Games were banned, French educator Pierre de Coubertin had the idea to revive them in order to build bridges between countries and political enemies and “promote peace and unity within the international community through the medium of sports.”
While the Olympics is famous for its good sportsmanship and support between the athletes no matter which country they hail from, this year’s Games was an obvious sign that de Coubertin’s dream is still being realized. Numerous news sources have reported Israeli athletes being shunned by competitors or other athletes solely because they are Israeli.
Syrian boxer Alaa Ghosoun refused to fight his Israeli opponent on the grounds that “If I fight against him, it would mean that I, as an athlete, and Syria, as a state, recognize the state of Israel.”
Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehalby refused to shake his opponent, Or Sasson’s, hand after their match and Sasson’s victory. While shaking hands after a judo match is not customary, bowing is. El Shehalby made to leave the mat without physically acknowledging Sasson but was called back by the referee and “obliged to bow.”
Saudi judoka Joud Fahmy forfeited her match against her would-be Israeli opponent, Gili Cohen.
Does this sound like the famed Olympics sportsmanship and support? I don’t think so. In addition to this disregard for the spirit of the Games, it’s both depressing and ironic that the athletes who displayed this poor behavior come from countries that have expelled their Jewish populations, forcing the majority of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Jews to seek refuge in Israel. Over half of Israelis and many of the Israeli athletes are MENA Jews, including the Judoka Or Sasson. If your country ethnically cleansed Jews from their population, the nationality they adopted from the only place that was willing to take them in is not really up for judgment. This doesn’t mean that you have to be in favor of Israel, but it’s important to recognize that exhibiting this kind of behavior toward Israelis in this context is more than just bad sportsmanship – it’s antisemitism.
It’s difficult for people to separate the actions of a population and the actions of a government. Israel’s government has violated Palestinians’ human rights. They have taken unnecessarily violent measures against those living on the West Bank. Many of their policies and laws directly target and grossly punish Palestinians. This is not up for debate. But if this was truly about disagreeing with human rights violations a country’s government was implementing, then Israeli athletes would not be the only ones targeted.
While Tunisian tennis player Malek Jaziri recently refused to compete against an Israeli, the Tunisian Judoka in these Olympics seemed to have no problem competing against Turkey, despite Turkey’s human rights abuses towards Kurds and Armenians. No one seems to have any issues playing against athletes from the United States, despite the numerous interfering in and destabilizing of regions those athletes hail from. Athletes from North Korea have been competing peacefully against other countries with no complaint from their opponents. Not to mention the human rights violations track records that Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia hold.
This is both sad and scary to see, especially at the Olympic Games, where countries are supposed to peacefully unite and put aside conflicts in order to pursue excellence. Regardless of your opinion on Israel, this is not progressiveness or solidarity. This is antisemitism.
